Frequently in debates about how technology affects are lives, the following question is raised: does technology improve life?
In my mind, this is the wrong question, for several reasons. First and foremost, although the ways in which technology affects us can be discussed in some subtlety regarding this question, it basically invites a binary conclusion. Either yes, or no.
Secondly, it lumps all of technology together and makes many believe that if technology improves our lives in some way, we must accept all of it to maintain existing improvements and introduce new ones. This point is especially important because very few advancements of modern technology really contribute to improving life for the great many.
Indeed, if you actually take stock of all the items that most people need to really benefit from an improvement, then the number of items is relatively little compared to all technological improvements. Some of those items are quite crucial for some, such as medical treatments, which is why if you ask whether technology makes things better, people will be fearful and react on the safe side and say, “yes”.
The truth is, the question we should be asking is, how can we reduce our technological development without making life much worse for many? And in this regard, we could certainly give up a lot. The latest computers, phones, cars, could be discarded. Certainly everything that’s really helpful with a computer could be done on technology that does not advance so quickly. We could also give up most scientific research, AI, and disposable products.
The amount of technology that we actually need to make life comfortable for most people is minuscule compared to the amount we are developing today, and most of that should be discarded. But as long as technology is seen as a single entity that must advance according to the free market if it should advance at all, then it most people will continue to support it blindly as if giving up most of it means giving up all of it.