Exploring the "reverse Scooby-Doo" theory of tech innovation

March 22, 2023
NPR logo

We explore the "reverse Scooby-Doo" theory of tech innovation with its creator, Dave Karpf, a professor at George Washington University. You know how Scooby-Doo villains always complained, "I would have gotten away with it, if not for you meddling kids!"? Well, Karpf writes that many tech innovators WILL, in fact, get away with it if not for us meddling kids. More specifically, Karpf writes that the lay public is often told that technology changes like AI are inevitable, can't be stopped, and will bring a fabulous future if we simply embrace them and roll out the red carpet. But is AI, for example, inevitable? Is there any mechanism for the non-tech world to intervene?

You can listen to the interview on WXXI News.