Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Asserts that technology like atomic energy is neutral; harm comes from human intent rather than the tool itself.
In plain terms
Tools like atoms are not evil; people are.
What can you take from it?
Technology is neutral; its use depends on human morality.

Where it applies

  • debating nuclear energy
  • AI ethics
  • weapon development

Putting it to work

  • evaluate intent over tool
  • regulate usage
  • focus on human factors

Questions to consider

  • Can a tool be inherently dangerous?
  • Where does responsibility lie for technology?

Another view

Some technologies have inherent risks that exist regardless of intent.

More from Adlai Stevenson

  1. In the tragic days of Mussolini, the trains in Italy ran on time as never before and I am told in their way, their horrible way, that the Nazi concentration-ca…

    Permalink to quote #18
  2. We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the path which has led to the present.

    Permalink to quote #20
  3. Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in the system, we have lost faith in everyt…

    Permalink to quote #17

Related quotes

  1. The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, m…

    Omar BradleyOmar Bradley quote #1
  2. 'I renounce war for its consequences, for the lies it lives on and propagates, for the undying hatred it arouses, for the dictatorships it puts in place of dem…

    Harry Emerson FosdickHarry Emerson Fosdick quote #1
  3. In men whom men condemn as ill I find so much of goodness still. In men whom men pronounce divine I find so much of sin and blot I do not dare to draw a line B…

    Joaquin MillerJoaquin Miller quote #3