Technology-Driven Moral Panics – Interactive Timeline
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The past two plus millennia have had their fair share of technology-driven panics, from warnings<br>about the dangers of writing and printing, to the advent of bicycles, the car, radio, video games<br>and — more recently — generative AI.
Most of these “techlash” responses look irrational with hindsight — knee-jerk social responses<br>that place fear of the unknown, maintaining the status quo, and holding on to identity-defining<br>ideas, ahead of rational thought. And yet, below the surface, there’s often more to them. Rather<br>than being a simplistic rejection of a new technology, they are often responses to something<br>that’s perceived as a threat to something of worth or value — identity, dignity, jobs, security,<br>beliefs, the ability to find meaning in life, and more.
Of course, revisiting past incidents of technology-driven moral panic is entertaining — and<br>there’s no reason it shouldn’t be. There’s nothing quite like getting the metaphorical popcorn<br>out and reveling in the seeming foolishness of past generations.
And yet, each of the cases of “techlash” here goes beyond entertainment value alone, and reveals<br>something about what people at the time valued, what they feared, and how they navigated a<br>transformative technology transition. And as they do, they provide insights into how we approach<br>current and future technology transitions. Not with a sense of superiority, but with the humility<br>that comes from recognizing that we are all human, and all subject to our own biases, and ideas<br>of what’s important to us, and what appears to threaten this.
With this in mind, each case here comes with insights into warnings and opportunities, as well as<br>just being an interesting history of how there’s nothing new about pushback against new tech. And<br>hopefully they are a reminder that, as is often the case, the way we successfully navigate new<br>technologies rarely boils down to unbridled optimism or existential dread, but rather the<br>day-to-day messiness of navigating uncertainty with care, humility, and ingenuity. Which, at the<br>end of the day, is a very human thing to do.
The collection was created by<br>Andrew Maynard<br>(Director of Arizona State University’s<br>Future of Being Human initiative), whose work on navigating<br>technology transitions and<br>approaching risk as a threat to value<br>threads through the site.
Useful links
Orben, Amy (2020).
The Sisyphean Cycle of Technology Panics
The Return of the Techno-Moral Panic
. The New York Times (2017)
More from Andrew Maynard
andrewmaynard.net<br>— Andrew’s personal website
Future of Being Human<br>— Andrew’s writing on technology, responsibility, and what it means to be human
Future of Being Human initiative (ASU)
Modem Futura<br>— Podcast with Sean Leahy on the breakthroughs and big questions shaping tomorrow
Risk Innovation Nexus<br>— Andrew’s framework for navigating threats to value around emerging technologies