T4 Technoparalysis

Inspired by an improvised tenor saxophone solo by Stan Getz, 1951

Tell us your thoughts - What do you think about the philosophical issues raised in this song?

When you see techno danger loom, citizen don’t get scared
When you see techno danger loom, citizen don’t you get scared
When you see techno danger loom
You can change it cos technology depends upon you

It’s not just an alien force
It’s not falling on us like a giant asteroid and you can’t run away
It’s not inevitable, don’t make that mistake

Life is really changing every day
How we work, work, work, work and we play
Don’t be taken in
When the prophets of our day say it has to be that way
Racing to an outcome where we modify our genes with AI
And we live among the robots and are watched for every day of our lives

So when the scientists race to achieve their breakthroughs
Technologists are there to put them all to use
You better worry about being their golden goose
If you don’t like the change you can force a truce
Just in case you find my thinking here abstruse

You decide the way you vote
And the things you buy
Always make a choice
Freedom means a thing
Just think of all the power it can bring

Keep your life
Keep your mind
Yes you can
If you want a better future
Don’t let no one change you, shape you, share you
Don’t let nothing scare you

I hear what you say and I’m trying hard to see it your way
I’m telling you buddy
I’ve read Steven Pinker
He’s a psychology thinker
And if he’s right
Then it’s technology that making the world bright

All that clever tech
Makes us more peaceful
And he’s certain without much doubt
There’ll never be a nuclear conflict
Cos we’re really nice now
Market forces certain to have a happy end

But then I heard another guy say
I think his name’s John Gray
That humans evolved to be really bad
If that’s true, there isn’t really much that we can do
Yeah we’re screwed
We’ll develop new tech and we’ll use it bad
Destroy all that we ever had

Gray and Pinker don’t agree
They forget that we’re free
And if we just started thinking
We could decide our own future
Technology, democracy, philosophy, unite

SOLOS

When you see techno danger loom, citizen don’t scared
When you see techno danger loom, citizen don’t you get scared
When you see techno danger loom
You can change it don’t forget that that’s true