Progress Isn’t Always Good

I’m not anti-technology. But I also refuse to believe progress is always good. Especially if the new offering requires me to spend more time or be more dependent on the artificial than God.

Which brings us to the fourth lie. (You can read about the first three lies of the artificial here: The Artificial Isn’t Real, The Machine Isn’t Neutral, and Concerned? Then You’re the Problem)

Lie 4: Progress Is Always Good

The underlying assumption we never slow down to question is that progress is always positive. Sure, there’s the remote possibility of some bad actors using any advance for nefarious purposes. So let’s put safeguards in place...as we continue accelerating the timetable for plugging everyone and everything deeper into the matrix.

But that’s not enough. We miss what’s at stake when we place today’s rise of the artificial in the same category as past technological advances in history—like the shift from trains to planes or vinyl albums to digital music. It’s simply progress. No big deal.

Screens are just one example of what I’m talking about. Specifically the one in our hands we call a phone but that is rarely used as a phone. It’s primarily a distraction device we’ve become wholly addicted to. We spend more time staring at the screen and scrolling than we do looking into the eyes of those we work and live with. It’s so normal and expected now, we barely notice. But does anyone honestly think it’s healthy?

Again, I’m not anti-technology, but I am against blindly going down the path of least resistance. Especially when that path continues to intentionally lead us further away from all that is real.

Want More?
Order your copy of Risk the Real