If you want to stop a train, don’t walk out in front of it. It is, of course, obvious that it will simply run you over, yet this is an accurate depiction of technology resistance.
Why Technology Should Be Nourished Not Resisted
Technology and innovation are like forces of nature. It is human ingenuity applied to solve problems. That is why I love innovation. It is progress, it is moving towards a better future. It is better utilization of resources. It is smarter ways of communication. It is the foundation on which our societies are built.
We are never going to stop innovating because we continue to face new problems. Any time we solve a problem it is because we have found a smarter method to deal with it.
When it is argued that we should limit our use of resources, it is implied that we should solve problems by restraining ourselves.
This is and will always be a makeshift solution because the demands on our resources will only continue to grow.
Our societies today could not function if we did not have the technologies and processes in place to sustain it. This includes the extraction of resources, manufacturing, communication, infrastructure, life science technologies, etc. The list is endless, and the solution is not to restrain ourselves.
We cannot go back to earlier ways of doing things, nor should we strive to. The world is better today than it has ever been in the history of mankind.
The only solution is to encourage innovation and development of new technologies that can help us sustain our ways of living.
Why Technology Resistance Is Futile Yet Conveys an Important Point
When I criticize people who are technology resistant, it is not in order to say that they are wrong. It is to say that their intentions are good, but their method is ineffective.
Technology can be used for good and bad. Genetic modification can be used to cause environmental disasters, or it can be used to provide more nutritious and higher quantities of food. The problem is not the technology itself, but rather the intentions behind the technology.
The intention of resisting technology or limiting resources is to solve real and pressing societal issues. It is obvious that the more people we become, the more intense our strain on our surroundings is.
What we need is to nourish the development of technologies that solve societies most important issues.
This happens only when the incentives are aligned herewith and facilitate it.
In my opinion, that means we should not be driven by financial metrics in and off themselves. They are merely tools to help us build sustainable solutions. We should be driven by solving important problems that create a better world.
It is up to yourself to define what problems are important, and what is meant by a better world. All I suggest is that we do not view technology as an antagonist in our quest to achieve betterment, but as the indispensable partner we need to make progress.