Biomedical Sciences and Society summary (AB_1011)
Lecture 1
Science - technology - society
Intertwined: they emerge through mutual shaping (society affects science, science affects technology,
technology affects society)
"Fork-shaped", messy - the process of technological development independent and sometimes chaotic. It
moves in unexpected directions, resulting in multiple ways of possible developments. Another component
that makes technological development messy is unexpected technological breakthroughs and societal
developments.
-> examples: internet, bicylce, mobile phones, medicines (birth control pill, viagra, HeLa cell line)
1. Yuval Noah Harari:
Homo Deus illustrates the history of the human race from how we came to be the dominant species over
what narratives are shaping our lives today all the way to which obstacles we must overcome next to
continue to thrive.
1. Shared narratives are what allow us to collaborate at a large scale and, thus, dominate as a
species.
2. The most prevalent, current narrative is humanism.
3. Algorithms could eventually replace us, depending on which future narrative takes over.
According to Harari, it’s rooted in our communication. Humans have told stories since the dawn of speech.
Because we can all decide what stories we believe in individually, the best stories win. Over time, we’ve
become more intelligent, which is why, usually, the story that wins in the long run is whichever one
benefits us the most as a whole. Back when the world was less connected, narratives naturally formed
regionally. But nowadays, we’re all aware of the many different religions, political movements, and belief
systems around the globe. Thanks to the internet, it’s become obvious to many that there is no one, right
choice for any of them.
As a result, the story that dominates the world today is humanism. In this view of the world, humans are
the central element and our individual freedom our greatest asset. Liberalism allows us to express
humanism in everyday life by translating its ideas into specific
moral codes, laws, and political aspirations. Even campaigns for a certain cause, like climate change
awareness, less waste, o redistribution of wealth are often just liberal narratives in disguise.
Therefore, it’s not really a question of whether algorithms will be part of our future, just how. Two trends
Harari sees appearing at the horizon are techno-humanism, often called transhumanism, and dataism.
Transhumanism argues that humans should merge with
technology to enhance their capabilities and keep up with the power of algorithms. Dataism, on the other
hand, suggests we “get out of the way” and let algorithms become as powerful as they can become on their
own.
2. The Guardian article about He Jiankui - geneticist that altered DNA of babies to make them
resistible to HIV ;
He’s decision to work outside established and supervised scientific protocols could taint the reputation of
Chinese science. The scientist had announced his work without following scientific protocols, including
publishing his findings in a peer-reviewed journal.
He’s university, the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, had rejected his request
to perform the experiment. That led the Stanford-educated He to find a private hospital outside the
academic system to apply his research. If He’s claims are true, the twins would pass the altered DNA on to
any offspring they have, which several scientists said would create a host of ethical and medical problems.
The decision that was made about these twin girls was not made by them, but by someone else. The
changes that happened to them will remain in their offspring for future generations.
But Kirksey agreed it raised difficult ethical questions. “It risks creating a new, genetically
, modified elite ... who can’t get sick but pass it on to other people.”
3. Kevin Kelly TED talk
Technology is a part of human population, we would not be able to survive without it;
It develops independently - "a separate species"
However, it is possible for human society to loose control over the technology, because it can be
very powerful
• Instrumental view - Society develops and uses technology to reach its own goals
• Deterministic view - Technological development follows its own trajectory, and technological
development has an impact on society
• Interactive view (designing)
Society and technology influence each other. “what kind of world and society do we want to live in and
what kind of technology contributes to that world?”
• Interactive view (adaptive)
Society and technology influence each other. “how can society reinvent itself in the context of
technological development"
Tutorial 1
1. DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIRTH CONTROL PILL
➤ Started in the 60‘s
➤ Sexual revolution
➤ Detachment of sexuality and reproduction
➤ Women’s emancipation
➤ Emancipation of homosexuals
➤ The process of its making
➤ Enabled by unequal power structures
"The Birth of Pill" by Jonathan Eig - book review
Sanger (woman) explained to Pincus (scientist) her lifelong dream, an idea so outrageous as to seem
magical: a cheap, simple birth-control method that would allow sex to be spontaneous — no risking
mistakes in the heat of the moment. A woman should be able to use it without her sexual partner’s
knowledge. It had to be safe and reversible, so that if the woman wanted to get pregnant, she could.
Sanger’s quest was to free women to have sex without the fear or possibility of pregnancy, thus allowing
them to pursue education, careers, equal footing with men.
They began testing female rabbits by injecting them with the hormone progesterone. Pincus found that,
despite prolific mating habits, they did not get pregnant. The problem for Pincus would be how to stretch
“the boundaries of law and ethics” to test progesterone on women.
About this ethically questionable phase of human testing, Eig writes that the scientists violated two
protocols of modern medical research. They didn’t inform the patients of the purpose of the study or warn
them of possible risks. Rock lobbied the pope for a blessing, too, certain that Catholics would agree that
the pill was merely a refinement of the church-sanctioned “rhythm method” because it used the body’s
natural hormones to control fertility.
2. DEVELOPMENT OF THE NIP-TEST
➤ NIPT = Non Invasive Prenatal Test
➤ Development of prenatal diagnostics
➤ Dutch insurance: NIPT is not refunded (175 euro), unless there is a medical indication
➤ Is Down syndrome a sign of poverty?
ISSUES RAISEDIN THE DOCUMENTARY ( A world without Down's syndrome?)
• Society generally brings us to believe a narrative of Down’s syndrome that is tragic and disastrous.
• There are increasing societal pressures on new parents to abort unborn babies with Down’s syndrome.
