Chapter 90
Prosperity and the Future of Technology1
From the very beginning of human history, technological progress has been an essential precondition for economic development, and prosperous societies have had the resources to invest in a wide range of new technologies. However, the historical connections among technological change, prosperity, and human well-being have been complex and often indirect. What was true in the past may not be true in the future, and some critics have suggested that scientific and technological innovation may be coming to a halt, even as others argue that it is nearing a singularity at which the conditions of human life will change utterly, perhaps through a combination of information technology and nanotechnology.
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