techno-pessimism
Innovation breeds doom
Techno-pessimism is skepticism or negative outlook toward technological progress, holding that new technologies cause more harm than good or fail to deliver promised benefits.
The techno-pessimist worries about job displacement, surveillance, environmental damage, or social fragmentation.
Opposite of techno-optimism: His techno-pessimism deepened after reading about AI risks.
Opposition to new technology
- dystopiaImaginary terrible society
- alienationState of being isolated
- dehumanizationDenying personhood to others
- nihilismRejection of objective meaning
existential risk · Heidegger · Postman · technophobia · critique · skepticism · disenchantment · instrumentalism
Systematic observation of subjects
- job displacementLoss of employment position
- digital divideUnequal access to computers/internet
- social isolationLack of human contact
- algorithmic biasSystematic unfairness in automated decisions
misinformation · echo chambers · polarization · deskilling · attention economy · inequality · exploitation · gig economy
Hypothetical beyond-human cognition
- singularityPoint where values explode
- extinction riskLikelihood of permanent disappearance
- TerminatorKiller android series
- bioengineeringEngineering applied to biology
Skynet · nuclear · doomsday · apocalypse · unintended consequences · arms race · mutually assured destruction
Gothic novel's mad scientist
- Brave New World1932 dystopian fiction
- 1984Dystopian surveillance state tale
- MetropolisHero's fictional American city
- cyberpunkDystopian tech-noir fiction
cautionary tale · science fiction · Kaczynski · Unabomber · counterculture · back-to-land · digital detox · slow movement
Discarded technological devices
- planned obsolescenceDeliberately shortened product lifespan
- carbon footprintTotal greenhouse gases produced
- resource extractionObtaining substances from nature
- rare earthMetallic elements, often mined together
energy consumption · data centers · silicon · toxic waste · unsustainability · overconsumption · climate impact · pollution
Luddism
Opposition to new technology
- dystopiaImaginary terrible society
- alienationState of being isolated
- dehumanizationDenying personhood to others
nihilism · existential risk · Heidegger · Postman · technophobia · critique · skepticism · disenchantment · instrumentalism · reductionism
surveillance
Systematic observation of subjects
- job displacementLoss of employment position
- digital divideUnequal access to computers/internet
- social isolationLack of human contact
algorithmic bias · misinformation · echo chambers · polarization · deskilling · attention economy · inequality · exploitation · gig economy · precarity
superintelligence
Hypothetical beyond-human cognition
- singularityPoint where values explode
- extinction riskLikelihood of permanent disappearance
- TerminatorKiller android series
Skynet · bioengineering · nuclear · doomsday · apocalypse · unintended consequences · arms race · mutually assured destruction
Frankenstein
Gothic novel's mad scientist
- Brave New World1932 dystopian fiction
- 1984Dystopian surveillance state tale
- MetropolisHero's fictional American city
cyberpunk · cautionary tale · science fiction · Kaczynski · Unabomber · counterculture · back-to-land · digital detox · slow movement · off-grid
e-waste
Discarded technological devices
- planned obsolescenceDeliberately shortened product lifespan
- carbon footprintTotal greenhouse gases produced
- resource extractionObtaining substances from nature
rare earth · energy consumption · data centers · silicon · toxic waste · unsustainability · overconsumption · climate impact · pollution · landfill
techno-pessimismtechno-utopianism
Faith that innovation solves all
techno-pessimismaccelerationism
Intensify systems to destroy them
techno, pessimism, technology, technological, technologically, technologist, technique, techniques, technical