Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagJacques Ellul

world of cyber
Cyber ​​relationships on the Internet. Connected people. People and microchips. Cybernetic society. Alone in the net.

The Technological Society We Live In

In today's world, we think we can solve everything through technique. How's that going for us?

In a blog post this week from Salvo, Joshua Pauling cites the influential thinker Jacques Ellul on the development of a “technological society” in Western culture. Pauling writes, Even in the mid-20th century, Ellul, a French philosopher and theologian, saw technique and efficiency coming to consume every aspect of life and society. As he defined it in The Technological Society (originally entitled La Technique in French), technique is the “totality of methods rationally arrived at and having absolute efficiency in every field of human activity” (xxv). Just as the factories of the industrial world were optimized according to new standards of efficiency, now everything is measured, recorded, analyzed through a lens of efficiency, and then submitted to a technique to maximize outcomes according to Read More ›

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Smart industry control concept.Hands holding tablet on blurred automation machine as background

Who Controls the Tech?

Technology companies spend a lot of money trying to determine the best way to hook customers on their products. They have tremendous influence, but you have the final say. Andrew McDiarmid discusses technology, influence, and how to reset your technology use with Robert J. Marks. Additional Resources Andrew McDiarmid’s website Andrew McDiarmid at Discovery.org How to Glorify God with Your Read More ›

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One round power on and off button

Taking Our Lives Back from Big Tech, a Step at a Time

If we don’t have the time to stop and reflect because we are too busy checking our social media…

In a recent podcast, “Weaving the Technology of Our Lives” (July 14, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed tech and culture writer Andrew McDiarmid on the deep ways Big Tech governs our lives — ways of which we are often unaware — and concrete steps for taking control back: https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Mind-Matters-195-Andrew-McDiarmid.mp3 Here’s a partial transcript and notes. Additional Resources follow: Robert J. Marks: We have been talking about Jacques Ellul’s concept of technique… Andrew McDiarmid: Well, Jacques Ellul was a French sociologist, theologian, and philosopher of technology … Ellul’s lifetime spanned almost the entire 20th century, 1911 to 1994. He wrote books and articles throughout his career on how he saw technology impacting the “human adventure,” as he Read More ›

toraja-indonesia-weaving-stockpack-unsplash
Toraja Indonesia Weaving

Weaving the Technology of Our Lives

We have the ability to choose how to weave technology into our lives. How can we use technology in a healthy way? What are the consequences of being always connected and having everything available instantaneously? Andrew McDiarmid discusses technology, digital wellness, and freedom with Robert J. Marks. Additional Resources Andrew McDiarmid’s website Andrew McDiarmid at Discovery.org How to Glorify God Read More ›

caged colorful birds
Close up of small caged colorful birds in pet store in morning sun

Can Elon Musk Really Stop Big Tech From Controlling Us?

We usually don’t realize how far it has already gone in efforts to control our thinking

Think it doesn’t control you? Andrew McDiarmid can offer you some examples of pervasive efforts to control our thinking: It appeared in Apple’s iPhone software update this year, when a “pregnant man” emoji was quietly added to keyboards. It’s seen in Google’s new (and currently stalled) “inclusive language” feature, which autocorrects gendered terms like “landlord,” “policeman” or “housewife.” Andrew McDiarmid, “Big Tech is subtly controlling our lives—and we need to fight back” at New York Post (May 7, 2022) Surely, almost nobody on the planet, apart from small pressure groups, had asked for a “pregnant man” emoji. The concept has nothing whatever to do with the serious problems many pregnant women face worldwide. Landlord? Again, many people worldwide face problems Read More ›