We have been here before.
Our existential angst around climate, ecology, inequality and now the spectre of artificial intelligence is mirrored in history. As a species, we have a genius for technology, from the earliest compasses and astrolabes, through DaVinci’s war machines, Gutenberg’s printing press, Newcomen’s steam engine, the internal combustion engine, nuclear fission and now digital technology in all its forms. We have an ambivalent relationship with it. A cycle of excitement, then fear, followed by familiarity and complacency, until the next cycle returns us to excitement.
What is changing, though, is the space between disruptions. From having one every few generations, we now have multiple instances within a generation. I have lived through the fear of the nuclear age, the excitement of space travel, the internet, genomics and now AI. Technology is no longer a disrupter; it is a day-to-day fact of life.
I suspect that is a problem for us.…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Outside the Walls to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.