Civilization and scientific and technical progress in the context of priorities of human existence

The current year 2025 from the point of view of scientific and technological progress (STP) is characterized primarily by the development of digital technologies, and in this direction the rapid use of the so-called artificial intelligence stands out. This and other achievements of STP are given many admiring assessments. However, as a rule, the problems that the human community faces and may still face are overlooked. The article presents the author's judgments about the features of the development of STP in the modern world in connection with the needs that are formed by society and which are also transformed, like the technical component of people's lives. It is noted, in particular, that several decades ago humanity made the transition from an industrial society to a consumer society, when various interests related to recreation, travel, and various entertainments increasingly prevail. This approach, however, reduces incentives for fundamental scientific research and engineering studies that provide for the further positive development of civilization. For example, the same digital technologies are actively used in armed conflicts, and in this context the question is raised about what priority areas the human community can expect in the future, bearing in mind the clash, on the one hand, of the achievements of scientific and technological progress, and, on the other hand, of humanitarian human values that also developed several decades ago and still hold the world back from destruction.