Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

[url=http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke#On_Clarke.27s_Laws]

This means that in science fiction, or even just RPs where technological innovation is allowed, you will face the same problems as you do in worlds with magic. Technology can easily reach a level where all else becomes inferior, and everything gets out of control. An obvious example is far-future sci-fi, where if you aren't careful you will come across devices which can do [i]anything[/i], from flawless cloaking devices to devastating hand-held super-weapons to literally impenetrable shields to limitless teleportation to time travel to manipulating the very nature of the Universe itself. And if multiple sides have access to such technologies it can easily spiral out into an arms race.

Even if you're not in the far-future, technology can still progress to a stage where it is magical. Say you have a medieval setting. Some clever guy discovers gunpowder. From there, firearms are a short step, and it doesn't take much extrapolation to create better and better firearms and it won't be long until you have weapons which are centuries ahead of their time and any players who get their hands on them become unstoppable.

The solution to preventing technology from spiralling out of your control is similar to that with magic. Obviously, intense physical strain beyond a point is not applicable in most cases, but there are other ways to limit technology. One is to have clear limits on the technology in your RP. Another is to have advanced technology expensive to operate, or the power/ammo/mineral to run it is rare. Another way is to have highly sophisticated and advanced technology difficult to acquire by PCs.

These methods can be applied directly back to magic. Magic can have clear limits in the RP. Magic can be costly to perform. Magic can require rare consumable items (magic crystals, complicated potions, etc.). Magic which a PC can use could be limited to simpler things.

In short, problems you see in magic can arise with technology too, and can be fixed in much the same ways.