Many people recognize that technology often comes with

The words of Leon Kass, scholar and ethicist, carry the weight of a timeless warning: “Many people recognize that technology often comes with unintended and undesirable side effects.” In this statement lies not a rejection of progress, but a call to wisdom. For technology, like fire, is a servant of great power, yet one that can burn its master if wielded without foresight. Its gifts are dazzling, but hidden within its light are shadows — the unintended consequences that follow when humanity creates without fully understanding what it unleashes.

The meaning is profound and universal. Every new tool mankind has fashioned has promised liberation, yet each has also brought new burdens. The car gave us speed and mobility, but also pollution and sprawling cities. The internet gave us connection, but also disinformation and distraction. Kass speaks to the truth that progress without reflection is incomplete, and that every gift of invention comes with a price. The wise do not refuse technology, but they enter into covenant with it cautiously, discerning both its promise and its peril.

History offers countless examples. Consider the Industrial Revolution: it gave rise to factories, mass production, and prosperity for nations, yet also to child labor, crowded slums, and poisoned air. The inventors of the steam engine and the loom did not foresee the smog-filled cities of London or the weary children bent over machines. These were the undesirable side effects, not born of malice, but of neglecting to ask: What hidden costs might follow this wonder? The lesson echoes: invention is not the end of wisdom — responsibility must walk beside it.

Another tale lies in the age of nuclear technology. The splitting of the atom was hailed as one of the greatest triumphs of science, promising energy too cheap to meter. Yet within that same discovery lay the power to annihilate cities, as Hiroshima and Nagasaki testify. Scientists pursued knowledge, but leaders used it for destruction. The unintended side effects of this discovery altered history itself, casting a shadow of fear over generations. Here, the brilliance of human intellect walked hand in hand with the darkness of human shortsightedness.

Kass’s words also whisper a truth about human desire: we rush toward what dazzles, rarely pausing to weigh its full measure. Social media was created to connect friends and families, yet it now fuels loneliness, comparison, and division. Antibiotics saved millions of lives, yet careless overuse has bred resistance and new dangers. The pattern is clear — whenever humanity embraces tools without humility, the blessings of technology are mixed with unforeseen curses. Wisdom demands we look beyond the immediate gift to the long horizon.

The lesson for us is urgent. Embrace technology with gratitude, but never with blind faith. Question not only what a tool can do, but also what it might undo. Ask: What seeds are we planting with this invention? Will they yield fruit or thorns? Do not be deceived by the glitter of progress, for even gold, when mined recklessly, leaves scars upon the earth. Let discernment be our companion, and let humility temper our ambition.

Practical action flows from this teaching. Learn the tools you use — do not let them master you. Support innovation, but also demand responsibility from those who create and govern. Teach the young not only how to use technology, but how to question it. And above all, cultivate the ancient virtues — prudence, patience, foresight — so that humanity may walk forward without stumbling into the traps it has itself laid.

Thus, let Kass’s words be carved into memory: technology carries both promise and peril, both blessing and burden. To ignore the side effects is to invite disaster; to acknowledge them is to walk in wisdom. Let future generations remember that progress is not measured by how swiftly we build, but by how wisely we guard what we build against the shadows it may cast. For in this balance lies not only survival, but the true flourishing of mankind.