> People are hardwired to think that doom awaits us ... I didn't say that doom awaits us all. But responses to my half complete comment do say something about

> People are hardwired to think that doom awaits us ... I didn't say that doom awaits us all. But responses to my half complete comment do say something about what is likely, or what average people are afraid about. If we are to believe that we often meet our destiny on the road taken to avoid it, these refutations are a sincere indicator of the potential impact. Let me come to what @rayiner said on the comment above yours. From parent > If anything, technology makes the kind of governments presented in Brave New World or 1984 even less feasible, because with as destructive technology advances, it takes a much smaller fraction of people within the government to topple the whole system. Absolutely! Smaller fraction of people will have higher power to execute, topple or rule. So it works both ways. I do have some apprehensions about this new level of operation. New tech bases itself on deep understanding and application of human psychology, magnifies its wrath on the perpetrated empowers the perpetrator even more. But given any tech product for every x% of legitimate and intended use, there is y% of illegitimate and unintended use. For example, for each licensed gun that protects somebody in the US, there are a few versions of that same innovation that kill hundreds of people elsewhere. I am not sure if y > x, but could be. True that a gun is not responsible for the crime - it is the person vying to kill who is - but the gun definitely is a quicker and surer "solution" for people with that intent. It's harder to kill a man with a knife or bare hands, so a killer would prefer a gun. IMO, petty violence will find a new complex and probably dreadful micro form with advent of weapons having more sci-fi. How this will impact Governments of future, some with money and even more dreadful resources, some with lesser money and more nastier leadership is yet to be seen.