When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane you also invent the plane crash; and when you invent electricity, you invent electrocution...Every technology carries its own negativity, which is invented at the same time as technical progress.
Interpretation
Technological advancements come with inherent risks and potential negative consequences.
This quote by Paul Virilio highlights the dual nature of technological progress, suggesting that each innovation not only brings benefits but also its own set of dangers. As we create new technologies that improve our lives, we simultaneously introduce risks, such as accidents and disasters, that arise from their use. This serves as a cautionary reminder of the darker side of progress and the responsibility that comes with invention.
In practice
In a discussion about the risks of social media, one might say, 'Remember, when you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck.'
The field of vision is comparable, for me, to the terrain of an archaeological dig. To see is to be on guard, to wait for what emerges from the background, without any name, without any particular interest: what was silent will speak, what is closed will open and will take on a voice.
Even before smart phones and the Internet, we had many ways to distract our selves. Now that's compounded by a factor of trillions.
Technology is rooted in the past. It dominates the present and tends into the future. It is a real historical movement - one of the great movements which shape and represent their epoch.
When you go to Japan, there is such a talent shortage that the debate about AI taking jobs is almost non-existent. The debate is, how can we automate this so we can get all the work done?
We're all vulnerable to social approval. The need to belong, to be approved or appreciated by our peers is among the highest human motivations. But now our social approval is in the hands of tech companies.
If I had time and a hammer, I'd track down every bootleg copy and smash it.
We have met the Devil of Information Overload and his impish underlings, the computer virus, the busy signal, the dead link, and the PowerPoint presentation.
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