One main purpose of art, in my mind, is to show something that has never been seen before. Art as communication of an idea is extremely powerful, and if an idea is represented in a way that has never been seen before, or a completely novel idea is represented, it can catch the attention of the viewer/experiencer and let them understand it in a way nothing else can. In this respect, new technology is crucial to art, in that it can express ideas that can't be expressed any other way.
I don't think my own work is first word art or last word art, really, because I haven't done anything that hasn't been done before, but I also haven't done anything in an already existing medium that is good enough to stand out much in that medium. However, I definitely would lean more toward first word art. I do find it a little daunting to try to use a medium that has been exhausted so fully, or at least to use it in a way that stands out. I get more out of trying to do something that's never been done before than just trying to perfect my technical skills, even though sometimes I wish I didn't feel that way.
One danger I see in using cutting-edge technology is losing your message or losing yourself in the tech. It's easy to come up with an idea that fits the medium rather than vice-versa, and while that's a good exercise and can sometimes even have artistic value, you're much more likely to produce something worthwhile if you choose the medium to match the idea.