That the poor are invisible is one of the most important things about them. They are not simply neglected and forgotten as in the old rhetoric of reform; what is much worse, they are not seen.
Michael HarringtonRead
If there is technological advance without social advance, there is, almost automatically, an increase in human misery.
Interpretation
Technological progress must be accompanied by social progress, or it can lead to increased suffering.
This quote by Michael Harrington emphasizes the importance of balancing technological advancements with social improvements. It suggests that if technology progresses without addressing social issues, such as inequality and poverty, it can exacerbate human suffering rather than alleviate it, leading to a society where only a few benefit from advancements while others are left behind.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of ethics in technology, you could quote Harrington to highlight the need for social considerations.
That the poor are invisible is one of the most important things about them. They are not simply neglected and forgotten as in the old rhetoric of reform; what is much worse, they are not seen.
The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.
Technological discoveries are the spermatozoa of social change.
If we do not learn to eliminate waste and to be more productive and more efficient in the ways we use energy, then we will fall short of this goal [for the Nation to derive 20 percent of all the energy we use from the Sun, by 2000]. But if we use our technological imagination, if we can work together to harness the light of the Sun, the power of the wind, and the strength of rushing streams, then we will succeed.
I find it amusing that I'm on the Internet now, because I've criticized it, but mainly I've criticized it on the basis of, 'What are you going to do with it?'
If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger.
I don't tweet, I don't go on Facebook. I think there's too much information about all of us out there. I'm liking the idea of privacy more and more.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.