What technological advance has caused more harm than good?

[GeorgeTheEng]

Originally Posted by MikeWasHere05

That's true, and it was even more so true before this new era of terrorism. But now, nuclear is becoming so (relatively) common that all it takes is one terrorist group to get one missile and the whole world is in ashes.

I'd contend though that if it were utilized more, Nuclean Power would be a real benefit to the planet. It's cleaner and fairly safe (when people are not cheap and/or lax). Unfortunately you don't really have the ability to have the power without the potential for weapons.

The same could be said for gunpowder and similar explosives. If you don't want to limit yourself to modern technology, I'd place gunpower as more harmful then nuclear. Look at the number of people killed over time by guns, bombs, rockets, missiles, etc which are all based off the an explosive in some respects (i.e. gun powder). But also look at all the benefits. We would not have modern mining, or many tunnels, or roads and railroads through some tough terrain with out gunpowder and other explosives.

There is a moral question that engineers and inventors really have to deal with... Are the benefits worth the potential harm?