- How do you think about technology? Is it an object, an activity, a field of knowledge, or is it an interpretation of the world? According to Carl Mitcham, we can mean four things when using the word technology:
- An object: The things, the machines, the systems around us in our social world.
- An activity: The making, the designing, the using of things, something we do.
- Knowledge: The know how of knowing how to do things, the know how of the engineer as opposed to the knowing of the scientist.
- A worldview: A volition, something that has to do with our will, with an interpretation of the world in terms of will and power, as raw material to intervene upon the world.
- Is technology neutral or not? Where are you on the Instrumentalism vs. Determinism spectrum?
- Instrumentalism: Society creates and uses technology only as a tool.
- Determinism: Technology determines society, it shapes how we live.
- Should we consider philosophy of technology as a unity more theoretically, or do you think we should keep the different fields of technology separately when trying to understand the life around us (artificial intelligence > AI ethics; biotechnology and bioengineering > bioethics; life in space > astroethics; autonomous weapons > ethics of wars; etc.)
These are questions we discussed at Using Foresight‘s latest “Futurists of the World” Clubhouse chat with Victor Sarat Catalan and his guests. This open room was a continuation of Victor’s interview with Sylvia Gallusser from his Twitter Spaces. Sylvia has a fascination with Philosophy, and has been exploring the interception with futures for a while. She wanted to spark a conversation with other like minded people, or with anyone who was listening from the audience.
Read the full recap here, including an audio-only conversation that was held in Clubhouse on October 8th, 2021.
Silicon Humanism 