Mastodawn

Helen Czerski Aug 15, 2023

Some questions that should be asked about every new piece of tech:

- Does it actually work?
- What are its side effects, especially for ecosystems, communities and the physical/chemical state of the natural environment?
- What’s the lifetime carbon cost?
- What’s the lifetime energy cost? If renewables, how much capacity is that taking away decarbonising the grid?
- Will scale-up cause damage?
- Who benefits most from it and who will control/regulate it for the public good?
#climate #tech

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Shambolic Matter Aug 16, 2023

@helenczerski Here's the problem:

"Does it work?"

"No. Can't work. Would require trillions-with-a-t of research"

"But people are excited?"

"Super excited. They're lining up to throw money."

"Awesome! I'll crank up the hype machine. You put together a smoke and mirrors demo. We sell it on Monday."

"What about the other questions?"

"Well, it doesn't actually work, so it doesn't actually work at scale and none of the questions really matter."

"Oh."

"Buck up lad. We're gonna be rich!"

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Shambolic Matter

@helenczerski I mean, we absolutely should be deeply concerned with the impact of new technology. But we have a deeply problematic grifter class that is happy to sell magic beans that occasionally (and to everyone's ultimate horror) sprout into terrible things.