ReWriting the Human Story - Chapter 9

Singularity.FM

"Technology improves the lives of people who can avoid being dominated by it and forced into debilitating addictions to it." Frank Kaufmann The 1st atomic bomb was nicknamed “gadget.” Does this fact say something about who we are? Or does it say something about the nature of technology and the power to do good or evil? I will begin this chapter by looking at the most popular myths about technology. I will then look at the etymological origins as well as several definitions of the term. Finally, I will conclude by arguing that story is the core technology of our civilization. Perhaps the most popular and maybe even the most dangerous myth about technology is the myth that technology allows us to see the future. “Come and see this amazing new technology,” we often hear, “And you will see the future.” I call this “the Crystal Ball” myth because I grew up with the witches and wizards’ fairy tales where magic crystal balls gave them the ability to see the future. Of course, Arthur C. Clarke’s famous 3rd law states that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” And so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that modern technology has become synonymous with the crystal ball from our old fairy tales. But the Crystal Ball perception of technology is not only a myth. It is also dangerous. To evaluate the crystal ball metaphor, we have to first understand the etymology of the word technology – what it means and stands for, or at least what it used to mean and stand for. Then we can judge whether the etymological meaning of the word supports the above metaphor or some alternatives that I will propose. The word technology comes from two Greek words – techne and logos. Techne means art, skill, craft, or the way, manner, or means by which a thing is gained. Logos means word, the utterance by which inward thought is expressed, a saying, or an expression. So, technology means words or discourse or a conversation about the way things are gained. In other words, technology is merely “how” we do things and not “what” we want or “why” we do them. Because it is not an end-in-itself. Instead, technology is merely a means-to-an-end, a tool. That is why I want to propose a better metaphor: technology is a magnifying mirror. It doesn’t show us the future but merely reflects the present and, more importantly, it reflects who we are. Technology is a mirror because it reflects the engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, and users who create and use it. But it is also a mirror to humanity in general and our collective dreams, hopes and fears, our knowledge and our ignorance, our privileges and our responsibilities, our strengths, and our weaknesses, our good, and our evil. But it is not a usual kind of mirror because technology magnifies and amplifies things, and hence it brings its own biases. Thus it always has unforeseen consequences. And the critical point here is that technology reflects our essence. So, in a way, the story of technology is the story of humanity. [Just like the story of humanity is often told as the story of technology – e.g., the claim that we are a “tool-maker.”] Now, why do I claim that the crystal ball metaphor is dangerous? Read the rest here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/technology-story/