CIENCE never solves a problem with-out creating ten more, says Irish play-wright George Bernard Shaw. Indeed,

science can pose serious threats on the human race, even as it solves some of our problems. Man has been blessed with the hunger to dis-cover, and we began to name this behavior sci-ence. In recent years, we see articles criticizing the development in various areas of science and technology and the threats they potentially bring bio-printing, driverless cars, artificial intelligence, in-vitro fertilization. I agree that science can be a threat to humanity. Despite the benefits these developments may bring, many environmental or ethical issues still arise di-rectly or indirectly with none or hardly any an-swers today, which may harm humanity in the long-term.

We see many countries today making use of nu-clear power in the name of either defense or a source of alternative energy. The superpowers of the world develop nuclear weapons, and other nations such as the Democratic Peoples Repub-lic of Korea has followed suit. Many countries such as Japan have been making use of nuclear power in order to generate large amounts of electricity for its people. Despite the benefits these may bring, nuclear power has also gener-ated many other problems. In 1945, the United States of America dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 129000 people. In 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was severely dam-aged by a tsunami near Sendai, releasing harm-ful radioactive chemicals into the surrounding seas, polluting the environment. These are just some of the well-known threats science and technology brought us.

With more advanced developments in genetic engineering, we see more ethical issues concern-ing whether we should play god and decide what genes we or our ospring should possess. We can now screen embryos before implantation and modifying their genes, opening the door to the world of designer babies. This seems very dehumanizing despite how healthy or well-modified the baby is. More questions arise in the dawn of bio-printing. Should we consider re-placing our bones with artificial ones so that they could be stronger? Or should we replace our lungs with prosthetic ones so that they could take in more oxygen? If we were to continue ex-perimenting with genetics, at this rate, not only are we playing god, but dehumanizing our own species, therefore indirectly threatening the sur-vival of humanity.

Secondly, nuclear power developed by science and technology brings environmental problems that may bring health or life threats to us. As mentioned earlier, having nuclear weapons is becoming more widespread, and that the DPRK is well-known for spending a lot of resources on nuclear weapons. These could potentially de-stroy an entire continent o the surface of the Earth. Not only will this kill millions of people, it may also potentially wipe out the human race, hence threatening the survival of humanity.

Lastly, we see many developments in robotic engineering recently, which poses many moral issues which may threaten humanity. Imagine terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria making use of robotic fighters to cause the mass murder of people. This would inevitably threaten the lives of many. Many writers have also expressed concern over the de-velopment of robotic engineering, claiming that if artificial intelligence continues to advance, it

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Science is a threat to hu-manity. Do you agree?

would cause extinction to the human race. Given that computers can calculate and organize information faster than humans, by giving them intelligence, we render ourselves inferior to them. In the long-run, humans may have to look up to robots, who are more superior and more capable in making decisions. Robots may also want to rule the world, and exterminating the human race. Hence, this threatens the survival of humanity in the long-run.

In conclusion, science and technology may bring us many benefits, but at the same time it creates other questions regarding ethical and environmental issues which humans are unable to answer. If we continue with this, more prob-lems would arise, which may be more threaten-ing this time, and the situation would be more serious, given that it would threaten our sur-vival, just like in the case of artificial intelli-gence. Hence, I feel that science is a threat to humanity.

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