This is perhaps the most beautiful time in human history; it is really pregnant with all kinds of creative possibilities made possible by science and technology which now constitute the slave of man - if man is not enslaved by it.

Salk frames modernity as a paradox: the scientific-technological age is uniquely fertile—“pregnant” with creative possibilities—yet its benefits depend on human mastery rather than dependence. Calling technology the “slave of man” asserts that tools should serve humane ends (health, knowledge, flourishing) instead of dictating values, pace, or social organization. The conditional clause—“if man is not enslaved by it”—warns that the same systems that amplify human power can also capture attention, reshape institutions, and erode autonomy. The quote reflects a humanistic ethic of science: progress is real, but it requires moral governance, self-restraint, and conscious direction so that means do not become masters.