The Dark Side of Innovation

Coming to terms with the cost we face...

As I’ve been sharing on these pages the wonders and magic of technology I’ve left out a key piece of the story. And you, Dear Reader, deserve better. 

Technology (a broad word meaning the tools humans create to manipulate the environment for benefit) has consumed our world. It shows up as the smartphones we carry with us wherever we go and the mini-moments of panic if we lose this precious hunk of metal. 

We see the obsession in the permeation of tech into our culture. We idolize tech billionaires and put our hopes and dreams for the salvation of our species in their hands. Hello, Bill Gates and your many projects to “save” humanity. And hi to you Elon and your magnificent plan to send humans to Mars to back up human consciousness. 

But what feels missing from the newsletters I’ve published is a pause, a step back to ask, but why? Are we, the people, supporting technology that’s going to empower the human species to flourish? 

Are we putting our hopes and dreams into the idea that technology will save us from ourselves? And by believing we need technology to save us are we inadvertently saying that the human species is flawed and must outsource our salvation to the new gods of silicon? 

I’ve been guilty of putting technology on a pedestal on these pages and sharing about these amazing innovations without the full context. I’ve shared about additive manufacturing and synthetic biology being curve-bending and non-linear solutions to our impact on the environment, the democratization of value through cryptocurrencies and evolved monetary policy, the billionaire’s vision of space, and more. 

These are all real technologies that have a real impact on our world. But, what I left out was the context of how these innovations affect the social structure of our world. At our core, we (humans) are social animals. And, we have a social relationship with technology. Technology is one of the strongest forces we’ve encountered and it has a real impact on our culture, connections, and social structure. 

Now, I’m not saying that technology serves no purpose and cannot be a force for good… it is. We feed more people, create safer communities, and live healthier lives because of the innovations in technology. 

But, because the use case for so many technologies is so cut and dry and they sometimes appear to be magic we tend to not stop and ask what the ripple effects of this technology could be on society. Do we create more problems with this technology than solutions? 

For example, how does creating an army of robot chefs, driverless taxis, and automated delivery drones affect our culture? 

Well one, we’re going to have one of the most massive shifts in the labor force in 100 years. Millions of people currently working will have their jobs replaced. 

3 million people drive for Uber… over the next 10 years there’s a high probability that number goes to zero with the proliferation of autonomous vehicles. 

Some estimates go so far as to say 85 million jobs will get replaced by 2025. That list is going to include jobs that we even felt are “future proof” such as creative jobs or copywriters.

So, what’s going to happen to the millions of people that are going to get replaced by robots? How can we ensure that this transition is a net benefit to the human race, which, by my definition, means it increases the overall capacity for purpose, creativity, and connection?

In the short term, I imagine we’re going to have millions of people that get pissed off and angry. They’re going to say the system has failed them. America was meant to be the land of opportunity. Hard work is rewarded here. Anyone can get ahead with hard work and the right attitude. What the heck happened? 

And… they’re going to look for someone to blame. This is a reality of the current path we’re on. While technology might save our planet, will it destroy our culture? 

I don’t think so, but it will cause major changes and hurdles that we’ll all face over the next ten years and more. 

One thing I’ve continued to repeat on these pages is that technology creates fewer winners who will win bigger. Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and all the billionaires who own more wealth than the bottom half the population of the globe are winning bigger. 

And, this phenomenon is not going to slow down. It’s going to accelerate. 

The factories of the future will have 5% as many laborers, the people on the payroll creating the product, while keeping the same number of owners. Less employees means less overhead which means more profits for the owners. 

This is technological deflation at work. Getting more for less. And, that’s going to exacerbate an already fragile world with growing wealth disparity. 

But, these pages will never be doom porn. Where we’re on the cusp of the next apocalypse. But in avoiding that I was creating its opposite, optimist porn. The technology gods will save us all. 

In reality we’re somewhere in between. Technology is what separates humans from the majority of other animals. It’s what allows us to manipulate our world and create all of the magnificent advances of modern life. But, it comes with costs. That’s the natural order and balance of life. 

What all of this means for this page and my work with this newsletter means I’m going to commit more to covering the full range of the impacts of technology, and, I hope, the innovative solutions that we, the human species, come up with along the way. 

Because my core belief is that any obstacle can be overcome by the creativity, ingenuity, and grit that we all hold.