Why Technical Breakthroughs Fail

In 2002, while an undergraduate at Harvard University, Brian Cantwell authored a whitepaper for the MIT Auto-ID Center that examined public concerns with emerging technologies. The white paper, entitled "Why Technical Breakthroughs Fail: A History of Public Concern with Emerging Technologies," looked at five cases of technologies that stuggled with privacy or health concerns upon their launch in the marketplace. The cases examined included:

The lessons learned from the success and failure of these technologies can be applied to most technical innovations as they fight for public acceptance.