I’ve been thinking about tools. Odd, right?

In my mind a tool is anything a human creates that augments, compliments or magnifies our innate capabilities. So a hammer and a computer are both tools, though clearly for different tasks and ends.

I would say, as would most, that the computer more powerful tool than a hammer. The hammer is a tool of force and leverage, it can kill or build a house. The computer put a semi-autonomous robot on Mars capable of exploring and reporting back from an alien planet that is (currently) about 34 million miles away.

The Duality of The Tool is that it is a neutral multiplier of the one who holds it. The hammer neither knows nor cares whether it is swung to kill or create; the computer neither knows nor cares whether it models the hydrogen nucleus or builds a hydrogen bomb.

The Tool is always neutral. There is no tool that can be used only for “good,” or only for “evil.” Every tool brings out both the best and the worst of humanity to the degree it multiplies the human capacity for either.

So the hammer can kill and create, the computer can build weapons and medicines, the internet is home to hate speech and free speech.

If you want a powerful tool for beneficent uses, it will necessarily be a powerful tool for maleficent uses as well. There is no legislation, trigger lock or porn-blocking software that can change that.