I remember feeling good about nanotechnology after reading Enginesof Creation.
Here's an example of Bill Joy reading about nanotechnology and having positive feelings.
Why are people so pro-technology? Have we evolved this way over 10,000 years? Are there too many technologies with bad effects?
“...it can be very useful for coming up with ideas out of thin air, essentially. All you need is a little bit of seed text, maybe some notes on a story you've been thinking about or random bits of inspiration and you can hit a button that gives you nearly infinite story ideas.”- Eugenia Triantafyllou
Eugenia Triantafyllou is talking about crutches for creativity and inspiration, but seems to miss the value of collecting interesting tidbits along the road of life that one can use later. Instead, the emphasis here becomes one of relying on an artificial intelligence doing it for you at the "hit of a button". If this is the case, then why not just let the artificial intelligence do all the work for you?
This is the area where the cultural loss of mnemonics used in orality or even the simple commonplace book will make us easier prey for (over-)reliance on technology.
Is serendipity really serendipity if it's programmed for you?
We don't need the threat of repo men to keep you paying your car note – miss a Tesla payment and your car will phone home and lock its doors. When the tow arrives, it will flash its lights, honk its horn and back out of its parking space for repossession.
The technology in advanced cars like the Tesla can be used for repossessing them. Is this an intended or unintended consequence?
Once knowledge disappears into code, how do we retrieve it?
A fantastic piece of writing.