I agree that we have a to be on the lookout for manipulation and propaganda but I still feel like there is a valid question in there.

Is "the apllocation of scientific knowledge for practical purposes" always something that we should strive towards?

Science is good at solving for comfort and convenience but these do not always lead to fulfillment and connection which is what makes life meaningful.

I think there will always be a tension between the two. Technology giving the power to create beauty and cause distruction. And as the power of the technology is magnified so to is the magnitude of the beauty and the destruction.