Skepticism of technology has crept into the culture quietly in the last few years. We went from being amazed by how fast the future was coming, to wondering what horrors are coming from the valley. We’ve gone from being awed that an entire computer could fit in our pocket to wishing the President would just sign off of Twitter. We’re worried about robots taking all the jobs. We’re afraid that relying on Facebook for our news has reduced the political debate to people sharing content from Russian Troll Farms.

If you drill into this anxiety a little farther, you can see that we’re all worried that all this disruption never had an endgame. So many fundamental parts of society have been upended in the name of technological progress, but no one seems to have wondered if the replacements for all these industries even make money? Or is it just the zombie capital of the PC and first Internet revolutions simply swirling around propping up shitty idea after shitty idea, everyone too afraid to question it and look like the next dinosaur ready for a comet to the dome.

The pessimism is probably not entirely misplaced. It is likely that we are slowly winding every industry into the valley, often decimating the profits along the way. The economic anxiety of coal miners and steelworkers gave us Trump. (Well and some rather unsavory new voters that don’t fit into what I’m talking about here.) The slightly less effective economic anxiety of college graduates gave us Bernie. The desperation is real, even if the actual economic catastrophe hasn’t befallen us yet.

I’m not going to get into specifics, but the Industrial Revolution had sweeping consequences. Some of them violent. It also lead to the Progressive Era, which brought labor protections, minimum wage laws, and arguably the beginning of a real middle class. I’m sure that is a massive generalization, but the reason it is so complicated is because the Industrial Revolution had such a massive effect on society beyond merely allowing for mass production of goods.

There are plenty of skeptics that think that AI and Robotics are little more than sleight of hand meant to dazzle investors, and their real impact will be far less consequential. Even if that’s the case, you’re going to see problems because so many companies have gone all in on the promises. If the Valley is fleecing them, the consequences are just as bad. No one wants to work at the corporate equivalent of Ogdenville.

I am still bullish about technology. Beyond the stage shows and Jobsian bullshit machine that perpetuates all the big tech companies, you don’t have to look far to see a real social benefit. Accessibility tech alone has done a massive service in helping disabled people improve their lives.

We have access to massive amounts of information and learning resources that would have required a small fortune or at least a trip to a major University. Podcasts and short-form video have transformed media to allow niche audiences to find content to serve them that wasn’t possible in the mass media age.

I do find it hard to argue with the people who point that we might be closer to a Dystopia than a Utopia. But I don’t think it’s the tech that’s to blame. It’s just a new suit for the same Madison Avenue hucksterism that defined the Post-War era. It just has algorithmically determined razzle-dazzle to hold your almost constant attention now.

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