I feel many of us in the IT world have stood along side this descent in real time, because technology has been an enabler (far from being an equaliser). We were mostly mute because of money and traction.
I find it very shortsighted to substract features from personalities of successful visible people that one likes and (selectively) ignore the rest. Why the heck, adult people don't like absolute truths and don't understand those are inseparable parts of a single whole?
elon is a fascist pos, gates is probably a pedophile/hebephile (epstein) pos, so is clinton and orange man, all good epstein's friends. Jobs was a horrible person. Yes they did or are doing some good, but above is still valid. And so on and on.
The best generic explanation I've read on this phenomenon is the article "Shallow Feedback Hollows You Out" by Midjourney's Ivan Vendrov:
https://nothinghuman.substack.com/p/shallow-feedback-hollows...
It’s a different context but I’m reminded of how George Lucas’ work got a lot worse after his divorce from Marcia Lucas, who was not only a very talented film editor in her own right but also apparently unique for having the ability to get him to actually listen to constructive criticism.
Having or applying flexible morality is a very slippery slope to no morality. I mean we're not discussing some academical theory but real situation and real person. People are shocked in recent weeks, I am not just mildly disappointed. The signs were there.
Just to be clear - with such brutal logic many sport folks become undefendable. Or generally famous people. For good reasons. I am fine with that, no need to desperately put people on pedestals which are temporary at best, the whole idea of desperately looking upon somebody is fine in childhood but adults should know better.
Remember, Elon was an avid supporter of minority rights a decade ago.
Having said that, I still think technology has been a net positive. Just imagine living in 1900. It would take months to go from Europe to the US. Medicine was able to cure almost nothing. What we consider simple diseases now would be deadly back then. And you can forget about watching or listening your favorite musicians online. Also, imagine driving with a modern car into a 1900s village. People would be in shock.
I stopped thinking this a decade or so ago. I now think that technology has become a net negative.
Yes, it brings huge benefits as you note. The problem as I see it is that it now brings even larger drawbacks as well.
You see, we are trading improvements in some aspects to that of another.
The thing is you cannot separate the benefits these technological advancements bring with the problems they create. The rate of technological change is much more rapid than our ability as a society to adapt to it. This is one of the source of friction as the negative effect become real only later.
There is no physical law that says technology has to improve - it is our quest, or drive to seek it, we choose it, every time. And I say this as someone who is part of this.