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Is it better to make things, like cars, that do some real work, or is it better to think about what impact these things have on our lives?
Aha! We wouldn't be able to sit and ponder these matters, discussing them on the internet, if we had to hunt, gather, and grow our own food, build own own shelters, procure safe water, and defend our encampment from predators. But then, with no industry or technology in our society, we wouldnt *need* to think about such an impact, for it would not even exist! So then, the cutoff line for technology is that it is acceptable so long as it has no more negative side-effects than other animals have.
I guess some thinks have to be made and consumed before you spend too much time thinking about them without having them.
To breathe, of course! If you don't breathe for 2-3 minutes, you will die. You can manage with eating very little once in a while. So what does this tell me about original question: is it better making things, or thinking about their impact before making or using them? Is it better to breathe, or to eat?Is it better to make things, like cars, that do some real work, or is it better to think about what impact these things have on our lives? Both are equally valuable. In the absence of one, there would be no other Human race is going through its adolescence: a time of rapid growth, enthusiasm and risk taking. Should human race survive this stage, it will then reach maturity. When looking back at its younger, experimental self Humanity will feel relieved and embarrassed by its earlier capricious foolishness. If we want to continue to exist, we should reconsider our reckless choices. We have a lot of work to do to repair the damage we have already caused to the only planet we can live in. We cannot know what impact they (might) have if we don't have them. We can only make assumptions, speculations, thought experiments, but to really consider all the issues, we have to have the real thing. Even theoretical physics needs to consult experimental physics for (dis)proofs of the theories. Real world technological/social inventions can be predicted much less than theories of physics. 
