Nick Bostrom, a Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford, contemplates whether technological innovation has left modern society on the verge of a similar kind of vulnerability—a situation in which the fate of everyone could hinge on a single bad break or bad actor. The context of his comments is mankind’s tendency to keep pushing for new innovations almost without regard for the consequences. Scientists and technologists rarely cross a formal threshold where they ask themselves, Should this thing be invented? If it can be invented, it will be. Curiosity and ambition and competitiveness
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