Good technology should change the world

The billionaire investor Peter Thiel (or maybe his ghostwriter) once said, “We were promised flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.”

That quip originally appeared in a manifesto for Thiel’s venture fund in 2011. All good investment firms have a manifesto, right? This one argued for making bold bets on risky, world-changing technologies rather than chasing the tepid mundanity of social software startups. What followed, however, was a decade that got even more mundane. Messaging, ride hailing, house shares, grocery delivery, burrito taxis, chat, all manner of photo sharing, games, juice on demand, and Yo. Remember Yo? Yo, yo.

It was an era defined more by business model disruptions than by true breakthroughs—a time when the most ambitious, high-profile startup doing anything resembling real science-based innovation was … Theranos? The 2010s made it easy to become a cynic about the industry, to the point that tech skepticism has replaced techno-optimism in the zeitgeist. Many of the “disruptions” of the last 15 years were about coddling a certain set of young, moneyed San Franciscans more than improving the world. Sure, that industry created an obscene amount of wealth for a small number of individuals. But maybe no company should be as powerful as the tech giants whose tentacles seem to wrap around every aspect of our lives.

Yet you can be sympathetic to the techlash and still fully buy into the idea that technology can be good. We really can build tools that make this planet healthier, more livable, more equitable, and just all-around better.

In fact, some people have been doing just that. Amid all the nonsense of the teeny-­boomers, a number of fundamental, potentially world-changing technologies have been making quiet progress. Quantum computing. Intelligent machines. Carbon capture. Gene editing. Nuclear fusion. mRNA vaccines. Materials discovery. Humanoid robots. Atmospheric water harvesting. Robotaxis. And, yes, even flying cars—have you heard of an EVTOL? The acronym stands for “electric vertical takeoff and landing.” It’s a small electric vehicle that can lift off and return to Earth without a runway. Basically, a flying car. You can buy one. Right now. (Good luck!)

Jetsons stuff. It’s here.

Every year, MIT Technology Review publishes a list of 10 technologies that we believe are poised to fundamentally alter the world. The shifts aren’t always positive (see, for example, our 2023 entry on cheap military drones, which continue to darken the skies over Ukraine). But for the most part, we’re talking about changes for the better: curing diseases, fighting climate change, living in space. I don’t know about you, but … seems pretty good to me?

As the saying goes, two things can be true. Technology can be a real and powerful force for good in the world, and it can also be just an enormous factory for hype, bullshit, and harmful ideas. We try to keep both of those things in mind. We try to approach our subject matter with curious skepticism.

But every once in a while we also approach it with awe, and even wonder. Our problems are myriad and sometimes seem insurmountable. Hyperobjects within hyperobjects. But a century ago, people felt that way about growing enough food for a booming population and facing the threat of communicable diseases. Half a century ago, they felt that way about toxic pollution and a literal hole in the atmosphere. Tech bros are wrong about a lot, but their build-big manifestos make a good point: We can solve problems. We have to. And in the quieter, more deliberate parts of the future, we will.