It seems to me that the bulk of energy and resources in the tech industry now go into a specific form of innovation and production. An economic model predicated not on improving quality of life, but rather managing various kinds of diminishment. We're at a loss when it comes to genuine fixes or revolutions. No radical restructuring of political, social and cultural life appears possible, whether it's through a leap forward or a return to traditions. Instead, our impoverished imaginations focus on ameliorative efforts, technological and pharmacological and even ideological palliatives. Continued progress is damage control of the effects of progress. If social decline has reached the point where we lack the emotional and moral energy to put down durable roots and build lasting bonds, then technology can only anesthetize us to growing isolation.
This use of technology not only speaks to social decline, but the diminishing returns of technological innovation in a complex society. More resources, both material and human, will be invested in projects with increasingly smaller payoffs and less significant breakthroughs. A complex system will expend more resources preserving itself than evolving into a new form.
Technological advances do increasingly feel like having another cup of coffee when you’ve already had too many and are just trying vainly to delay the crash.
It seems to me that the bulk of energy and resources in the tech industry now go into a specific form of innovation and production. An economic model predicated not on improving quality of life, but rather managing various kinds of diminishment. We're at a loss when it comes to genuine fixes or revolutions. No radical restructuring of political, social and cultural life appears possible, whether it's through a leap forward or a return to traditions. Instead, our impoverished imaginations focus on ameliorative efforts, technological and pharmacological and even ideological palliatives. Continued progress is damage control of the effects of progress. If social decline has reached the point where we lack the emotional and moral energy to put down durable roots and build lasting bonds, then technology can only anesthetize us to growing isolation.
This use of technology not only speaks to social decline, but the diminishing returns of technological innovation in a complex society. More resources, both material and human, will be invested in projects with increasingly smaller payoffs and less significant breakthroughs. A complex system will expend more resources preserving itself than evolving into a new form.
Technological advances do increasingly feel like having another cup of coffee when you’ve already had too many and are just trying vainly to delay the crash.