Critique of pure technology

Abstract

Every new technology fundamentally changes social and organizational structures. The danger is that technology, when applied with little thought, will dictate the changes and we may not like the results. This paper draws parallels between our critique of the dangers inherent in pure technology ('pure' in the sense of being free from all associations) and Kantian critique of pure reason. Two fundamental questions are posed: What are the limits of technological solutions to human related problems? (analogous to the question 'What are the limits of human thought and reason?') What are the preconditions under which people can make sense of the technological world? (analogous to the question 'What are the preconditions in which people can make sense of experience?'). We explore a phenomenon of unthinking application of pure technology with reference to (1) human inability to perceive the thresholds beyond which technological solutions no longer apply to the human related problems they were originally intended to solve and (2) human tendency for a decontex-tualized understanding of the technologies involved.