LONG BEACH — Technological advances and other inventions have the ability to change lives and alter the course of history. But they also sometimes take revenge on us or have other unintended consequences that can undermine their reason for existing, according to technology historian Edward Tenner. Take the Barcalounger; touted as a treat for your feet, it was supposed to provide health-inducing relaxation for hard-working stiffs. Instead, it became a symbol of an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. Asbestos, a life-saving fire retardant, became a toxic time bomb.

Tenner the author of Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences and Our Own Devices is speaking at the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference Thursday about the unintended consequences – negative and positive – of innovation. He talked with Wired.com in advance of his presentation.

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