What Does Technology Want?

Steven B. Johnson (with Where Good Ideas Come From) and Kevin Kelly (with What Technology Wants) have both released new books that I desperately want to read. Both joined Robert Krulwich (from my favorite podcast/radioshow Radiolab) on stage recentely for an interview about some of the greater questions:

In a world of rapidly accelerating change, from iPads to eBooks to genetic mapping to MagLev trains, we can’t help but wonder if technology is our servant or our master, and whether it is taking us in a healthy direction as a society.

• What forces drive the steady march of innovation?
• How can we build environments in our schools, our businesses, and in our private lives that encourage the creation of new ideas—ideas that build on the new technology platforms in socially responsible ways?

There’s an edited audio version available from Radiolab, too.