INTRODUCTION

The idea of progress can be defined as an improvement, a development or a change. It can be technical, scientific or a social advance which contributes to make the world a better place.

The Artificial Intelligence and genetic progress are considered as major advances for human kind. However, we can wonder if the scientific progress is always ethic.

First, I will tackle to the advantages and disadvantages of the AI.

Next, I will deal with the genetic progress which is only reserved for the American upper class.

Finally, I will talk about the medical cares in the USA and the case of women in particular.

 

  1. AI:

Nowadays, the AI is visible everywhere. It takes an important part in our daily life. The closest one is included in our sophisticated smartphones. SIRI created by Apple represents an obvious example. SIRI can help you find whatever you like: book references, addresses, universities and so on. You only need to ask a question and it can answer as fast as possible.

The Artificial Intelligence is also used in medicine for surgery. Smart Robots can achieve serious complicated brain or heart interventions and thus save the patients.

In class we studied an interview of Professor Stephen Hawking. A very smart Physician of British origin who suffered from a rare form of sclerosis. Unfortunately, Hawking became disabled and paralyzed on a wheelchair unable to speak and move. He used to speak and work thanks to a sophisticated computer. Despite the AI allowed him to achieve important works for the scientific community, he considered it as a potential danger for the humanity. The AI consists in creating machines with human characteristics such as speaking, walking, calculating, elaborating strategies and writing. However, the AI will never be able to have human feelings like pain, awareness or love.

Nevertheless, Pr Hawking was convinced that one day the machines could take the control and could represent a danger for the humans. According to him the machines could become more intelligent than the humans. If we consider Hawking’s opinion, we could indeed think that the AI has also a negative impact especially in economy. Many employees lost their jobs in some factories because they were replaced by smart robots. The robots constitute a cheap workforce that will never be sick or on strike. Therefore, the AI can be dangerous for the social progress. We must be careful and use it for good purposes.

 

  1. The genetic engineering:

The technical progress is very important for the advance of a society. The other improvement nowadays is the genetic engineering. This new engineering consists in designing the baby of your dream. Such a science is allowed in the USA where the first lab opened in California state. Indeed, in this laboratory the parents, who can afford it, choose the physical traits of their future baby. I mean the eye, hair and skin color. They can also avoid the genetic diseases like obesity, diabetes, cancers and so on. Such a technology has created a large controversy over the world. You can also choose the gender of the baby. In class we saw an interview of American parents who decided to use such a technology to have a baby girl after three boys. This choice can be considered as a whim because their other sons are healthy. Actually, some parents are afraid of diseases and they would like a healthy baby but it is not a good reason enough to use such a technology. In the USA they can make your dream come true but this method isn’t ethic.

 

Such a technology is very expensive and only reserved for very rich couples. Furthermore, you can’t design your baby as if you designed a car. In such a technology the baby is dehumanized and reduced to a simple object like a dress or a house… This technology is strictly forbidden in France for many reasons … First it is not ethic and secondly it reminds us of the Nazi regime and Eugenism developed by Hitler. At that time, he compelled young blond tall German couples to make babies in hidden medical institutes. These babies were regarded as the superior race: tall, blond- haired and blue-eyed. The genetic engineering could be used to eradicate diseases but we can’t neglect serious derives like racism.

  1. American women and the medical cares:

In the USA, there are many universities and laboratories very advanced and sophisticated about the new technologies but in parallel two American women out of three can’t afford medical cares especially for the right of abortion or gynecological controls.

In many states like Alabama or Memphis women live far from a clinic and can’t pay a surgical intervention. They are confronted to expensive medical cares and extremist protestant groups who reject the abortion right and the contraception. Many female patients are regularly victim of violent assaults at the exit of  clinics. Even rich women can’t have access to a clinic because they live in remote areas or they are afraid of their conservative families. Nowadays, there is a big social fight in the USA between the pro life and the pro choice. The pro life consider abortion as a murder even if the law permits the end of a pregnancy at 12 weeks maximum whereas the pro choice supports the right of abortion and defend the women’s rights.

President Barack Obama was pro choice and wanted to finance free planning parenthood and a free contraception for the under 18.

Donald Trump has banned the Obama Care and the planning parenthood. Donald Trump is a pro life and  religious conservative. Many religious conservative protestant churches supported his election. In class we saw an interview in which he clearly claims he is pro life but he could allow abortion only for three situations: incest, rape and to save the mother’ s life. He denies the right for a woman to choose her life but he encourages genetic engineering for rich couples because these labs are strong lobbies that can finance political campaigns.

 

As a conclusion...