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We cured polio, eradicated smallpox, invented the television, the computer, got one into every home, brought about jet travel, radar, used said radar to predict

We cured polio, eradicated smallpox, invented the television, the computer, got one into every home, brought about jet travel, radar, used said radar to predict weather and heat food, stopped AIDS, cured more than one cancer, invented the laser, used it to communicate faster than anyone could have imagined and to entertain cats. We're not even started. Why, just last week my computer learned English well enough to paint whatever I could ask it to. We literally have Star Trek universal translators now and they're under $100.

giraffe_lady 4y ago
We also let a series of diseases go from "essentially eradicated" to "resurgent threat." Used mass media to foment genocide, civil unrest, and terrorism. Jet travel benefits very few people overall but is a significant contributor to climate change, and airports are a major localized source of air, water, and noise pollution concentrated on the populations that benefit least from air travel. We predict the weather but refuse to act on that knowledge to prevent wide-scale misery and death. These things are all amazing technological accomplishments but it's not actually clear yet if most of them are overall improvements for the quality of life of most people, if you extend your "we" out to the entire world rather than just the most affluent quartile of the wealthiest nations. I'm not trying to completely dismiss these things either, or say they don't or can't ever have positive effects. But just because they're impressive accomplishments doesn't mean they represent progress for the species per se.
- Octabrain 4y ago
  We humans are quite imperfect creatures. To expect a perfect outcome from humanity it's naive at best. I am not saying that your points are incorrect nor I disagree. I just want to state that, considering past history, we should be really grateful and not take things for granted.

giraffe_lady 4y ago

We also let a series of diseases go from "essentially eradicated" to "resurgent threat." Used mass media to foment genocide, civil unrest, and terrorism. Jet travel benefits very few people overall but is a significant contributor to climate change, and airports are a major localized source of air, water, and noise pollution concentrated on the populations that benefit least from air travel. We predict the weather but refuse to act on that knowledge to prevent wide-scale misery and death. These things are all amazing technological accomplishments but it's not actually clear yet if most of them are overall improvements for the quality of life of most people, if you extend your "we" out to the entire world rather than just the most affluent quartile of the wealthiest nations. I'm not trying to completely dismiss these things either, or say they don't or can't ever have positive effects. But just because they're impressive accomplishments doesn't mean they represent progress for the species per se.

Octabrain 4y ago
We humans are quite imperfect creatures. To expect a perfect outcome from humanity it's naive at best. I am not saying that your points are incorrect nor I disagree. I just want to state that, considering past history, we should be really grateful and not take things for granted.