It’s a small world

TASK I

STUDENT 1

The extract you have describes the benefits of using computers. Your partner’s extract presents a totally different view. Find out what information your partner has by asking questions. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the role computers play in modern life.

We live in spectacular times. The prospects for the future have never been more exciting. Men and women find themselves in command of a technology that helps them to reshape nature to conform to their needs.

Computers have become part of everyday life. Today’s schoolchildren carry around calculating power which would have filled a large room forty years ago. Computer scientists are now working on the next generation of computers: ones which will have true intelligence. At Stanford University a computer has been developed for medical diagnosis. There are computers that can write stories, correct spelling, improve grammar and style and even check for mistakes.

The computer as surrogate teacher may bring even more benefits. Today we must have one teacher to many students. The advantage of a tutor for each student is clear and if that tutor is also endlessly patient and super-humanly well-informed, we may expect a wonderful improvement in the standard of education.

As you all know, the Internet has emerged in recent years as a phenomenal engine for U.S. economic growth and development. The Internet will soon be so pervasive that not having access to the technology, or not knowing how to use it, will be the equivalent of not knowing how to read or write. In short, those segments of population who are not able to use the Internet will be left behind both economically and socially.

All techniques and devices have the potential to become defining technologies because all to some degree redefine our relationship to nature. The computer is the contemporary analogy of the clocks and steam engines of the previous centuries. It is not that we cannot live without computers, but that we will be different people because we live with them.

STUDENT 2

The extract you have describes the negative aspects of using computers. Your partner’s extract presents a totally different view. Find out what information your partner has by asking questions. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the role computers play in modern life.

The introduction of computers into offices is indeed a cause for concern, both for health reasons and for the deprivation of job satisfaction that it brings out. Psychologists say that the human body, which has been trained to use many senses over a period of thousands of years, cannot limit itself to just watching numbers and letters moving across the screen.

But the main problem seems that many computer jobs don’t demand human interaction. The employee interacts with a machine, not with other people. Such employees may feel that their work is not human.

Among teachers and education experts there are deep concerns involving children development and personalities. Too much reliance upon computers causes a lack of ability to deal with the outside world and to interact with others properly. It is also acknowledged that excessive computer use makes children at once introverted and explosive, and at times mentally unbalanced.

The social atmosphere in which we work and live is being poisoned by these machines. As our society moves toward the conviction that there is nothing important in the human condition that cannot be fed into a computer, the positive qualities of a humanistic society may well be lost.

With computers becoming more and more involved in everything that we do, it is likely that they will no longer be there to help us. We may possible rely on them to do even the most common or complicated tasks. A power outage or an electrical surge could temporarily cripple entire communities. Something as drastic as a computer virus could possibly cripple the entire nation. With almost everything computerized, people may no longer know how to do the common tasks that keep things running. They may not bother to learn how to do some things because they believe that a computer would always be there to do it for them. Receiving help from a computer is one thing, but relying on them is another matter entirely.

TASK II

STUDENT 1

Your extracts present a negative view on cloning. Your partner’s extracts present a totally different view. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the issue.

Human cloning, in my opinion, would be another catastrophe for human beings. We have already learned from the past history: dynamite was originally invented to be used for helping constructions or making tunnels through mountains. We definitely misused it as a devastating weapon targeted at human beings in several wars and conflicts. In addition, there are a few more concerns to be watched. Firstly, human cloning is not within the realm of human beings. It's quite closer to God's realm. We, as poor men, do have to infringe on God's right. Secondly, it will be misused by money-seekers around the world. We cannot prevent every single man who is eager to make big money from it just by establishing laws or regulations. Finally, human cloning may produce unthinkable side effects in the future. A new invention is usually followed by unpredictable monsters. We have no right to disrupt the order of nature in this world. Jaeho Kim, UK

There is a novel called "Spares" about cloning - about humans farms containing clones - just in case the human in the outside world loses a leg in an accident... or needs a new heart, you would get it from your spare on the farm. I read this about 5 years ago and thought it was preposterous - now I am not so sure Shibani, Australia

We don't seem to understand the difference between engineering and ethics. Just because something is technically possible does not make it morally justifiable. Embryos are not interesting lumps of genetic material to be experimented upon at the whim of the scientist or entrepreneur. We are talking about human life, for many of us created in the image of God. If we dispense with the rights of human life no matter at how early a stage, on what basis do we preserve the human rights of those of us who simply happen to be older? Robert Key, UK

The process of cloning would mean that a human is created, a few cells harvested, and then the embryo destroyed. Even if you don't give the embryo the same status as a human, it surely has enough moral worth to make this unacceptable. Laurence Crutchlow, UK

STUDENT 2

Your extracts present a positive view on cloning. Your partner’s extracts present a totally different view. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the issue.

Cloning is coming. When the technique is safe, it will take its place as potentially the most valued and powerful technique in the arsenal of future medicine. As well as a means of reproduction, the technology of cloning will provide new ways to replace and repair our bodies. Dr David Whitehouse

Human cloning is the key to eradicating many diseases which cause great suffering in our lives. Brett A, UK

If I were in intensive care waiting for a heart, kidney, lung or liver transplant, I would accept totally an organ developed using this technique. By the way, there are ways to grow organs without resorting to cloning as such - we can use adult stem cells, which are from the donor anyway.

Again I see the same standard argument against cloning: "It's unnatural", "it's frightening". I have to say that cloning happens in nature. Twins, triplets and other multiple births are clones. If you clone someone, they will look similar to the original and may have similar behaviour, but they will not be the same people. Alex Young, UK

It is fantastically important to continue with human cloning in all forms, whether for the prevention of disease or for the genetic modification of the species. The major stumbling block with our society seems to be the misconception that human life is miraculous, and all embryos are somehow holy. In the general scheme of things the creation of a human embryo is no more miraculous than drinking a large amount of water and then feeling the need to relieve yourself. As our civilization advances, we will no doubt encounter more deadly diseases as nature will adapt to its new surroundings. With this in mind it will ultimately be essential to develop human and animal species to be able to fight back, and this will require cloning if species are to survive. Gareth Stevenson, UK

TASK III

STUDENT 1

Your extract presents a positive view on genetic engineering. Your partner’s extract presents a totally different view. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the issue.

If we now know enough to be able to make changes in the genetic material that parents hand on to their children, why not seize this power? Why not control what has been left to chance in the past? It seems inevitable that genetic engineering will eventually be used. It will probably begin in a way that is most ethically acceptable to the largest portion of society, to prevent babies inheriting conditions that have a severe impact on the quality of life, such as deafness and blindness. The number of parents needing or desiring this service might be tiny, but their experience would help to ease society’s fears, and genetic engineers could then begin to expand their services to prevent the inheritance of genes leading to other disorders such as asthma, heart disease, and various forms of cancer.

A further frontier will be the mind and the senses. Here, genetic engineering could have enormous benefits. Alcohol and drug addiction could be eliminated, along with tendencies toward mental disease. People’s senses of sight and hearing could be improved, allowing for new dimensions in art and music. And when our understanding of brain development has advanced, geneticists will be able to give parents the chance to choose intellectual gifts for their children as well. If a child destined to have a permanently low IQ could be cured by replacing a gene, would anyone really argue against that? It is a short step from that decision to improving a normal IQ. Is there an argument against making superior individuals? As society gets more complex, perhaps it must select for individuals more capable of coping with its complex problems.

In the longer term, it might be possible to identify the genetic information which allows creatures to live under extreme conditions here on earth and make it available to humans. One day it may even be possible to incorporate photosynthetic units into human embryos so that humans could receive energy directly from the sun, just like plants. Such genetic gifts could allow these genetically modified humans to survive on other planets in the solar system, where they could in turn use genetic engineering to further enhance the ability of their own children to survive on their chosen worlds.

In the short term, most genetic enhancements will surely be more mundane. They will provide little fixes to the naturally occurring genetic defects that shorten the lives of so many people. But as the years go by, the number and variety of possible genetic extensions to the basic human genome will rise dramatically and become indispensable – to those parents who are able to afford them.

STUDENT 2

Your extract presents a negative view on genetic engineering. Your partner’s extract presents a totally different view. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the issue.

The promoters of a designer-baby future believe that the new human genetic and reproductive technologies are both inevitable and beneficial to humanity.  As human beings are far more than the product of genes, the feats of genetic manipulation eventually accomplished will almost certainly turn out to be much more modest than what the designer-baby advocates predict.  But we cannot dismiss the possibility that scientists will achieve enough mastery over the human genome to cause enormous damage - biologically and politically.

Promoting a future of genetically engineered inequality legitimizes the vast existing injustices that are socially arranged and enforced.  Marketing the ability to specify our children’s appearance and abilities encourages a grotesque consumerist mentality toward children and all human life.  Fostering the notion that only a 'perfect baby' is worthy of life threatens our solidarity with and support for people with disabilities, and perpetuates standards of perfection set by a market system that caters to political, economic, and cultural elites.  Channeling hopes for human betterment into preoccupation with genetic fixes shrinks our commitments to improving social conditions and enriching cultural and community life.

Focusing on the genetic elements of sickness and health diverts attention away from the social and environmental causes of disease and makes it easy to blame preventable illnesses on "bad genes." If our goal is healthier, smarter, or otherwise "improved" future generations, there are obvious ways to achieve that goal, such as protecting pregnant women and their babies from toxic exposures and making sure all women have opportunities for good nutrition and health care during pregnancy.

Some scientists paint an even more extreme picture of what genetic engineering could mean for the human race. Lee Silver, a molecular biologist at Princeton University, writes about future scenarios in which parents could design embryos to suit their preferences. He suggests the human race could eventually divide into two species, one with a normal set of genes and the other with various expensive genetic "improvements." The new race of improved humans might be unable to mate with ordinary humans due to genetic incompatibility. In the future that Silver envisions, the divide between rich and poor would be permanently coded into our cells, much as Aldous Huxley foretold in BRAVE NEW WORLD in 1932.  

TASK IV

STUDENT 1

The extract you have describes the benefits of using nanobots. Your partners extract presents a totally different view. Find out what information your partner has by asking questions. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the prospects of using nanobots.

One of the goals of modern technology is to build nanobots. The possibilities for pollution control and clean-up are startling. It would no longer be necessary to destroy the biosphere in an attempt to gather raw materials for production. Any substance nearby would be broken down into atoms and reassembled into desired products using the sun as an energy source. There would be no manufacturing waste. 100% recycling would be achieved because the nanobots would be able to construct and de-construct atom by atom. We would be able to build planet mending machines to correct damage already inflicted on the earth. We would also be able to make use of all the garbage we have already created. It will even be possible to repair living tissue and extend human life. Nano-computers could be inserted inside living cells. These computers would watch for invading organisms and if a virus or some other alien organism were found, assemblers could be sent out into the bloodstream to attack and destroy them. In the home, all appliances would be replaced with a bread-box sized machine called a "shape shifter." This machine would take the place of all the other appliances and would be able to perform any function you asked of it. It could cook dinner, be the toaster, microwave, or can opener, or create the food for you.

STUDENT 2

The extract you have describes the dangers of using nanobots. Your partners extract presents a totally different view. Find out what information your partner has by asking questions. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the prospects of using nanobots.

One of the goals of modern technology is to build nanobots. Unfortunately, nanotechnology could be misused or abused. As the nanobots construct or deconstruct products atom by atom, molecule by molecule, billions of them could easily reduce the biosphere to dust in a matter of days. Another obvious potential problem is the use of nano-machines by individuals or groups with ill will in mind. Their options are frightening, including new kinds of weapons, designer viruses, and unimaginably thorough surveillance of our thoughts and actions. In the hands of a totalitarian state the implications are fairly obvious. Advanced technology will make workers unnecessary and genocide easy. In addition, nanobots could be influenced by software viruses and other hacking techniques.

And that is the crux of the matter. Nanotechnology promises to provide anything that mankind might ever wish for. It has the power to carry us into a startling new era. One of abundance and wealth for everyone. It would be the most powerful technology we have ever created. But it could also be the most devastating.

UNIT 11

THE GLOBAL VILLAGE

STUDENT 1