# Technology and Biology Are Changing What It Means to Be Human by Howard Gardner > “When I take a look at John Brockman’s original list of "hot topics" from a quarter of a century ago, I discern a pattern, or throughline. We live at a time of great, perhaps unprecedented, advances in digital technology (hardware/software) and biological (genetic/brain) research and applications. It’s easy to see these changes as wholly or largely positive, though—as a card-carrying member of the pessimists’ society—I can easily point to problematic aspects as well.” > **— Howard Gardner**, *2016, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE MOST INTERESTING RECENT [SCIENTIFIC”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Edge response](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/26564) — Edge published this passage in its 2016 Annual Question collection, *WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE MOST INTERESTING RECENT [SCIENTIFIC*. - **Exact archived wording:** “When I take a look at John Brockman’s original list of "hot topics" from a quarter of a century ago, I discern a pattern, or throughline. We live at a time of great, perhaps unprecedented, advances in digital technology (hardware/software) and biological (genetic/brain) research and applications. It’s easy to see these changes as wholly or largely positive, though—as a card-carrying member of the pessimists’ society—I can easily point to problematic aspects as well.” - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2016 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2016 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Greatest Transformation in Human History|The Greatest Transformation in Human History]] - **Article:** [[articles/The New Dictionary of the Machine Regime|The New Dictionary of the Machine Regime]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “When I take a look at John Brockman’s original list of "hot topics" from a quarter of a century ago, I discern a pattern, or throughline. We live at a time of great, perhaps unprecedented, advances in digital technology (hardware/software) and biological (genetic/brain) research and applications. It’s easy to see these changes as wholly or largely positive, though—as a card-carrying member of the pessimists’ society—I can easily point to problematic aspects as well.” — Howard Gardner, 2016, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE MOST INTERESTING RECENT [SCIENTIFIC” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-howard-gardner-technology-biology-human ```