In fact, I know molecular biologists who sincerely believe that their ability to alter the genetic code of living things represents the inevitable next step in the evolutionary process. Technologies, however, are not value-free, nor are they inevitable. Technologies are extensions of our bodies, appendages we create to overcome spatial limitations, minimize temporal constraints, and better expropriate and consume the world around us. A bow and arrow extend our throwing arms. Automobiles are an extension of our legs and feet.
Computers amplify our memory.
Every tool we've ever created represents increments of power, a way to exercise an advantage over the forces of nature and each other. The exercise of power is never neutral, for in the act of wielding each new tool we fashion, someone or something in the environment is compromised, diminished, or exploited. Whenever power is exerted, there are always winners and losers. The question, then, that should be applied to any new technology is whether its power is appropriate or inordinate in scale or scope. The splitting of the atom and the unraveling of the DNA double helix represent the two premier scientific accomplishments of the 20th century.