I would say
without a doubt yes. At
face value, our
ability to use
technology for good is
like a retard on ritalin - totally
doped. Obviously, this is a
bad thing, although not
incredibly bad - like
Uberfetus said we haven't
extinguished ourselves yet. However we shouldn't just be shrugging it off because we haven't brought about our
extinction yet.
Sometimes a form of the
converse is true - the
pace of technology is dependent on
bad things, such as
war. For instance, the
cold war saw a lot of
developments,
the internet for one finds its origins in
DARPA. Similarly, I'm sure some
rednecks are asking themselves questions like "does the pace of technology outpace our
ability to use it to kill
those damn Soviets?" I for one certainly
hope so.
The startling growth in
technology has in a way ended the old
idea that in
working to gain
power, you have developed the
responsibility to
use it. Not
too long ago things such as
computers and
weapons were fairly
difficult to come by, but today you have
kindergarden children bringing
carbine rifles to school, people creating
nuclear reactors in their
backyards and the like. Due, in part, to technology.
It's also interesting to note in terms of technological
resourcefulness in humankind's that
U-235 is not only used for
energy and
atomic bombs but can then be used as
high accuracy bullets. Chalk another one up for
war.