causal

Technology Creates Biteback Requiring More Technology

Technology is not an undivided good: every improvement produces unexpected side effects ('biteback') that require new technological solutions, which in turn create their own biteback, in an endless cycle—so like the Red Queen, we must keep running (innovating) just to stay in place, which is why technological progress cannot afford to slow down.

causalpending

Speaker

Joel Mokyr

Evidence Quote

There is always something that you didn't think of when you came up with the invention, and so you have to invent further to fix it. That's the nature of technological change.

Source

Joel Mokyr on Growth, Innovation, and StagnationEconTalk
Created: 6/13/2026, 12:12:21 AM

My Notes

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