Whether through genetically modified foods, the mapping of the human genome or global climate change, technology and science are changing our lives, often much faster than we might like. Things are moving so fast that it is difficult to imagine our lives 20 years from now, let alone what's in store for our children.
In less than 30 years since the birth of the first test-tube baby, we have reached the point of confronting the ethics of human cloning, not as an abstract philosophical exercise, but as a social and political issue of immediate relevance. Most changes of this sort, and their effects on our lives, seem beyond our control and are caused by things most of us do not really understand. The average person had no control over the mapping of the human genome, and has little now over how insurance companies may use the new information on genetic diseases and predispositions.
Small wonder many people are distrustful of "technology" and the "future."