EnLIGHTteNING Lunch with Armin Grunwald

In the ‘Eco-modernist Manifesto’ published some months ago by the Breakthrough Institute technological advancement is regarded as key for reaching more sustainable development. The main idea is to accelerate technological advancement in order to enhance the efficiency in, for example energy and food provision, so quickly that large parts of the Earth’s surface could be given back to nature. In my talk I will challenge those assumptions and expectations from the perspective of Technology Assessment (TA). My concern is that the eco-modernist approach might be morally hazardous because of a naïve techno-optimism ignoring the ambivalences of technology and the issue of non-intended side-effects. To avoid this bias, a broader spectrum of sustainability strategies should be envisaged.

RSVP to [email protected] by noon on Tuesday, October 27
Pizza will be served.

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