Why does technology create new problems for each problem it solves? | Mark Buchanan

Technology is tricky. That’s why we need to think more carefully about risks and follow a more cautious approachToday, so-called techno-optimists fill the ranks of Silicon Valley billionaires. They proclaim a bright future for humanity delivered by the rapid pursuit of technological advances.Of course, these techno-optimists are right that technology and science are unarguably among humanity’s greatest assets, and hope for the future. But they go too far, because it is also true that technology always creates new problems even as it solves others – this is also something we’ve learned through science. As a result, naive faith in technology is a recipe for repeatedly achieving a short-term buzz while also incurring long-term costs. Getting the best out of technology requires a more cautious and balanced approach.Mark Buchanan is a physicist and science writer and the author of Ubiquity and Nexus: Small Worlds and the New Science of Networks Continue reading...

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