When startups pitched VCs back in the day, almost every pitch had some big, blue-sky promise to “change the world.” Looking back, it’s clear the world has been changed by the companies and technical innovations of the past twenty years. Cars can drive autonomously, MRSA innovation has resulted in vaccines that are on the verge of stopping a global pandemic, and you can order and receive in an hour groceries, hardware, books, and shoes — all thanks to Amazon’s extraordinary supply chain innovations.

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And yet it’s hard to put this “change the world” force as entirely positive. Things have gotten better in some ways — and in other fundamental ways, less fair. Uber drivers are cogs in a massive global wheel. Amazon workers compete with robots in football-field-sized factories. Facebook runs its free social network with a Big-Brother-style tracking and monetization business model that watches clicks and listens to your voice through its Alexa app. Which is to say — we’ve changed the world, but for the better? As we look at the growing power and potential of technology that’s on the horizon, it’s worth asking if it’s time to retire “change the world” for a more […]

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