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Comment by spicyusername | Hacker News Reader

It really does feel like the headline for 1970 - 2070 is going to be "Technology desperately tries, but fails, to make the world a better place".

What technology has _really_ improved what it is like to be a human being, around other human beings, and to lead a fulfilling life?

Every "disrupted" industry feels like it just has been replaced by a less-human, more unequal, and more dystopian version of itself over the past 50 years.

Those who can survive tech jobs seem to have turned out to be the least equipped people to properly navigate us towards utopia.

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This is just negativity bias. All the good stuff is forgotten because you don't have to think about it. Go to 1969 and you'll miss a ton of stuff.

I'd say the fact that I can get any book I want and be reading it within 5 minutes without even having to get out of bed is amazing. That tops it for me.

Group video chat. Allowed my family, spread across the world, to all say goodbye to my ailing grandfather before he passed.

And, on a happier note, allows me to stay in touch with dear friends on the other side of the globe. Emails and co. just are not the same.

> It really does feel like the headline for 1970 - 2070 is going to be "Technology desperately tries, but fails, to make the world a better place".

Well, for one, most of the accumulated knowledge of the human race is now available to anyone with a cheap phone (quite common even in the poorest countries), thus making it possible for anyone who cares to spend the time to become educated (not necessarily having a piece of paper that says you're educated -- we still need to work on that -- but actually educated)

That wasn't the case in 1970. Or even 1990. I think that has unquestionably made the world a better place.

Compare middle class life in 1970 to 2022 and consider how the current level of convenience and prosperity in all things from retail services to affordable furniture, etc was enabled by technology. Technology is more than just devices that consumers directly use in their hands.

I would agree that smartphone-enabled social media has had some severe downsides for society in terms of productivity, attention, and opportunity cost, but that is just a subset of tech.

My Roomba is one of the few pieces of technology I own with no downsides to my life. I often think of it as an example of technology done right.

There's been lots of great technological advancements in household stuff. Cordless tools come to mind as another.

I think it's when you put a screen on anything that it starts the downhill slide.

I am trying to replace most electric tools with hand-cranked cordless tools and I am especially excited to find a barely used 40 y/o tool where I know that it will last me easily another 40 years.

Helps me to stay in shape, to have a resilient toolbox and to lower my energy bill. I also dislike the noises of many electric tools.

My battery-powered drill stays with me though, as it is just too helpful.

The bell system 2101A is a fun bit of history too, our original copper phone/internet infrastructure was built with those

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3pp8y/amazon-buys-roomba-co...

Lol, well I’ve got the old dumb one that you just push a button on to clean. His boundaries are set by my little fence pod things that run on D batteries which I have to push the button on too.

What is a fulfilling life? I would say most technology I'm using has given me a more fulfilling life.

Technology is a miraculous thing if you don't spend all day reading and debating internet comments.

The immediate counter example that comes to mind is the MRI but there are countless other advances in medical technology since the 70s.

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