Question

Do technological advancements cause more harm than good ?

Answer 1

I don’t consider myself a Luddite, frightened by or put off by technological advancement. However, the marketplace is a two-way street, with both buyers and sellers determining the directions in which economies and societies move.

Technology, almost by definition, moves us away from manual crafts and labor toward assembly line processing and beyond. Our communication and our entertainments are enhanced by speed, ease and accessibility. Our shopping, communication and our transportation are faster and require less time and personal effort. We are living longer. But, are we living better?

Entrepreneurs spot trends and exploit them. You want Internet, hmmm, let me find a way to tap into this immediate communication exchange and fountain of endless data and fins ways to charge you per click. Let me learn more about you, personally, so I can learn all you shopping habits and desires, then peddle the to others who may have something that. Let me slap ads all over your monitor screen, when what you touch on your key pad has actually demanded that you go somewhere else.

In pharmaceuticals, let me dun you with my miraculous healing powers, while I then string along a chain of possible side effects that would frighten a rabid dog.

Technology that lulls us into zombie-like passivity is a danger. Technology that enhances learning, quality of life, personal security and safety, and technology that respects a certain code of human values are a blessing.

Technology that arrogantly suggests the obsolescence of people is a disaster. I know that I exaggerate with what follows, but please - just read the phrase, literally: DRIVERLESS CAR.