Adrian JohnsonTLDR
– Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
– Politicians should leave technological decisions to engineers, researchers, and consumers who know best what they want.
Both terms, “technology neutrality” and “technology openness,” are used to describe the idea that politicians should not choose specific technologies, but rather leave those decisions to engineers, researchers, and consumers. This approach is presented as an alternative to a “ban policy” that is often associated with the left side of the political spectrum. However, this has led to skepticism on the left towards technological solutions, and those who propose such solutions are often seen as deniers or delayers of actual solutions.
The author argues that while the potential of emerging technologies is uncertain, it is worth giving them a chance to address pressing issues such as climate change. The center-right, which often espouses this approach, has not fully embraced openness to innovation. For example, conservative governments have attacked lab-grown meat, which could potentially help solve greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector.
The author suggests that rather than dismissing new technologies, we should let researchers and developers do their work and judge the outcomes afterward. The default attitude towards technology should shift from “no” to “yes” when it comes to their potential to solve important problems. The author also urges politicians to remember that an open attitude towards technology includes technologies that they may not personally like.