The Sceptical Optimist: Why Technology Isn't the Answer to Everything

In this treatise, Agar (philosophy, Victoria Univ.; Truly Human Enhancement) contends that technology should not be perceived as a cure-all for a range of human problems including poverty, sickness, and climate change. In taking this position, the author pushes back against a group whom he identifies as radical optimists—those who have suggested that technology will improve at an exponential rate, causing an ever-increasing state of human well-being. The author rejects this argument, noting that technology produces diminishing returns in human happiness and results in unforeseen opportunity costs. In lieu of rapid technological advancement, Agar suggests a cooperative model of technological experimentation, in which societies would work together to develop safe forms of technologies such as clean nuclear power or harmless genetically modified produce. Curiously, while Agar critiques the radical optimists for failing to factor human nature into their arguments, he also takes a rather utopian stance on technological development that some might perceive as overly optimistic. However, as the author notes, he proposes a middle way between Luddism and radical optimism, and a touch of the utopian may be well suited to such a compromise.