Yeah, it does seem like more a problem of philosophy or perspective than a lack of advanced technology. We have all of the ingredients for a variety of dishes, but it seems we're settling into one basic recipe: centralized lockdown.
Let's say that's how social human and culture/natural order is. Lots of people wanting shiny things to play with others. Everything else is irrelevant as long as people aren't deeply aware of it (which is often when things break in their/our face).
Still we have uber capable thingies doing nothing. We don't need faster, we need to teach what they can do to people and let them have it their way.