Background
We live in a world where more and more of our lives -- our working lives and our
individual and social lives -- are mediated by technology.
At work we work with information and we work in ways determined by information
processes that dictate how and what we work on, measure our productivity,
monitor our activities. And these information processes can be used to reward our
work or to discipline us.
In our networked / individual social and personal lives, we connect with others
using technology or are connected to them through social networks. We use tools
like texting or social media messages to remain in touch with friends and relatives.
We navigate the world using digital maps or apps. We monitor our fitness using
apps and wearable devices. We organize our homes using digital assistants.
Topics
The focus of this term's group project is NTK (need to know) – in other words, basic
information about specific trends and ideas.
The focus of this longer term report needs to dig deeper into a topic of your choice
that is relevant to the course. This could be a topic from the group project you or
another group is working on or it could be a different topic (approved by me). For
this report you will need to do research that will show an in-depth and
well-researched understanding.
There are a number of perspectives or approaches you might use. Choose one or
more of the following as you find them relevant or useful:
1. find a context or an approach that will create a view of this innovation or
technology in the context of theories of innovation or theories of technology
or the relations of technology and society
o
Consider the theories discussed in class or in the textbook and use them
to
o
What ethical, social, or ecological principles are important for thinking
about the possible impact of this technology?
2. SWOT analysis
o
Strengths: what are the inherent strengths of this innovation or
technology
o
Weaknesses: what are the weaknesses inherent in this innovation or
technology
o
Opportunities: what trends or theories suggest that this innovation or
technology will find a place
o
Threats: what market or social or political challenges might limit the
success of this innovation or technology
3. Another analytical approach that will allow you to assess your chosen topic
with a degree of objectivity and insight...
Other requirements
Remember that this is a research report. So, research is required, and proper
documentation in APA style -- in-text citations and a complete list of References.
Your essay / report must make convincing arguments based on credible evidence
and research. It is fine to begin with your own beliefs or ideas about this question,
but make sure you can find research to support them.
The technological society
mgmt 3601
unit 01.2
agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
Technology and management
Society
Technology and society
Industrial and Post-industrial society
1. Technology and management
1. management
– overseeing and supervising people and things
2. connection between management & technology
Adam Smith (1723 – 1790)
• The Wealth of Nations (1776)
– division of labour in the pin factory
smithstrategyblog.com
The industrial revolution
• 1760 into the 1800s
• Inventions like steam engine, power loom, Bessemer
process of iron and steel production
• Movement from individual artisanal production to
mechanical production
• Britain first and then other countries
Karl Marx
• Capital: Critique of Political
Economy (1876)
Marxist view of effect of technology
• working day longer not shorter
• more not fewer women and children working in mechanized
industries
• skilled labour became eliminated, reduced or downgraded
• labour became more intense not less intense
• labourers became dependent on capitalists because labourers
no longer owned the means of production
Taylorism or Scientific Management
• Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856 – 1915)
• Worked to analyze and synthesize workflows with
the aim of improving efficiency and productivity
Motion studies
• Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
• The Gilbreths sought to make product more efficient
by reducing the human motions involved
• Frank & Lillian Gilbreth's Applied motion study (1917)
Fordism (after Henry Ford 1863 – 1947)
– Evolved independently from Taylorism
• The standardization of the components of a product
– Parts machine made and interchangeable
• Creation of tools to make the assembly lines possible
– The worker repeats the same task again and again
• The workers are well paid
– Workers become consumers of the products they produce
Conclusions
Industrial revolution, Fordism, and rise of Management
– driven by
– Technological advances
– Division of labour
– Mechanization of production
– Quest for efficiency
2. Society
• the way individuals and groups organize
themselves
• the totality of social relationships among
organized groups of human beings or animals
• a system of human organizations generating
distinctive cultural patterns and institutions and
usually providing protection, security, continuity,
and a national identity for its members
3. Technology & Society
Technology as…
•
•
•
•
•
material substance
knowledge
practice
technique
society
technology as material substance
technology
society
technology as knowledge
technological
knowledge
transform
objects
achieve
human goals
technology as knowledge
Layton’s model
• technological ideas
• translated into designs
• implemented by techniques and
tools to produce things
ideas
design
technique
Technology as practice
Ursula Franklin
technology is not limited to the apparatus, to the material
substance, or to the artifact
technology is not just “the sum of the artifacts”
technology is a “system” involving society – organization,
procedures, symbols, new words, and most importantly, a
mindset.
– Ursula Franklin (The Real World of Technology)
Franklin
Holistic technologies
Prescriptive technologies
• Craft
• Human control
• Factory
• Managed control
– Personal goals
• Individual decision
• One-of-a-kind product
• Specialization by product
– Efficiency
• Division of labour
• Mass production
• Specialization by process
Franklin
holistic technologies
prescriptive technologies
"Artisans, be they potters,
weavers, metal-smiths, or
cooks, control the process of
their own work from beginning
to finish.”
“Each step is carried out by a
separate worker, or group of
workers, who need to be
familiar only with the skills of
performing that one step."
Franklin, The Real World of Technology
Franklin
technology is a “system” involving society –
organization, procedures, symbols, new words, and
most importantly, a mindset.
technology
society
Technology as technique
Heidegger
• Focus on technique as a human activity
– A way of thinking to achieve a goal
– A way of thinking that includes materials, procedures,
know-how, and social norms
Habermas
• Technology as strategic action
– a social action
– a method to realize human endeavours
Technology as technique
Jacques Ellul – technique
– Standardized means to attain a goal
– Characterized by efficiency
• Technique – “efficiency is no longer an option but a
necessity imposed on all human activity” (Ellul)
• Technique – becomes not just a technical goal but a
social goal even although it may damage traditional
social order and the ethical goals of society
Technology as society
Jean Baudrillard
Technology doesn’t change
the world—it becomes the
world
Our society cannot exist outside
of the framework of technology
“On Rigor in Science”
. . . In that empire, the art of cartography reached such perfection that
the map of one province alone took up the whole of a city, and the map
of the empire, the whole of a province. In time, those unconscionable
maps did not satisfy, and the Colleges of Cartographers set up a map of
the empire which had the size of the empire itself and coincided with it
point by point. Less addicted to the study of cartography, succeeding
generations understood that this widespread map was useless, and not
without impiety they abandoned it to the inclemencies of the sun and
of the winters. In the deserts of the west some mangled ruins of the
map lasted on, inhabited by animals and beggars; in the whole country
there are no other relics of the disciplines of geography.
J. L. Borges (http://thefloatinglibrary.com/)
“Simulacra and Simulations”
Today abstraction is no longer that of the map, the double, the mirror,
or the concept. Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential
being, or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without
origin or reality: a hyperreal. The territory no longer precedes the map,
nor does it survive it. It is nevertheless the map that precedes the
territory — precession of simulacra — that engenders the territory, and
if one must return to the fable, today it is the territory whose shreds
slowly rot across the extent of the map. It is the real, and not the map,
whose vestiges persist here and there in the deserts that are no longer
those of the Empire, but ours. The desert of the real itself.
– Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulations (1994) trans. S. Glaser
world
technology
The simulacra
Guests stroll down on Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. (http://www.willhiteweb.com/)
Other examples?
• Other examples of copies with no originals?
• Other examples of copies taking the place of the original?
Skeuomorph
• an object or feature which imitates
the design of a similar artifact made
from another material
So…
• Which makes sense to you?
– Technology as substance
– Technology as social force
– Technology as knowledge
– Technology as practice
– Technology as technique
– Technology as society
Technology & society
Quan-Haase’s definition:
Technology is an assemblage of material objects, embodying
and reflecting societal elements, such as knowledge, norms,
and attitudes that have been shaped and structured to serve
societal, political, cultural, and existential purposes. (p. 7)
Technology & society
Quan-Haase’s definition:
Technology is an assemblage of material objects, embodying
and reflecting societal elements, such as knowledge, norms,
and attitudes that have been shaped* and structured to serve
societal, political, cultural, and existential purposes. (p. 7)
*shaped by what or whom?
Pause….
• Questions?
Industrial society
Colin Clark (1940)
Post-industrial society
•
•
•
•
(Post-Fordist society)
a new type of technology
a new type of use of technology
rise of information technology
– technology that worked with data and information
– technology whose product was data and information
Daniel Bell The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (1973)
pre industrial
industrial
post industrial
raw materials
financial capital
human capital
transformational natural power:
power
- water wheel
- wind mill
- animals
mechanical power:
- steam
- electricity
- oil
- nuclear power
information and
knowledge
processing:
- programming
- algorithms
- data transmission
labour
division of labour
networked labour
resources
physical labour
Informationalism
• In the new, informational mode of development the source of
productivity lies in the technology of knowledge generation,
information processing, and symbol communication… The
action of knowledge upon itself is the main source of
productivity.
• Wealth is now created through the action of knowledge upon
knowledge, or information upon information
– (Manuel Castells, The Rise of the Network Society, The Information
Age: Economy, Society and Culture, 2001)
Questions?
• Conclusions…
Theories of technology
mgmt 3601
unit 04.2
Overview
• Questions about technology
– Does it have its own inherent value?
– Is its development in our control?
• Feenberg’s table
• Other approaches
– Social Construction of Technology (SCOT)
From previous lectures
• Fordism and Taylorism
– The goal of technology is efficiency
• Moore’s law & related laws
– Increasing efficiency and power
•
•
•
•
More computing power
Higher speed
Decreasing cost
Decreasing size
pre industrial
industrial
post industrial
resources
raw materials
financial capital
human capital
transformational
power
natural power:
- water wheel
- wind mill
- animals
mechanical power:
- steam
- electricity
- oil
- nuclear power
information and
knowledge
processing:
- programming
- algorithms
- data transmission
labour
physical labour
division of labour
networked labour
Post-Fordist / Post-industrial / Informationalism
• When technology becomes information technology, does this
fundamentally change what technology is?
Directions of development
• Utopia
• Dystopia
– As we discussed last time
Questions
1. Do humans or society have any control over
how technology develops?
2. Does technology have an inherent or implicit
value or ideology?
Value-neutral vs. value-laden
• Value-neutral
– Technology has no predefined impact on human beings or human
society
• Value-laden
– Technology has an inherent value
• e.g. if one argued that technology development leads
inevitably to increased concentration of wealth in the top 1% or
that it inevitably leads to a divided society
Autonomous vs. Human-controlled
• Autonomous
– We cannot decide how technology will develop
– The next stage in development is predetermined
• Human-controlled
– We decide how technology will develop
– Human intentions and choices determine how technology develops
Technology
Autonomous:
We have little control over how
technologies are developed and
diffused
Human-controlled
We make important decisions that
determine how technologies are
developed and diffused
Value-neutral
The end uses of technology are
independent of the technology
itself
Determinism (Marxist view)
Technology proceeds on its own
but is independent of the
structure of society
Instrumentalism (neo-liberal
view)
Technology is an instrument we an
use to achieve desired social ends
Value-laden
The end uses of technology are
inherent in the technology itself
Substantivism
Technology determines the shape
of society – shaping society
according to the ends of
technology
Critical theory
By understanding technology, we
have the power to manage
technology and control its ends
Based on Quan-Haase Technology and Society p. 43 Feenberg http://www.sfu.ca/~andrewf/komaba.htm
Instrumentalism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Neo-liberal view
• Technology is simply a tool for our benefit
– e.g. “guns don’t kill people—people kill people”
• Progress is good and under human control
• Nature exists to be exploited and used
Instrumentalism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Neo-liberal view
• Dominant view
– View of large tech companies – FAANGs &c.
• Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google
– View of many governments
• Technology development brings jobs and opportunities
Instrumentalism
•
•
•
•
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
example – Facebook revolutions
The overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt (2011)
Tunisian revolution (2011)
The technology gave people the power to organize and
overthrow governments
Instrumentalism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Japan Meiji period of rapid change ~1870 – 1920
– Rapid industrialization and modernization and a belief that
traditional values could still be maintained
Determinism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Marxist view (dialectical materialism)
• Technological advance is the driving force of history
• Technology shapes society to requirements of efficiency
and progress
• We must adapt to technology as the most significant
expression of our humanity
Determinism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
Post World War I – politically neutral technology
• The Soviet Union industrializes rapidly (communist)
• The USA continues industrialization (capitalist)
– Both become less agrarian and more industrial
– Both are leaders in science, technology, space, and military technology
(the Cold War)
– Efficiency and progress are the only values of technology
Substantivism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Substantivism is pessimistic
• Dystopian view
• The autonomy of technological progress is “threatening and
malevolent” (Feenberg 2003)
Substantivism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• The substantivist view is that choosing a technology is not
simply choosing efficiency or convenience—it is choosing
a way of life determined by that technology
• Technology does not serve our values or goals—we end
up serving the goals and values of technology
Substantivism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• View 1: technology will lead to democracy
– Technology has a built-in democratic value
• View 2: technology is a threat to democracy
– Technology has a built-in power for those in control of the
technology
Substantivism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
Martin Heidegger
– We are constantly obeying the dictates of technical systems in which we
are enrolled; we tend to see ourselves more and more as devices
regulated by medical, psychological, athletic and other functional
disciplines (Feenberg 2003)
Traditional values cannot survive the challenge of technology (Feenberg
2003) Traditional values are replaced by the values inherent in technology
Substantivism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
“In the most extreme imagination of substantivism, a
Brave New World such as Huxley describes in his
famous novel overtakes humanity and converts human
beings into mere cogs in the machinery” (Feenberg,
2003)
Determinism / Substantivism
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Determinism
– Optimistic
• Substantivism
– Optimistic or Pessimistic
Critical theory
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Technology is in some sense controllable
• Technology also has built-in values which threaten human
and social values
Critical theory
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Critical theory sees the catastrophic consequences of
technology that substantivism sees, but still sees a promise
of freedom through technology
• Understands we need to find ways to control technology
Critical theory
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Technology is like climate change
– Something that follows a predetermined course
– Something we can work to change and control if we act
Critical theory
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Andrew Feenberg
• "What human beings are and will become is decided in the shape
of our tools no less than in the action of statesmen and political
movements. The design of technology is thus an ontological
decision fraught with political consequences. The exclusion of
the vast majority from participation in this decision is profoundly
undemocratic" (Transforming Technology, p.3).
conclusion
Technology is
Autonomous
Human-controlled
Value-neutral
Determinism
Instrumentalism
Value-laden
Substantivism
Critical theory
• Which position seems reasonable to you?
Other approaches
• Relying on a critical theory perspective
– Science and Technology Studies (STS)
– Social Construction of Technology (SCOT)
– Actor Network Theory (ANT)
Science and Technology Studies (STS)
•
•
•
•
Technology is value laden
Technology shapes culture, politics, and social values
Technology is shaped by culture, politics, and social values
STS works at both micro and macro level
– e.g. study of MySpace bands
Actor Network Theory (ANT)
• Importance of webs of relationships (networks)
“everything in the world is a continuously generated effect of the webs
of relations within which they are located”
• Webs include technologies but also people and ideas
• an example of ANT is SCoT…
Social Construction (SCoT)
•
•
•
•
critical-theory-type view
technology does not determine human action
human action shapes technology
the ways a technology is used cannot be understood without
understanding the social context in which that technology is
embedded
Social Construction (SCoT)
• Relevant social group
– Any technology needs social acceptance
• Interpretive flexibility
– Meaning of a technology emerges from society
• Closure and stabilization
– A technology’s meaning becomes fixed over time
• Wider context
– values of society are frameworks for interpreting any technology
e.g. The bicycle
Bicycle evolution http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bicycle_evolution-en.svg
Think of another example
• …(?)
Critique of SCoT
• focuses on how technologies arise, and ignores consequences
• focuses on social groups and interests that contribute to the
technology but ignores others not directly connected
• focuses on immediate needs but disregards deeper issues
– Langon Winner (1993)
References
• Feenberg, A. (2003) What is Philosophy of Technology: Lecture
for the Komaba undergraduates
http://www.sfu.ca/~andrewf/komaba.htm
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