Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 10 We face a daunting task in an attempt to be a responsible self in an age of pervasive technology. The dynamism, expansion of scale, complexity and interdependence of contemporary technology introduce uncertainty and risk. They strain the ability of the responsible self to comprehend and adequately control the nature and consequences of human conduct. In addition, ambivalent t

Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 9 The issue of ambivalent technological determinism can be placed into the broader context of the experience of life. According to Langdon Winner, technological ordering functions as a way or form of life and thus is, hardly a notion that implies neutrality. (Winner (1), 201) Simply stated, the idea of technology as a form of life suggests that technological order becomes an asp

Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 8 Ambivalent technological determinism also functions at the level of ideas and values. An "ideological dimension" of technology involves the association of certain ideas, values, norms and aspirations with technological existence. Technology in and of itself does not necessarily determine an ideology. Rather, as Kranzberg suggests, " values become attached to particular technol

Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 7 One consequence of ambivalent technology is that the technological ordering can spawn unavoidable choices. Roger Shinn refers to these as "forced options." According to Shinn: The forced option is a simple point of logic. Some options are avoidable and some are forced. That is, some decisions can be put off or evaded forever; others cannot. To recognize a forced option is not

Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 6 In this episode we will consider several aspects of ambivalent technological determinism. Through this analysis we will discover the political dimension of technology. Technological Drift One form of ambivalent technological determinism is what Langdon Winner refers to as "technological drift" (Winner 88-100). In an age of pervasive technology, our society "drifts" on currents

Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 5 In an age of pervasive technology we function within, and are inexorably bound to, the complex web of relationships that are determined in various ways by technological modes of human being. This suggests the need to develop an "ecological" frame of reference when considering the scope of responsibility in terms of technology. An ecological view of responsibility in an age of

Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 4 When we think of technology in today's world, the issue of the scope of responsibility must be addressed. Under what circumstances and within what time frame are we responsible for any particular act? A traditional view of the scope of responsibility Traditional views of responsibility were based on face-to-face interactions. Time was viewed as morally relevant at the moment o

Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 3 Who Is Homo technicus? In Episode 2 of this series I proposed that technology is most accurately understood as a mode of human activity-- the extension and enhancement of human capacity and power by artificial means. This suggests an ideal-type -- Homo technicus. Homo technicus is the being who has the capacity and propensity to extend and enhance its capacities and power, by

Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 2 A starting point: the instrumental view of technology Technology is commonly described in terms of tools, instruments, machines, and systems that humans use for a wide range of purposes. As Melvin Kranzberg noted, from this perspective, technology is "simply a means that humans are free to employ or not, as they see fit." Technology has no intrinsic value or purpose. It is use

Being Responsible in the Age of Social Media, Cryptocurrency, and Smart Weapons/Cars/Phones Episode 1 To be morally responsible is to be accountable for what one causes to happen (either through one's own agency, or through the exercise of one's authority) and to be obligated to act in relation to others appropriately. Responsibility requires: the duty to be reasonably diligent in one's efforts (negligence is a form of irresponsible behavior), the capacity for self-determinat