Faustian bargain

noun2

1. •
   An agreement in which a person abandons his or her spiritual values or moral principles in order to obtain knowledge, wealth or other benefits.

   • The university’s abandonment of its founding value of academic freedom in exchange for the corporation’s large financial contribution was a Faustian bargain.
2. •
   A deal in which one focuses on present gain without considering the long-term consequences.

   • It has been remarked that all technology is a Faustian bargain: one obtains conveniences and sometimes luxuries, but in exchange one gets an increased potential for catastrophe. — 1974