I agree there are hard societal problems that tech alone cannot solve -- or at all. It reminds me of the era, not long ago, when the hipster startup bros thought "there is an app for that" (and they were ridiculously out of touch with the actual problem, which was famine, homelessness, poverty, a natural disaster, etc).
For mankind, the really big problems aren't going away any time soon.
But -- and it's a big but -- many of us aren't working on those problems. I'm ready to agree most of what I've done for decades in my engineering job(s) is largely inconsequential. I don't delude myself into thinking I'm changing the world. I know I'm not!
What I'm doing is working on something interesting (not always) while earning a nice paycheck and supporting my family and my hobbies. If this goes away, I'll struggle. Should the world care? Likely not. But I care. And I'm unlikely to start working on solving societal problems as a job, it's too much of a burden to bear.
For mankind, the really big problems aren't going away any time soon.
But -- and it's a big but -- many of us aren't working on those problems. I'm ready to agree most of what I've done for decades in my engineering job(s) is largely inconsequential. I don't delude myself into thinking I'm changing the world. I know I'm not!
What I'm doing is working on something interesting (not always) while earning a nice paycheck and supporting my family and my hobbies. If this goes away, I'll struggle. Should the world care? Likely not. But I care. And I'm unlikely to start working on solving societal problems as a job, it's too much of a burden to bear.