You could say that about almost any technology, yet we also have to face the reality that every technology has social implications. Take the Internet. A lot of people who were around in the 1990's thought it was a great thing at the time. Perhaps it wouldn't be the great equalizer, but it would reduce the barriers to access information. Consider the Internet today. It is undoubtedly better at reducing the barriers to access information, yet I doubt that many people have such an optimistic view of the technology. We discovered that it is just as good, perhaps even better, at distributing junk information. We discovered that the information becomes consolidated in a limited number of hands. The technology itself hasn't fundamentally changed. Even the use of the technology hasn't fundamentally changed. It simply took time for the distributed to become consolidated. It was almost certainly a given that this would happen as wealth facilitates growth and growth attracts people who wish to exploit it for wealth.
Does that mean the world is worse off because of the Internet? Probably not. Even if it was, I'm not sure I would want to give it up because I remember the hurdles I faced before the Internet was nearly universal. That said, I do believe we should be conscious about how we use it and skeptical of those who present hyper-optimistic views of new technologies. While some may be genuine in their visions, we also have to factor in those who wish the exploit it for their own benefit and to the expense of others.
Does that mean the world is worse off because of the Internet? Probably not. Even if it was, I'm not sure I would want to give it up because I remember the hurdles I faced before the Internet was nearly universal. That said, I do believe we should be conscious about how we use it and skeptical of those who present hyper-optimistic views of new technologies. While some may be genuine in their visions, we also have to factor in those who wish the exploit it for their own benefit and to the expense of others.