Is there really a need for more advanced technologies?

Is there really a need for more advanced technologies?

When I usually ponder this kind of question, what frightens me is that technological development might be advancing too fast than what the economy and social welfare of any nation could cope with.

For instance is the yellow jackets protests (Mouvement des gilets jaunes) we witnessed in France; not to mention the slow development of less economically developed countries (LEDCs) such as Thailand.

The worst outcome of such speeds is that a whole load more of people with menial jobs would fall into poverty, and this inevitably leads to the increased number of unjust deaths due to poverty. It is a daunting way of life, and it is unfortunate that very little countries have decent social and political environments for the population and economy to thrive in.

So, is technological advancement necessary? In this day and age, I would argue that it is not — outside of medical research.

Is this anything new though. When the spinning jenny came along peasants who had for years been handing down the family loom down to their children to spin cotton and weave cloth were suddenly forced out of business because of mechanisation at what was the start of the industrial revolution. We are at the start of the digital and information revolution. New technology. Big societal upheaval. Regulation. Normality prevails. And we talk about the ever increasing pace of technology, but if you think about it, nothing massively knew has come into our existence for 10 years or so since the introduction of smart phones and social media and even they are only an evolution of previous ideas.