Investigating the Relationship between Future Technologies, Self and Society

Technology has always been a significant anthropological component in human history. This would range from fire to the wheel, from the invention of movable type to the innovations of the textile industry in the England of the first industrial revolution, to cite only the most macroscopic examples. Why therefore should we be surprised at the innovations brought about by fields such as the so-called Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), nanotechnologies and biotechnologies, cognitive sciences, robotics and research on artificial intelligence? Why, given that at present they are not particularly widespread technologies, should we worry about how they will be used in the future? Why think that their use will change the human condition so radically as to prompt an ethical reflection that accompanies us in a more informed way towards that future?