Technology Takeover. What if Technological Determinism is the Best Theory of Reality?
Developments in computers, big data and artificial intelligence are just the latest instances of an ongoing accumulation of human competencies in technology.
Technology always works by taking over tasks that humans used to do. However, it no longer seems true to say that humans control the takeover process. What if technological determinism is becoming the best theory of technology? This theory says that slow accumulation processes are more decisive than the effort of humans, and that technology’s physical qualities determine what humans can achieve. Professor Nyre conducts a reading of Martin Heidegger’s famous essay «The question concerning technology» (1954) in support of his perspective. Heidegger's gloomy vision of modern technology is just as relevant for the internet as for the hydro-electric dams on the Rhine that he was concerned with."
Presentation
Video
Lars Nyre
University of Bergen, Norway