How do we allow scientific innovation without ruining the world?

[VictoriaMcMillen]

Interesting questions posed... We cannot allow things to keep going the way they are going. If we allow things to continue this way it will only get worse such as, mines would deplete all freshwater sources in the world with the help of pipelines and oil companies and the elite will use AI to control every last thing in the world, right down to toenail clippers- just kidding on that last part. I think it is understandable to come up with these doomsday scenarios because they absolutely could happen. Nobody thinks they could be taken into slavery, but it has happened and still happens today. The worst does in fact happen. If we pay no mind and call people crazy than we are feeding to our own ignorance and demise. All things are possible and we must take care and respect all of those possibilities.

Knowing there is no sure fire way to solve this age-old problem, I resort back to some traditional values that included everyone. The Ojibwe (formerly known as Chippewa or Ojibwa) peoples had a clan system based on parental lineage that decided which clan they would belong to. In our modern world we could call these clans occupational fields, and to belong to them I believe we can all understand is simple. Whenever a decision had to be made about switching a camp because of drought or something big needed to change or happen, they would send the item of discussion down the line. Every clan was given ALL of the facts about the situation. Those adults and elders talked to the women and children about ALL of the facts. Discussions were had and understandings were made. Questions posed during these discussions were agreed upon and were sent out to all the clans if needed. Then the decisions were made by all clans, they came together and shared these with each other and came to an agreement. On some occasions it would have to go for another round of deliberation. It may seem far fetched to accomplish, but if you think about it how many government shut downs have we endured in the last 10 years with Congress?

With the technology these days millions and billions of people could be sent surveys and the data collected could be used for a second round of more intensive and targeted questions to help map the possibilities and problem solve them. Not only would developers have their own teams problem solving and projecting issues, but millions of people. Screen all that information correctly and the development team could foresee nearly everything possible. Communication and transparency is key. That way precautions and education can occur to make sure we can still enjoy innovative new products safely and with less negative impacts.

[EricaWilson]

We need to focus on scientific innovation that will help people in the long run. Technology can be a dangerous thing when used by the wrong person. While human limitations place a hold on scientific innovation, ambition and a yearning for power can also cause people to push technology in a direction that will do more harm than good.

[V_bansal2912]

This is a good question but only a theoretical one. The only discussion and outcome it will generate would be philosophical and not practical. The development and innovation is going so fast, that sometimes I feel the world at one point will simply combust in itself. There is no way to stop it.
The people want to know their future and make the life easier, so they can be happy. What I have seen in my personal life is, I am more happy without machines and technology around me. I would rather look into the past and learn, than peak ahead into the future.

[Melchi Asuma]

This is a truly controversial question because we can argue and rightly at that for bothering the sides. On one hand, it is true that technological innovations are ruining the world. That much is true. Ruining the world in terms of ruining infrastructure and even the morphology of the earth itself especially when you talk of global warming and such. On the other hand,these innovations are mostly necessary in order to create a condusive environment for us to live in. In the final notice, it is good to know when you'll die so you can do all you have ever wanted to do. On the other hand, it makes people rampage and destroy stuff. There really isn't a right answer to this question. But as Dr. House would put it, "There is no reason why we can't all be wrong."

[Melchi Asuma]

*for both

[Mr Benj]

There must be guidelines in order to protect our enviroment against the negative consequences of innovations.Some of the world organisations like UN ,WHO and others have been giving some regulations on that. I hope we all play our part of keeping the guidelines.
Yours sincerely,
Bok48.

[ostercl]

Unfortunately, we have seen the rise and downfall of a number of intelligent and innovative societies. The Mayans, the Romans, etc. have all made life changing discoveries and technological advances. Is the influx of technological advances causation or just a correlation of the extinction of these groups? What is the tipping point of a healthy balance of innovation, and a societies downfall? Great question...

[Juliet Esther]

This is difficult, we all know that everything that is good has to come with bad, for technology and scientific inventions, there seems to be more disadvantages than advantages, the problem is scientists do not put a lot of thoughts to the consequences of these inventions. And for us the users, we get too involved in these technology and we forget the problems that come with them. So my answer is we cannot allow scientific inventions without ruining the world.

[ericahs]

I think science fiction has become my favorite genre because it attempts to answer, or at least explore, these questions. At the core of these questions, I think, lies a need to reflect on what makes us human. Our relationship with technology is complicated but not inherently good or bad, in my opinion at least. If we want to move in a, what you call, ethic direction, we need to decide on an end goal. Is just develop as much as possible? Is it to ensure all humans have access to food and shelter? Is it to create a city on Mars? Once we understand our priorities, we can make technology to reflect that.

[cosmographist69]

Firstly, I will agree that AI is almost beyond us...case in point my pc has been through so many incidents (due to my general mistreatment of it) to the point of being inert. Just as I am about to get a new one - through a series of laborious waiting and clicking boxes- it's up and running. It knows my name, It's almost speaking to me...

It is unto itself and able to heal itself. If it had the ability to retaliate and remember its previous inertness, I don't know what kind of relationship we would have then. It truly terrifies me.

As for people...I think we have seen the absolute worst of our subspecies and death is not the motivation for people to do stupid harmful things. Not entirely anyway. It is mostly fear, I think. So when our computers effectively say "NO." when we try and install a defunct pc Commandos game on our pc, through the usage of shady download sites, then we shall see the motivation to commit our all too familiar way of coping with this tenuous emotion firsthand...again.

[AbbyGNelson]

This is a good question but only a theoretical one. The only discussion and outcome it will generate would be philosophical and not practical. The development and innovation is going so fast, that sometimes I feel the world at one point will simply combust in itself. There is no way to stop it.
The people want to know their future and make the life easier, so they can be happy. What I have seen in my personal life is, I am more happy without machines and technology around me. I would rather look into the past and learn, than peak ahead into the future.

Hmm this is definitely a good point, I guess I just find this conversation interesting. Eventually everything will end through entropy, i guess the question is how long we can last before then.

[AbbyGNelson]

I think science fiction has become my favorite genre because it attempts to answer, or at least explore, these questions. At the core of these questions, I think, lies a need to reflect on what makes us human. Our relationship with technology is complicated but not inherently good or bad, in my opinion at least. If we want to move in a, what you call, ethic direction, we need to decide on an end goal. Is just develop as much as possible? Is it to ensure all humans have access to food and shelter? Is it to create a city on Mars? Once we understand our priorities, we can make technology to reflect that.

I completely agree!! I love Sci-Fi and i love asking these questions and diving into the conversation that ensues. Even if there is nothing I can do, it still intrigues me. It's interesting because currently our system won't allow ethical innovations in many ways. Maybe the government can fund some ethical projects, but for the most part it either needs to be military related or have the end goal of making money for its creators. I also don't know if we need an end goal, but I think long term goals like that are great and then you can make a new goal.

[lavellan]

I think that the blame ultimately lies on people. People abuse technology which leads to many of the issues we face today. On the other hand, developers should approach technology development in a reasonable manner. Science for the sake of science can lead to ethics violations.

[berk_sumpter]

I believe that scientific innovation is great and has the potential to save lifes. However, I think without having guidelines in which scientific innovation is introduced to the general population could be dangerous as some scientific innovation may be better off not being shared with the public. I know personally, I would not want to have the scientific innovation of knowing when I would die in my life. However, I think that scientific innovation really comes down to personal preference in whether or not the innovation has more pros then cons in ones life, and whether or not the innovation is safe for the public.

[Delioness]

Technological advancement has remained an inevitable phenomenon in the history of the human society, and will persistently progress as long as this society exists. Since every advantage has its disadvantage, it is solely dependent on the individuals to maximize these technological advancements for their satisfaction as well as the benefit of all mankind.