Technology, power, and ethics
Technology is growing and accelerating. That allows humans, in particular those who have technology to do more.
This creates power asymmetry because technology requires capital, and capital is unevenly distributed and inconsistently used. This causes an uneven distribution of technology.
And technology is a form of power. If you have better technology you can do more than the person next to you whether that doing is making widgets, building relationships, learning, or fighting wars.
Which I think is not inherently a problem. But when there are large imbalances of power between people, people often act dangerously.
What worries me about technology is not the power asymmetry it creates, per se. Rather, it’s that cultural interest in technology isn’t accompanied by an equal or greater cultural interest in ethics, morality, and the development of human character.
If technology gives us more power, then we need to get better at wielding that powerful technology responsibly. Or else, we will probably treat each other more and more dangerously.
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