Techno-pessimism

Extracted Attributes

• Core Belief

  The impact/probability distribution of technology is unfavorable, leading to disruption and unintended consequences.

• Ideology Status

  Not a clearly defined ideology; individuals may be hesitant to embrace the label.

• Related Viewpoint

  Techno-realism

• Associated Concern

  AI Copyright implications

• Opposing Viewpoint

  Techno-optimism

• Societal Perception

  Less prevalent than techno-optimism and often caricatured.

• Focus (Climate Change)

  Prioritizes societal and behavioral change over technology-based solutions.

• Associated Entity (AI Policy)

  European Union

• Associated Policy Stance (AI)

  Heavy AI Regulation

Timeline

• Publication of Marc Andreessen's 'Techno-Optimist Manifesto', a key text for the opposing techno-optimist viewpoint. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2023

• JD Vance's AI Speech at the AI Action Summit in Paris lauded techno-optimism and positioned the U.S. against the European Union's perceived techno-pessimism and preference for heavy AI regulation. (Source: Related Documents, Web Search)

  2023-11-01

Techno-Optimist Manifesto

The "Techno-Optimist Manifesto" is a 2023 self-published essay by venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. The essay argues that many significant problems of humanity have been solved with the development of technology, particularly technology without any constraints, and that we should do everything possible to accelerate technology development and advancement. Technology, according to Andreessen, is what drives wealth and happiness. The essay is considered a manifesto for effective accelerationism.

Web Search Results

• Theses on Technological Pessimism - LibrarianShipwreck

  As it is not a clearly defined ideology (you can’t really point to a manifesto for this), technological pessimism is a label that many individuals remain hesitant to genuinely embrace. This is not to castigate or ridicule individuals who would rather not call themselves, or what they do, technological pessimism—rather it is to note the simple fact that in cultures where techno-optimism is a belief system that permeates across the public and political spectrum, it isn’t really a surprise that [...] At the most basic level, technological pessimism represents an oppositional stance towards one of the dominant attitudes in many contemporary societies. Insofar as societies pin their future hopes on technological advancement, and often treat technological progress as being synonymous with social progress, technological pessimism functions as an unwelcome retort. [...] Continuing in the same spirit as previous commentary on techno-optimism, what follows is an attempt to consider some of the aspects and implications of technological pessimism. It is an attitude that is far less prevalent than techno-optimism, and one which is generally caricatured by techno-optimists, yet as a parallel and response to techno-optimism it also deserves scrutiny. Technological pessimism is heresy in high-tech societies

• What is Techno-Optimism? | Philosophy & Technology

  the following tentative definition, which could be understood as a more sophisticated version of the improvement account: a techno-optimist is someone who believes that technology’s impact/probability distribution is favourable. An optimist about a particular technology is someone who believes that this particular technology’s impact/probability distribution is favourable. Techno-pessimism is the view that the impact/probability distribution of technology is unfavourable. A pessimist about a [...] => The assessment of the technology does not warrant optimism about this technology. Someone who holds these beliefs is a pessimist about this technology. [...] Like the simple improvement account, the refined improvement account classifies someone as a techno-optimist who is certain that the impact of technology is positive (scenario 1). But scenario 1, involving no risk or uncertainty, is rather atypical. Scenario 2 involves risk, and it is easy to see that the overall impact/probability distribution is still favourable. The most interesting case is scenario 3. It highlights that the refined improvement account can classify someone as a pessimist

• The Impact of Technology: Techno-Optimism vs Techno-Pessimism

  Techno-optimists believe technology leads to progress and solutions, while techno-pessimists see disruption and unintended consequences. As it relates to climate change, techno-optimists prioritize technology-based solutions while techno-pessimists emphasize societal and behavioral change. It is important to find common ground between techno-optimism and techno-pessimism when evaluating the impacts of technology. Has technology improved the human condition or actually made it worse? [...] Let’s look, for instance, at the gridlock that can form in the distance between a techno-optimist perspective and a techno-pessimist perspective. You are probably either a techno-optimist or a techno-pessimist and don’t even know it. Techno-optimism is the view that technology ultimately leads to progress and improvements in human life through new opportunities and novel solutions to existing problems. [...] Techno-pessimists on the other hand would point to the technology of the Industrial Revolution and its core dependency on fossil fuels as the very cause of climate change. They might argue for prioritizing societal, political, and behavioral change such as carbon taxes, cap-and-trade, or degrowth. Techno-pessimists might emphasize the jobs, livelihoods, and communities that have been destroyed by industrialization and will be destroyed by a transition to a renewable energy system.

• Technopessimism Is Bunk | PBS News

  Responding to “technopessimists,” (also the subject of a story in this weekend’s New York Magazine), Mokyr picks up on Wadhwa’s prediction. He too foresees new technologies creating new jobs, the nature of which we cannot yet even imagine. After all, technology’s double-edged sword — that new inventions create new problems, such as labor force disruption — is what constantly pushes us to further innovate. [...] Still others, on the contrary, want to stop technology from going much further because they worry that it will render people redundant, as more and more work is done by machines that can see, hear, read and (in their own fashion) think. What we gained as consumers, viewers, patients and citizens, they fear, we may be about to lose as workers. Technology, while it may have saved the world in the past century, has done what it was supposed to do. Now we need to focus on other things, they say. [...] Politics Arts Nation World Economy Science Health Education Education ## We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! #### Get news alerts from PBS News ##### Turn on desktop notifications? Joel Mokyr Joel Mokyr Leave your feedback # Technopessimism Is Bunk In a 2011 Making Sen$e report, we explored the slowing of innovation with “The Great Stagnation” author Tyler Cowen.

• Techno-optimism: an Analysis, an Evaluation and a Modest Defence

  and have some upper limit of exploitability. If we seek continued growth and expansion, we will inevitably butt up against these upper limits and enter into some period of critical decline or reversal. Thus, there is no reason to be optimistic about the role of technology in human life. On the contrary, there is reason to be pessimistic about it. So much so, in fact, that some proponents of environmental pessimism will argue that irreversible damage has already been done as a result of [...] Specific arguments in favour of techno-optimism can vary in terms of how they flesh out this template but they should follow it. Furthermore, since pessimism is just the opposite of optimism, this template can be used to form arguments in favour of techno-pessimism. [...] movement, references several self-confessed transhumanists expressing pessimism about the present predicament of mankind. For example, the fact that humans currently degrade and die is a source of great sorrow and anxiety for transhumanists. Still, the core belief of transhumanists is that technology can help us to overcome these limitations and ensure that the good does prevail over the bad in the long run.