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COMP 2903 AI- Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change

Explore the critical aspects of technological change discussed by Neil Postman in 1998, shedding light on trade-offs, winners and losers, biases, ecological impact, and the mythic perception of technology.

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COMP 2903 AI- Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change

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  1. COMP 2903AI- Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change Danny Silver JSOCS, Acadia University

  2. Neil Postman • Delivered this talk in 1998 to a gathering of theologians and religious leaders in Denver, Colorado • An American author, media theorist and cultural critic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Postman • He is speaking to concerns regarding “faith” in the new millennium • Presents a fear of technology creating false absolutes • But notes that this always existed

  3. The Five Things • Culture always pays a price for technology. • There are always winners and losers in a technological change. • Every technology embodies a philosophy, an epistemological, political or social prejudice • Technological change is not additive, it is ecological. • Technology becomes mythic - seen as part of the natural order of things.

  4. First • Technological change is always a trade-off • It giveth and it taketh away • We always pay a price for technology • The greater the technology, the greater the price • Think of a technology - its pros / its cons ??

  5. Second • That there are always winners and losers from a new technology • Technological advantages are never distributed evenly • The winners always try to persuade the losers that they are really also winners • The printing press enabled the masses, but hurt the church • Other examples … ?

  6. Third • Ebedded in every technology is a powerful idea - an epistemological, political or social prejudice. • Sometimes that bias is greatly to our advantage; sometimes it is not: • The printing press annihilated the oral tradition • Telegraphy annihilated space • The computer is affecting our communities • “The Medium is the Message” Marshall McLuhan • To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail • Every technology has a prejudice

  7. Fourth • Technological change is not additive; it is ecological • Consequences are always vast, often unpredictable and largely irreversible • Capitalists seen as radical culture changers: Bell, Ford, Edison, Goldwyn, Berners-Lee • Is tech. change too important to be left entirely in the hands of Bill Gates? • Consider the impact of ICT on politics (think Obama)

  8. Fifth • Technology tends to become mythic - perceived as part of the natural order of things - eg. The alphabet was invented – it is not natural • Always dangerous because it is then accepted as is, and not easily susceptible to modification or control. • Tends to control more of our lives than is good for us - eg. the hours of the day TV is on

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