What is the Destination of Technological Progress?
Definition of Progress – a forward movement toward a destination. I have spent several decades working in and around the Silicon Valley where progress is measured by how many new ideas you can get funded, developed, scaled and sold. The problem is Silicon Valley’s definition of progress is controlled by a relatively small group of investors focused on ROI. I don’t think it’s such a good idea for investors to be the guardians of our progress or its destination. Human progress is more than investor returns. It should include a longer and better-quality life for a larger proportion of people, equality and justice. Many of these qualities, however, don’t attract a lot of VC money. When the destination for progress is good - humanity benefits. We must all remember that the past wasn’t so great, and progress helped us improve it. Analyst Marian L. Tupy described it as follows, “For most of human history, life was very difficult. People lacked basic medicines and died