Symposium #8

  • Nothing is neutral; on the other hand nothing is coercive either.
  • Technologies were created with an intended purpose, however that purpose may be lost as the technology is used for different purposes besides the one it was originally intended for.
  • In relation to gun violence: a key argument in relation to gun regulation is that it is not the technology that kills people, it is the person wielding the technology.
    • This can be applied to any technology. E.g. A hammer may have originally been intended as a tool, but it can be used as a weapon, or to destroy rather than build, or as a chew toy for a dog, dinner for a termite.. etc.
  • Networked media and technology follow this same logic with communications technologies in particular.
  • Networked technologies are intricate and complex ‘soups’ of histories, interlocking social reforms, social conditioning etc.
  • Nothing is isolated; everything exists in relation to something else.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *