Necessity: The Mother of Invention and Mother of an Obstacle

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity."  -Albert Einstein

"Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons."  

-R. Buckminster Fuller

"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbert

"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special." -Stephen Hawking

The ultimate conundrum, the necessity of technology and the resulting advancement is creating a circumstance in which humans are losing the traditional notions of humanity. The deus ex machina is taking solace in the knowledge that our technological innovation is for the ultimate benefit of an ever expanding humanity. Considering the first two quotes, which respectively deal with our loss of humanity, is it necessary to strike a balance as an elimination of technology is not an option? Consider the image of Gandalf the Grey and the Black Knight, are we at a seemingly impassible point? The advent of knife, the wheel, penicillin, the computer were all hailed as a necessity to improve the lives of humans, does television or video games share the same glory? All matter of perspective, empathy becomes a requirement. The "loss" of our humanity may be rightly challenged, when one reads the final two quotes at the top. New technologies out preform human beings and assist us in understanding our universe, is this not a positive in lieu of some traditional aspects of humanity? Quod erat demonstrandum we have medicine to cure diseases and space craft that leave Earth. Human ambivalence and laxity in critical thinking may be the trade-off for comfort. Food for thought.