I think about this a lot. Definitely worth keeping in mind how bad we are at predicting the future with all of this stuff. And people are potentially too pessimistic about the future in general these days.
But I think some of the reason for that anxiety is that the stakes seem to be higher than they've ever been, precisely because of all this tech-enabled connectivity, right? Like, we actually have to worry now about the malevolent use of technology by someone 10,000 miles away, which has not really been the case for most of human history. Until pretty recently, most of the downsides of technology were relatively localized. Now, pretty much every single system we depend on for basic survival is connected to and dependent on the continued smooth operation of numerous other highly complicated global systems.
I don't know if this is making any sense. I've been thinking about writing an essay about it, as soon as I finish the 15 other unrelated drafts I'm working on.
(Also you said "cars" twice in the paragraph under the image)
Yep, I get that! Technology of this scale and power can be frightening—but having acknowledged that, I think the key question becomes: What do we do about it? Send me the essay when you write it!
(And thanks for the heads-up on the typo—updated!)
I think about this a lot. Definitely worth keeping in mind how bad we are at predicting the future with all of this stuff. And people are potentially too pessimistic about the future in general these days.
But I think some of the reason for that anxiety is that the stakes seem to be higher than they've ever been, precisely because of all this tech-enabled connectivity, right? Like, we actually have to worry now about the malevolent use of technology by someone 10,000 miles away, which has not really been the case for most of human history. Until pretty recently, most of the downsides of technology were relatively localized. Now, pretty much every single system we depend on for basic survival is connected to and dependent on the continued smooth operation of numerous other highly complicated global systems.
I don't know if this is making any sense. I've been thinking about writing an essay about it, as soon as I finish the 15 other unrelated drafts I'm working on.
(Also you said "cars" twice in the paragraph under the image)
Yep, I get that! Technology of this scale and power can be frightening—but having acknowledged that, I think the key question becomes: What do we do about it? Send me the essay when you write it!
(And thanks for the heads-up on the typo—updated!)