Technological Progress in a Steady State Economy
In a steady state economy, businesses, universities, and governments continue to pursue technological progress to the benefit of society, but technology is not deployed to grow the economy. In the current economic paradigm, when limits to growth become cumbersome, technology is developed to deal with those limits. If the technology works, we get a bit of breathing room. In a steady state economy, that breathing room is used for leisure, wealth sharing, pursuit of moral and spiritual progress, and development of better technologies, rather than to feed evermore growth. The result is better access to useful technologies with more attention paid over time to the appropriateness of technology.
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Technology in an Economy Attempting to Grow Forever
In a society obsessed with growth, technology is always used to increase the scale of the economy, resulting in more machinery extracting and processing more resources. The appropriateness of technology is not questioned, because it is needed to keep the economy growing. Inventions, even if they cause more harm than good, are developed as long as someone is willing to pay for them.
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Exemplary Use of Technology
The International Center for Technology Assessment is a non-profit, bipartisan organization that analyzes and assesses technological impacts on society. The center takes a critical look at megatechnologies and technocracies, and promotes appropriate uses of technology with an eye toward environmental and economic sustainability.