Regulating Technological Systems

Abstract

The phrase the technological imperative is sometimes used to illustrate the great social impact of technology in modern societies. Langdon Winner, in his well-known book Autonomous Technology, elaborates this notion, claiming that technology, in the process of becoming established in society, also restructures its environment.¹ In other words, the modus operandi of technology is to adapt the environment to the requirements of technology. Technological artifacts require technological surroundings to be able to operate smoothly, which includes people willing to make themselves suitable to this operation. Therefore, a chain of actions and behaviours adapted to artifacts are needed for the workability of technological systems. According to Winner the technological imperative refers to a technological system’s inherent potential for growth and societal power. Ultimately social goals become supportive of its operation. This implies that ends become means, defined in relation to the survival and expansion of the technological system, focusing on instrumental goals like efficiency. Winner’s view of modern technology is pessimistic. The political and individual control is limited; technology forces users into adaptive behaviour, and politicians to formulate pragmatic visions of the future.