Technocalvinism
= "the idea that technological development is preordained beyond human control". [1]
Discussion
Luke Drago:
"Technocalvinism: the idea that technological development is preordained beyond human control, leaving you blameless for your actions. It’s named after John Calvin’s concept of double predestination: the idea that God preordains who is saved and who is damned to hell before their first breath.
Technocalvinism makes a much stronger claim than technological determinism. Rather than identifying technology as a central driver of progress, it upholds it as the only relevant factor. It further argues that humans have no control over their own technological development. It uses this inevitability to argue that you are not at fault for choosing to accelerate technologies with negative effects.
This belief is more akin to faith than law. A more sober read of history concludes that, while technological forces are powerful, other factors remain relevant. We have steered technology before, and we may be able to do it again.
To counter technocalvinism, we need to build the AI equivalent of renewable energy – transformative AI that keeps the future human. But in order to build it, we’re going to need a culture of innovation that tries to build for humans."