[tppiotrowski]

Any new technology has some benefits and some drawbacks.

Electric cars have no direct emissions but increase mining operations in certain parts of the world. Or they can be used to plow through a public gathering of people. Or with some rewiring to electrocute someone to death. If you think hard enough, you can find nefarious purposes for almost any household item that's made your life easier.

I think what's important to focus on are the "net" benefits but the outliers feed into our emotional response.

[mikeg8]

I don’t focus on the “net” benefits as mush as I used to, in large part to FB. For the first several years, the “net” benefit of a connected digital world where you can communicate and connect with friends anywhere sounded so fantastic. But it’s become almost consensus that the very real downsides, and this societal consequences, may not have been such a great deal after all.

The reason outliers feed our emotional response is a survival/skin in the game mechanism. Parroting Taleb, all it takes in ruin once and the game stops. It’s not unreasonable to be hyper focused on reducing long tail risks with potentially catastrophic and unknown results. Caution and fear is warranted here.

[tmpz22]

> increase mining operations in certain parts of the world

As in children digging in pitch black mine shafts with their hands. Sometimes referred to as "Artisanal Mines"

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiThCK0-_b0