Why wasn’t I, why weren’t we all, taking it more seriously? Why do we awkwardly sidestep further discussion? Why do some get snarky and accuse people who raise these questions of catastrophizing or of “overlooking the amazing good” of technology? This widespread emotional reaction I was observing is something I have come to call the pessimism-aversion trap: the misguided analysis that arises when you are overwhelmed by a fear of confronting potentially dark realities, and the resulting tendency to look the other way.
