“It is only recently, however, that we have, as a
nation, begun to see that man’s mind is no more made for technology than is his
body, and that, conversely, technology is valuable only in so far as it helps
men to cultivate sanity and goodness as well as bodily health. Moreover, we now
begin to suspect that many technological advances regarded as wholly beneficial
may have their bad as well as good side. For example, technicians have made
possible the multiplication of many kinds of novel amusements and distractions,
from the modern newspaper to television. People enjoy these distractions. But
that does not mean that they are, humanly speaking, altogether good. People
also enjoy hashish and opium, when these are made available. It seems possible
that we are paying a heavy spiritual price for our new-found amusements.” — English
novelist/essayist Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), “If We Survive,” March 16, 1936,
in Between the Wars: Essays and Letters, edited by David Bradshaw (1994)
One can only imagine what Huxley’s comments would be today
about modern civilization’s increasing reliance on the automobile, social media,
robots and AI.
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