CS213 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Technological Unemployment, Leo Marx, Sociotechnical System
Document Summary
Foregrounds the interconnectedness within which things appear, are developed and have effects (p97) These effects arise through relationships rather than being caused by a particular agent. The concept of sociotechnical system draws our attention to the heterogeneity and abstracted quality of those interconnections. Soft-determinism (cid:862)i(cid:374) the real (cid:449)orld, ho(cid:449)e(cid:448)er, people ofte(cid:374) take positio(cid:374)s o(cid:374) te(cid:272)h(cid:374)olog(cid:455) that (cid:373)i(cid:454) up these positions, which contributes to sloppy, unhelpful arguments. By carefully e(cid:454)plori(cid:374)g the four positio(cid:374)s, it is possi(cid:271)le to u(cid:374)(cid:373)ask su(cid:272)h slopp(cid:455) thi(cid:374)ki(cid:374)g (cid:863) Assumption that effects are intrinsic to the technology itself and that the effects are inevitable: as if effe(cid:272)ts are (cid:374)atural a(cid:374)d i(cid:374)separa(cid:271)le fro(cid:373) or (cid:862)(cid:271)uilt-i(cid:374)to(cid:863) the te(cid:272)h(cid:374)olog(cid:455, we can only be passive recipients. Idea everything is pre-deter(cid:373)i(cid:374)ed (cid:449)he(cid:374) there (cid:272)a(cid:374)(cid:859)t (cid:271)e: no (cid:449)a(cid:455) to sa(cid:455), (cid:862)this is (cid:449)here (cid:455)ou(cid:859)ll e(cid:374)d up(cid:863) Automation has mechanics and artificial intelligence = takes over the persons job. History of technology is a history of human actions.
