Epilogue

2018 ◽  
pp. 309-318
Author(s):  
Leora Auslander ◽  
Tara Zahra

This epilogue argues that war is a profound reminder of human materiality and fragility. Conflicts are made and decided through the interaction of human beings and the material world. The inquiries started in this book offer the foundation for a historically informed investigation of this interaction in the new forms of warfare in an age in which the virtual often seems to have more presence than the material. Indeed, new technologies have radically changed the materiality of war. Rather than physically encountering the enemy on the battlefield or entering homes as they invade enemy territory, for example, many soldiers are now sitting thousands of miles away launching missiles or operating drones that do first the reconnaissance and then the killing for them.

1999 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret A. Clark

New technologies are changing our lives radically and quickly. New biotechnologies are moving to commercial uses faster than government regulators or private citizens can monitor. This tension manifests itself in the current debates over xenotransplantation technologies in medicine. The possibility of removing cells, tissues, and organs from animals and transplanting them into human beings is startling and unnerving. Natural immunesystem barriers between species, and even between individuals within a species, are formidable. Typically, transplantation results in violent rejection and death of the grafted organ. But despite the natural barriers to transplantation, xenotransplantation aims specifically to overcome them.In this paper, I will discuss applications of xenograft technology, which raises clinical risks, ethical concerns, and policy issues. I conclude with a set of specific recommendations. As a recent letter to the journal Nature puts it, there is a “split between those who want to get it right, and those who want to get it right now.” No one knows what all the risks, benefits, and unintended consequences of xenotransplantation will be.


Author(s):  
Igor I. Kartashov ◽  
Ivan I. Kartashov

For millennia, mankind has dreamed of creating an artificial creature capable of thinking and acting “like human beings”. These dreams are gradually starting to come true. The trends in the development of modern so-ciety, taking into account the increasing level of its informatization, require the use of new technologies for information processing and assistance in de-cision-making. Expanding the boundaries of the use of artificial intelligence requires not only the establishment of ethical restrictions, but also gives rise to the need to promptly resolve legal problems, including criminal and proce-dural ones. This is primarily due to the emergence and spread of legal expert systems that predict the decision on a particular case, based on a variety of parameters. Based on a comprehensive study, we formulate a definition of artificial intelligence suitable for use in law. It is proposed to understand artificial intelligence as systems capable of interpreting the received data, making optimal decisions on their basis using self-learning (adaptation). The main directions of using artificial intelligence in criminal proceedings are: search and generalization of judicial practice; legal advice; preparation of formalized documents or statistical reports; forecasting court decisions; predictive jurisprudence. Despite the promise of using artificial intelligence, there are a number of problems associated with a low level of reliability in predicting rare events, self-excitation of the system, opacity of the algorithms and architecture used, etc.


Prostor ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1 (61)) ◽  
pp. 118-129
Author(s):  
Ljiljana Vujadinović ◽  
Svetlana K. Perović

This paper is studying influence of new technologies on city development with accent on socio-spatial dimension. The primary goal of the paper is to point out the reflections of earlier ideas in the context of modern technological processes in cities. All social, technical and technological components of a community, and finally civilization, are reflected within space of the city. Although having remained the greatest consumer of many material goods, city has also become a ‘’producer’’ of many technical-technological and spiritual values of civilization. Taking into account acceleration of phenomena in the world of technology and technology featuring modernity, it reasonably brings a question on realistic chance for prediction of their further course and related social changes that are about to cause it. In many scenarios of urban future, one can sense the idea of a city as a result of high technological achievements of civilization. Special attention is paid on informational city which, connecting a lot of people into systems of interactive information technology change the way of their mutual communication, as well as their social life and culture of behaviour. Measure of organization and function of city is set by telecommunication technologies, information, and computers. If city is a ‘’print of a society in space’’, then a contemporary moment refers to ‘’digitalization’’ of human beings, digitalization of their interactions, new aesthetics, value and other criteria. The tendency of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of new technologies on 21st century cities interpreted primarily through the prism of certain theoretical and experimental ideas and concepts of the 20th century.


2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (273) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Antônio Moser

Vivemos hoje numa aceleração histórica sem precedentes. Não ape­nas as ações das bolsas de valores se mostram totalmente fluidas. Os avan­ços nos campos da genética e das biotecnologias concedem aos seres huma­nos o poder de remodelar o que existe e criar o que nunca existiu nem pode­ria ter existido antes. Tudo isto acarreta desafios ecológicos inusitados, pois aos “gritos da terra” e aos “gritos do cosmos ” somam-se os “gritos da iden­tidade profunda dos seres Só uma mudança radical de atitudes que conju­gue novas tecnologias com o cuidado carinhoso poderá salvar a incrível multiplicidade de seres que manifestam a riqueza da obra criadora de Deus.Abstract: We are now experiencing an unprecedented histórica! accelerati- on. Not only have the shares in the StockExchange become totally fluid, but the advancements in genetics and biotechnology provide human beings with the power to reshape what already exists and to create what has never existed— and could not have existed— before. All this leads to unusual eco- logical challenges, for to the “cries of the earth ” and to the “cries of the cosmos ” are added the “cries of the beings 'inner identity ”. Only a radical change of altitudes, able to couple the new technologies with tender care can save the amazing multiplicity of beings that manifest the richness of God s Creative work.


Author(s):  
Alp Karaca

Homosapiens is the common family name for contemporary human beings. There are different kinds of homo species but the most recent one with the most improved abilities are human beings of the present era, who have adapted themselves to the new technologies and life conditions by improving themselves. The substantial improvements in technology started with the French Revolution in 1799. Initially, technology helped human beings in the production and industry sectors. Thereafter, in the 1990s, technology penetrated living spaces, firstly helping with household duties and then impacting social life, first with the radio and later with the television. Living spaces started to change through the organisation of spaces, and most houses were organised according to location reserved for the television. This is the biggest change brought about by technology in living spaces. The expectations of human beings were on the rise simultaneously with economic welfare and consumption-based demands. In the 2000s, phyisical limitations occurred, while expectations increased even more. These were constraints over time, materials and economy, and the solution came from technology via virtual reality and generated cyber spaces, which were without limits, economical and surpassed the built environments. Due to the lack of physical conditions, built envionments ceded their place to virtual living spaces and virtual cities. In the present study, data collection was undertaken via a study of innovations within living spaces and also via an observation of social lives within living spaces. The present article aims to present what can be foreseen, on the basis of cause and effect, concerning the impacts of the current evolution on the one hand and massive outbreaks of viruses on the other hand, the impacts on the physical spaces of the homosapiens species that have succeeded in adapting to all the changes that they have come across from their beginnings until the present era, the impacts that both phenomena will have on the current living standards and living spaces of humans and what changes human living spaces will undergo in the ongoing process of evolution. Human beings will continue renewing themselves throughout the said phenomena before concluding their process of evolution.   Keywords: Innovative, technology, living spaces, living standards, homosapiens.


Author(s):  
Fen LIN

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract in English only.In the dominant discourse of the "human–machine relationship," people and machines are the subjects, with a mutually shaping influence. However, this framework neglects the crux of the current critical analysis of AI. It reduces the problems with new technology to the relationship between people and machines, ignoring the re-shaping of the relationship between "people and people" in the era of new technology. This simplification may mislead policy and legal regulations for new technologies. Why would a robot killing cause more panic than a murder committed by a human? Why is a robot's misdiagnosis more troubling than a doctor's? Why do patients assume that machines make more accurate diagnoses than doctors? When a medical accident occurs, who is responsible for the mistakes of an intelligent medical system? In the framework of traditional professionalism, the relationship between doctors and patients, whether trusted or not, is based on the premise that doctors have specialized knowledge that patients do not possess. Therefore, the authority of a doctor is the authority of knowledge. In the age of intelligence, do machines provide information or knowledge? Can this strengthen or weaken the authority of doctors? It is likely that in the age of intelligence, the professionalism, authority and trustworthiness of doctors require a new knowledge base. Therefore, the de-skilling of doctors is not an issue of individual doctors, but demands an update of the knowledge of the entire industry. Recognizing this, policy makers must not focus solely on the use of machines, but take a wider perspective, considering how to promote the development of doctors and coordinate the relationship between doctors with different levels of knowledge development. We often ask, "In the era of intelligence, what defines a human?" This philosophical thinking should be directed toward not only the difference between machines and people as individuals, but also how the relationship between human beings, i.e., the social nature of humans, evolves in different technological environments. In short, this commentary stresses that a "good" machine or an "evil" machine—beyond the sci-fi romance of such discourse—reflects the evolution of the relationships between people. In today's smart age, the critical issue is not the relationship between people and machines. It is how people adjust their relationships with other people as machines become necessary tools in life. In the era of intelligence, therefore, our legislation, policy and ethical discussion should resume their focus on evolutionary relationships between people.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 41 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.


Author(s):  
Gurutz JÁUREGUI BERECIARTU

LABURPENA: Ziberespazioak eta sare sozialek sinbolikoki ordezkatzen duten iraultza teknologikoaren ezaugarri nagusia ez da teknologia bera, baizik eta horrek gaur egungo gizartearen egoera kulturalean eta politikoan duen lekua edo eginkizuna. Azken iraultzak ekarritako berritasunen artean, teknologia politikaren, ekonomiaren, nazioarteko lehiaren, norgehiagokaren, gerraren eta gizakiak mehatxatzen dituzten arrisku masiboen erregulazio globalaren edo estatalaren muin bihurtu dela azpimarratu daiteke. Labur esanda, laugarren iraultzaren ezaugarria da teknologiak jarduera politikoa eta ekonomiko erabat menderatzen dituela. Iraultzak aurrekaririk gabeko aurrerabide globala ekarri dio gizateriari. Hala ere, ez du lortu askatasunaren hobekuntzarik, berdintasun eta gizakien berdintasun ekonomiko eta sozial handiagoa ekartzea, kontrakoa baizik. Garapen teknologikoaren eta burokratikoaren protagonistek ezin izan dute teknologia berriek gure bizitzetan benetan duten eraginari buruzko oso zalantza serioak argitu. Egia da, sare sozialen bidez, Internetek kontsumitzaileei informazioaren sortzaile izatea ahalbidetzen diela. Gainera, Internetek hainbat erabakitan parte hartzeko aukera ematen duen espazio soziala sortu du. Azkenik, partaidetza horrek ondorio positiboak eta arrakasta nabariak eragin ditu zenbait kasutan (udaberri arabiarrak, 15M, etab.). Hala ere, horrek ez du esan nahi sarea berez espazio demokratikoa denik. Interneten ez dago botere publikorik eta demokratikorik. Aitzitik, espazio sozial berria demokraziaren kontroletik kanpo dauden erakunde pribatu boteretsuek menderatzen dute. Horrenbestez, espazio horretan herritar kategoria lortzetik urrun gaude oraindik. RESUMEN: La peculiaridad de la actual revolución tecnológica, representada simbólicamente por el ciberespacio y las redes sociales, no radica en la tecnología en sí misma considerada sino el lugar o papel jugado por ella en el contexto cultural y político de la actual sociedad. Lo nuevo en esta última revolución es el hecho de que la tecnología se ha convertido en la cuestión central, el nudo gordiano de la política, de la economía, de la competencia internacional, de la rivalidad, de la guerra, o de la regulación global o estatal de los riesgos masivos que amenazan a los seres vivos. Lo específico, en definitiva, de la cuarta revolución es, precisamente, el dominio aplastante de la tecnología sobre la actividad política y económica. Esta revolución está dando lugar a un progreso global sin precedentes de la humanidad, pero, sin embargo, no ha logrado favorecer, sino todo lo contrario, una mejora de la libertad ni un aumento de la igualdad económica y social de los seres humanos. Los protagonistas del desarrollo tecnológico y burocrático no han sido capaces de ahuyentar numerosas dudas e inquietudes muy serias acerca del impacto real de las nuevas tecnologías sobre nuestras vidas. Es cierto que, a través de las redes sociales, internet permite a los consumidores convertirse en productores de información. No es menos cierto que internet ofrece un nuevo espacio social que abre unas mayores posibilidades de participación en determinadas decisiones. También es cierto, por último, que esa participación ha producido, en algunos casos, consecuencias positivas y éxitos evidentes (primaveras árabes, 15M, etc.). Pero eso no significa necesariamente que la red constituya por sí misma un espacio democrático. No existe un poder público y democrático en internet. Bien al contrario, el nuevo espacio social está controlado y dominado por entidades privadas poderosas que escapan al control democrático. No hallamos lejos, por lo tanto, de alcanzar en ese espacio la categoría de ciudadanos. ABSTRACT: The peculiarity of the current technological revolution, symbolicaly represented by the cyberspace and social networks, does not lie on the technology itself but on the place or role played by it within the cultural and political context in the present society. The novelty in this revolution is the fact that technology has become a central issue, the guardian knot of the politics, economy, international competition, rivalry, war or global and state regulation of the massive risks that threat human beings. The specific, all in all, of the fourth revolution is specifically the overwhelming power of technology over political and economic action. This revolution gives place to an unprecedented global advance for humanity but nevertheless it has not been able, but the opposite, to boost an improvement in freedom nor an upgrading of economic and social equality of human beings.The protagonist of the technological and bureaucratic development has not been able to dispel many serious doubts and concerns about the real impact of new technologies in our lifes. It is true that by means of social networks internet allows consumers to become information providers. It cannot be denied that internet offers a new social space which opens some greater possibilities for participation in some decisions. It is also true, last but not least, that in some cases that participation has produced positive consequences and obvious successes (Arab spring, 15 May, etc.). But that does not necessarily mean that the net is to be considered a democratic space. There does not exist a public and democratic power in internet. On the contrary, the new social space is controlled and dominated by powerful private entities which scape from democratic control. We are accordingly far away from reaching the category of citizens in that space.


Author(s):  
István Mezgár

Thanks to rapidly developing information and communication technologies, the complexity of networked organizations has become very high, so the representation of their structure and the description of their operation and their control need new technologies, new approaches. The availability of individuals independently from location and time means mobility, and that is an important attribute of today’s society. This mobility can be achieved by using different types of mobile wireless networks as wireless wide area networks (WWANs, e.g., GSM, GPRS, and UMTS), wireless local area networks (WLANs, e.g., WiFi 802.11a-g), and wireless personal area (or pico) network (WPAN, e.g., Bluetooth, IrDA2). In spite of the application of high-tech approaches, tools, and methodologies, there is a common point in all of the organizations: human beings make most of the important decisions, and they operate and use systems. Experience shows that improper application of this human factor can make operation very inefficient even in the case of the technically most advanced systems. The lowest level of connection among systems is made through protocols; the highest contact level is among decision makers, users namely among human beings. A very important element of this human contact is trust. In a networked organization, trust is the atmosphere, the medium in which actors are moving (Castelfranchi & Tan, 2001). Only trust can bridge cultural, geographical, and organizational distances of team members (and even of firms) from turning to unmanageable psychological distances. Trust is the base of cooperation, the normal behavior of the human being in the society. The ability of enterprises to form networked systems depends on the existing level of trust in the society and on the capital of society (Fukuyama, 1995). As the rate of cooperation is increasing in all fields of life, the importance of trust is evolving even faster. Lack of trustworthy security services is a major obstacle to the use of information systems in private, in business (B2B), as well as in public services. Trust is intimately linked to consumers’ rights, like security, identification, authentication, privacy, and confidentiality. Secure identification, authentication of the users, and communication security are main problems in networked systems. Information management (IM) is a fuzzy term covering the various stages of information processing from production to storage and retrieval to dissemination towards the better working of an organization, where information can be from internal and external sources and in any format. The role of trust in these processes is definitive as human-to-human and human-to-system communication forms the base of information management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gladys Gnana Kiruba B. ◽  
Debi Prasanna Acharjya

The growth of new technologies and ambient intelligence is an emerging technology that enhances our life by adding sensors and networks. Ambient technology is a revolution on smart devices that makes human life efficient. Smartwatches are one that provides flexibility in people's daily lives by adopting sensing and reasoning of their activities and the surrounding environment. Analyzing a customer's behaviour towards smartwatches that use ambient intelligence is a critical issue. This article analyses the behavioural intention of customer satisfaction towards smartwatch users in an ambient environment with the help of structured equation modeling using partial least squares and fuzzy rough sets. The structural equation modeling is used to check the reliability and validity of the constructs whereas a fuzzy rough set is used for rule generation and studying customer satisfaction. This enhances the personalization of human beings with the assistance of human-computer interaction capabilities of ambient intelligence.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-34
Author(s):  
Halim Sayoud

The term biometrics is derived from the Greek words: bio (life) and metrics (to measure). “Biometric technologies” are defined as automated methods of verifying or recognizing the identity of a living person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. Several techniques and features were used over time to recognize human beings several years before the birth of Christ. Today, this research field has become very employed in many applications such as security applications, multimedia applications and banking applications. Also, many methods have been developed to strengthen the biometric accuracy and reduce the imposture errors by using several features such as face, speech, iris, finger vein, etc. From a security purpose and economic point of view, biometrics has brought a great benefit and has become an important tool for governments and institutions. However, citizens are expressing their thorough worry, which is due to the freedom limitations and loss of privacy. This paper briefly presents some new technologies that have recently been proposed in biometrics with their levels of reliability, and discusses the different social and ethic problems that may result from the abusive use of these technologies.


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