Technology

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Technology (disambiguation).

A steam turbine with the case opened,

an example of energy technology

History of technology

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By technological eras

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 By type of technology

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 v
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Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve

practical goals, especially in a reproducible way.[1] The word technology can
also mean the products resulting from such efforts,[2][3] including both
tangible tools such as utensils or machines, and intangible ones such
as software. Technology plays a critical role in science, engineering,
and everyday life.

Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society.

The earliest known technology is the stone tool, used during prehistoric
times, followed by the control of fire, which contributed to the growth of
the human brain and the development of language during the Ice Age. The
invention of the wheel in the Bronze Age allowed greater travel and the
creation of more complex machines. More recent technological inventions,
including the printing press, telephone, and the Internet, have lowered
barriers to communication and ushered in the knowledge economy.

While technology contributes to economic development and improves

human prosperity, it can also have negative impacts
like pollution and resource depletion, and can cause social harms
like technological unemployment resulting from automation. As a result,
philosophical and political debates about the role and use of technology,
the ethics of technology, and ways to mitigate its downsides are ongoing.

Etymology
Technology is a term dating back to the early 17th century that meant
'systematic treatment' (from Greek Τεχνολογία, from
the Greek: τέχνη, romanized: tékhnē, lit. 'craft, art' and -λογία, 'study,
knowledge').[4][5] It is predated in use by the Ancient Greek word tékhnē,
used to mean 'knowledge of how to make things', which encompassed
activities like architecture.[6]

Starting in the 19th century, continental Europeans started using the

terms Technik (German) or technique (French) to refer to a 'way of doing',
which included all technical arts, such as dancing, navigation, or printing,
whether or not they required tools or instruments.[7] At the
time, Technologie (German and French) referred either to the academic
discipline studying the "methods of arts and crafts", or to the political
discipline "intended to legislate on the functions of the arts and
crafts."[8] The distinction between Technik and Technologie is absent in
English, and so both were translated as technology. The term was
previously uncommon in English and mostly referred to the academic
discipline, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[9]

In the 20th century, as a result of scientific progress and the Second

Industrial Revolution, technology stopped being considered a distinct
academic discipline and took on the meaning: the systemic use of
knowledge to practical ends.[10]

History
Main articles: History of technology and Timeline of historic inventions
Prehistoric
Main article: Prehistoric technology

A person holding a hand axe

Tools were initially developed by hominids through observation and trial
and error.[11] Around 2 Mya (million years ago), they learned to make the
first stone tools by hammering flakes off a pebble, forming a sharp hand
axe.[12] This practice was refined 75 kya (thousand years ago) into pressure
flaking, enabling much finer work.[13]

The discovery of fire was described by Charles Darwin as "possibly the

greatest ever made by man".[14] Archaeological, dietary, and social evidence
point to "continuous [human] fire-use" at least 1.5 Mya.[15] Fire, fueled with
wood and charcoal, allowed early humans to cook their food to increase its
digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening the number of
foods that could be eaten.[16] The cooking hypothesis proposes that the
ability to cook promoted an increase in hominid brain size, though some
researchers find the evidence inconclusive.[17] Archaeological evidence
of hearths was dated to 790 kya; researchers believe this is likely to have
intensified human socialization and may have contributed to the emergence
of language.[18][19]

Other technological advances made during the Paleolithic era include

clothing and shelter.[20] No consensus exists on the approximate time of
adoption of either technology, but archaeologists have found
archaeological evidence of clothing 90-120 kya[21] and shelter 450 kya.[20] As
the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became more sophisticated and
more elaborate; as early as 380 kya, humans were constructing temporary
wood huts.[22][23] Clothing, adapted from the fur and hides of hunted animals,
helped humanity expand into colder regions; humans began to migrate out
of Africa around 200 kya, initially moving to Eurasia.[24][25][26]
Neolithic
Main article: Neolithic Revolution

An array of Neolithic artifacts, including

bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools
The Neolithic Revolution (or First Agricultural Revolution) brought about an
acceleration of technological innovation, and a consequent increase in
social complexity.[27] The invention of the polished stone axe was a major
advance that allowed large-scale forest clearance and farming.[28] This use
of polished stone axes increased greatly in the Neolithic but was originally
used in the preceding Mesolithic in some areas such as Ireland.
[29]
Agriculture fed larger populations, and the transition
to sedentism allowed for the simultaneous raising of more children, as
infants no longer needed to be carried around by nomads. Additionally,
children could contribute labor to the raising of crops more readily than they
could participate in hunter-gatherer activities.[30][31]

With this increase in population and availability of labor came an increase

in labor specialization.[32] What triggered the progression from early
Neolithic villages to the first cities, such as Uruk, and the first civilizations,
such as Sumer, is not specifically known; however, the emergence of
increasingly hierarchical social structures and specialized labor, of trade
and war among adjacent cultures, and the need for collective action to
overcome environmental challenges such as irrigation, are all thought to
have played a role.[33]

The invention of writing led to the spread of cultural knowledge and

became the basis for history, libraries, schools, and scientific research.[34]

Continuing improvements led to the furnace and bellows and provided, for
the first time, the ability to smelt and forge gold, copper, silver, and lead –
native metals found in relatively pure form in nature.[35] The advantages of
copper tools over stone, bone and wooden tools were quickly apparent to
early humans, and native copper was probably used from near the
beginning of Neolithic times (about 10 kya).[36] Native copper does not
naturally occur in large amounts, but copper ores are quite common and
some of them produce metal easily when burned in wood or charcoal fires.
Eventually, the working of metals led to the discovery of alloys such
as bronze and brass (about 4,000 BCE). The first use of iron alloys such as
steel dates to around 1,800 BCE.[37][38]
Ancient
Main article: Ancient technology
Ancient technology
 Egyptian technology
 Indian technology
 Chinese technology
 Greek technology
 Roman technology
 Iranian technology
 The wheel was invented c. 4,000 BCE.

Ljubljana Marshes Wheel with axle (oldest wooden

wheel yet discovered)
After harnessing fire, humans discovered other forms of energy. The
earliest known use of wind power is the sailing ship; the earliest record of a
ship under sail is that of a Nile boat dating to around 7,000 BCE.[39] From
prehistoric times, Egyptians likely used the power of the annual flooding of
the Nile to irrigate their lands, gradually learning to regulate much of it
through purposely built irrigation channels and "catch" basins.[40] The
ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia used a complex system of canals and
levees to divert water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for irrigation.[41]

Archaeologists estimate that the wheel was invented independently and

concurrently in Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq), the Northern Caucasus
(Maykop culture), and Central Europe.[42] Time estimates range from 5,500
to 3,000 BCE with most experts putting it closer to 4,000 BCE.[43] The oldest
artifacts with drawings depicting wheeled carts date from about 3,500 BCE.
[44]
More recently, the oldest-known wooden wheel in the world was found in
the Ljubljana Marsh of Slovenia.[45]

The invention of the wheel revolutionized trade and war. It did not take long
to discover that wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads. The
ancient Sumerians used a potter's wheel and may have invented it.[46] A
stone pottery wheel found in the city-state of Ur dates to around 3,429
BCE,[47] and even older fragments of wheel-thrown pottery have been found
in the same area.[47] Fast (rotary) potters' wheels enabled early mass
production of pottery, but it was the use of the wheel as a transformer of
energy (through water wheels, windmills, and even treadmills) that
revolutionized the application of nonhuman power sources. The first two-
wheeled carts were derived from travois[48] and were first used in
Mesopotamia and Iran in around 3,000 BCE.[48]

The oldest known constructed roadways are the stone-paved streets of the
city-state of Ur, dating to c. 4,000 BCE,[49] and timber roads leading through
the swamps of Glastonbury, England, dating to around the same period.
[49]
The first long-distance road, which came into use around 3,500 BCE,
[49]
spanned 2,400 km from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea,[49] but
was not paved and was only partially maintained.[49] In around 2,000 BCE,
the Minoans on the Greek island of Crete built a 50 km road leading from
the palace of Gortyn on the south side of the island, through the mountains,
to the palace of Knossos on the north side of the island.[49] Unlike the earlier
road, the Minoan road was completely paved.[49]

Photograph of the Pont du Gard in

France, one of the most famous ancient Roman aqueducts[50]
Ancient Minoan private homes had running water.[51] A bathtub virtually
identical to modern ones was unearthed at the Palace of Knossos.[51]
[52]
Several Minoan private homes also had toilets, which could be flushed
by pouring water down the drain.[51] The ancient Romans had many public
flush toilets,[52] which emptied into an extensive sewage system.[52] The
primary sewer in Rome was the Cloaca Maxima;[52] construction began on it
in the sixth century BCE and it is still in use today.[52]

The ancient Romans also had a complex system of aqueducts,[50] which

were used to transport water across long distances.[50] The first Roman
aqueduct was built in 312 BCE.[50] The eleventh and final ancient Roman
aqueduct was built in 226 CE.[50] Put together, the Roman aqueducts
extended over 450 km,[50] but less than 70 km of this was above ground and
supported by arches.[50]
Pre-modern
Main articles: Medieval technology and Renaissance technology
Innovations continued through the Middle Ages with the introduction of silk
production (in Asia and later Europe), the horse collar,
and horseshoes. Simple machines (such as the lever, the screw, and
the pulley) were combined into more complicated tools, such as
the wheelbarrow, windmills, and clocks.[53] A system of universities
developed and spread scientific ideas and practices,
including Oxford and Cambridge.[54]

The Renaissance era produced many innovations, including the

introduction of the movable type printing press to Europe, which facilitated
the communication of knowledge. Technology became increasingly
influenced by science, beginning a cycle of mutual advancement.[55]
Modern
Main articles: Industrial Revolution, Second Industrial Revolution,
and Information Age

The automobile revolutionized personal

transportation.
Starting in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, the discovery of steam
power set off the Industrial Revolution, which saw wide-ranging
technological discoveries, particularly in the areas of agriculture,
manufacturing, mining, metallurgy, and transport, and the widespread
application of the factory system.[56] This was followed a century later by
the Second Industrial Revolution which led to rapid scientific discovery,
standardization, and mass production. New technologies were developed,
including sewage systems, electricity, light bulbs, electric motors,
railroads, automobiles, and airplanes. These technological advances led to
significant developments in medicine, chemistry, physics, and engineering.
[57]
They were accompanied by consequential social change, with the
introduction of skyscrapers accompanied by rapid urbanization.
[58]
Communication improved with the invention of the telegraph, the
telephone, the radio, and television.[59]
The 20th century brought a host of innovations. In physics, the discovery
of nuclear fission in the Atomic Age led to both nuclear
weapons and nuclear power. Analog computers were invented and
asserted dominance in processing complex data. While the invention
of vacuum tubes allowed for digital computing with computers like
the ENIAC, their sheer size precluded widespread use until innovations
in quantum physics allowed for the invention of the transistor in 1947,
which significantly compacted computers and led the digital transition.
Information technology, particularly optical fiber and optical amplifiers,
allowed for simple and fast long-distance communication, which ushered in
the Information Age and the birth of the Internet. The Space Age began
with the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, and later the launch of crewed
missions to the moon in the 1960s. Organized efforts to search for
extraterrestrial intelligence have used radio telescopes to detect signs of
technology use, or technosignatures, given off by alien civilizations. In
medicine, new technologies were developed for diagnosis (CT, PET,
and MRI scanning), treatment (like the dialysis
machine, defibrillator, pacemaker, and a wide array of new pharmaceutical
drugs), and research (like interferon cloning and DNA microarrays).[60]

Complex manufacturing and construction techniques and organizations are

needed to make and maintain more modern technologies, and
entire industries have arisen to develop succeeding generations of
increasingly more complex tools. Modern technology increasingly relies on
training and education – their designers, builders, maintainers, and users
often require sophisticated general and specific training.[61] Moreover, these
technologies have become so complex that entire fields have developed to
support them, including engineering, medicine, and computer science; and
other fields have become more complex, such as construction,
transportation, and architecture.

Impact
Main article: Technology and society
Technological change is the largest cause of long-term economic growth.[62]
[63]
Throughout human history, energy production was the main constraint
on economic development, and new technologies allowed humans to
significantly increase the amount of available energy. First came fire, which
made edible a wider variety of foods, and made it less physically
demanding to digest them. Fire also enabled smelting, and the use of tin,
copper, and iron tools, used for hunting or tradesmanship. Then came the
agricultural revolution: humans no longer needed to hunt or gather to
survive, and began to settle in towns and cities, forming more complex
societies, with militaries and more organized forms of religion.[64]

Technologies have contributed to human welfare through increased

prosperity, improved comfort and quality of life, and medical progress, but
they can also disrupt existing social hierarchies, cause pollution, and harm
individuals or groups.

Recent years have brought about a rise in social media's cultural

prominence, with potential repercussions on democracy, and economic and
social life. Early on, the internet was seen as a "liberation technology" that
would democratize knowledge, improve access to education, and promote
democracy. Modern research has turned to investigate the internet's
downsides, including disinformation, polarization, hate speech, and
propaganda.[65]

Since the 1970s, technology's impact on the environment has

been criticized, leading to a surge in investment in solar, wind, and other
forms of clean energy.
Social
Jobs
Since the invention of the wheel, technologies have helped increase
humans' economic output. Past automation has both substituted and
complemented labor; machines replaced humans at some lower-paying
jobs (for example in agriculture), but this was compensated by the creation
of new, higher-paying jobs.[66] Studies have found that computers did not
create significant net technological unemployment.[67] Due to artificial
intelligence being far more capable than computers, and still being in its
infancy, it is not known whether it will follow the same trend; the question
has been debated at length among economists and policymakers. A 2017
survey found no clear consensus among economists on whether AI would
increase long-term unemployment.[68] According to the World Economic
Forum's "The Future of Jobs Report 2020", AI is predicted to replace 85
million jobs worldwide, and create 97 million new jobs by 2025.[69][70] From
1990 to 2007, a study in the U.S. by MIT economist Daron
Acemoglu showed that an addition of one robot for every 1,000 workers
decreased the employment-to-population ratio by 0.2%, or about 3.3
workers, and lowered wages by 0.42%.[71][72] Concerns about technology
replacing human labor however are long-lasting. As US president Lyndon
Johnson said in 1964, "Technology is creating both new opportunities and
new obligations for us, opportunity for greater productivity and progress;
obligation to be sure that no workingman, no family must pay an unjust
price for progress." upon signing the National Commission on Technology,
Automation, and Economic Progress bill.[73][74][75][76][77]
Security
With the growing reliance of technology, there have been security and
privacy concerns along with it. Billions of people use different online
payment methods, such as WeChat Pay, PayPal, Alipay, and much more
to help transfer money. Although security measures are placed, some
criminals are able to bypass them.[78] In March 2022, North Korea
used Blender.io, a mixer which helped them to hide their cryptocurrency
exchanges, to launder over $20.5 million in cryptocurrency, from Axie
Infinity, and steal over $600 million worth of cryptocurrency from the game's
owner. Because of this, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned
Blender.io, which marked the first time it has taken action against a mixer,
to try and crack down on North Korean hackers.[79][80] The privacy of
cryptocurrency has been debated. Although many customers like the
privacy of cryptocurrency, many also argue that it needs more transparency
and stability.[78]
Environmental
Technology has impacted the world with negative and
positive environmental impacts, which are usually the reverse of the initial
damage, such as; the creation of pollution and the attempt to undo said
pollution,[81] deforestation and the reversing of deforestation,[82] and oil spills.
All of these have had a significant impact on the environment of the earth.
As technology has advanced, so has the negative environmental impact,
with the releasing of greenhouse gases, like methane and carbon dioxide,
into the atmosphere, causing the greenhouse effect, gradually heating the
earth and causing global warming. All of this has become worse with the
advancement of technology.[83]
Pollution
Pollution, the presence of contaminants in an environment that causes
adverse effects, could have been present as early as the Inca Empire.
They used a lead sulfide flux in the smelting of ores, along with the use of a
wind-drafted clay kiln, which released lead into the atmosphere and
the sediment of rivers.[84]

Philosophy
Main article: Philosophy of technology
Philosophy of technology is a branch of philosophy that studies the
"practice of designing and creating artifacts", and the "nature of the things
so created."[85] It emerged as a discipline over the past two centuries, and
has grown "considerably" since the 1970s.[86] The humanities philosophy of
technology is concerned with the "meaning of technology for, and its impact
on, society and culture".[85]

Initially, technology was seen as an extension of the human organism that

replicated or amplified bodily and mental faculties.[87] Marx framed it as a
tool used by capitalists to oppress the proletariat, but believed that
technology would be a fundamentally liberating force once it was "freed
from societal deformations". Second-wave philosophers like Ortega later
shifted their focus from economics and politics to "daily life and living in a
techno-material culture", arguing that technology could oppress "even the
members of the bourgeoisie who were its ostensible masters and
possessors." Third-stage philosophers like Don Ihde and Albert
Borgmann represent a turn toward de-generalization and empiricism, and
considered how humans can learn to live with technology.[86][page needed]

Early scholarship on technology was split between two

arguments: technological determinism, and social construction.
Technological determinism is the idea that technologies cause unavoidable
social changes.[88]: 95 It usually encompasses a related argument,
technological autonomy, which asserts that technological progress follows
a natural progression and cannot be prevented.[89] Social
constructivists[who?] argue that technologies follow no natural progression,
and are shaped by cultural values, laws, politics, and economic incentives.
Modern scholarship has shifted towards an analysis of sociotechnical
systems, "assemblages of things, people, practices, and meanings",
looking at the value judgments that shape technology.[88][page needed]

Cultural critic Neil Postman distinguished tool-using societies from

technological societies and from what he called "technopolies", societies
that are dominated by an ideology of technological and scientific progress
to the detriment of other cultural practices, values, and world views.
 Herbert Marcuse and John Zerzan suggest that technological society will
[90]

inevitably deprive us of our freedom and psychological health.[91]

Ethics
Main article: Ethics of technology
The ethics of technology is an interdisciplinary subfield of ethics that
analyzes technology's ethical implications and explores ways to mitigate
the potential negative impacts of new technologies. There is a broad range
of ethical issues revolving around technology, from specific areas of focus
affecting professionals working with technology to broader social, ethical,
and legal issues concerning the role of technology in society and everyday
life.[92]

Prominent debates have surrounded genetically modified organisms, the

use of robotic soldiers, algorithmic bias, and the issue of aligning
AI behavior with human values.[93]

Technology ethics encompasses several key fields. Bioethics looks at

ethical issues surrounding biotechnologies and modern medicine, including
cloning, human genetic engineering, and stem cell research. Computer
ethics focuses on issues related to computing. Cyberethics explores
internet-related issues like intellectual property rights, privacy,
and censorship. Nanoethics examines issues surrounding the alteration of
matter at the atomic and molecular level in various disciplines including
computer science, engineering, and biology. And engineering ethics deals
with the professional standards of engineers, including software
engineers and their moral responsibilities to the public.[94]

A wide branch of technology ethics is concerned with the ethics of artificial

intelligence: it includes robot ethics, which deals with ethical issues
involved in the design, construction, use, and treatment of robots,[95] as well
as machine ethics, which is concerned with ensuring the ethical behavior
of artificially intelligent agents.[96] Within the field of AI ethics, significant yet-
unsolved research problems include AI alignment (ensuring that AI
behaviors are aligned with their creators' intended goals and interests) and
the reduction of algorithmic bias. Some researchers have warned against
the hypothetical risk of an AI takeover, and have advocated for the use
of AI capability control in addition to AI alignment methods.
Other fields of ethics have had to contend with technology-related issues,
including military ethics, media ethics, and educational ethics.

Futures studies
Main article: Futures studies
Futures studies is the systematic and interdisciplinary study of social and
technological progress. It aims to quantitatively and qualitatively explore the
range of plausible futures and to incorporate human values in the
development of new technologies.[97]: 54 More generally, futures researchers
are interested in improving "the freedom and welfare of humankind".[97]: 73 It
relies on a thorough quantitative and qualitative analysis of past and
present technological trends, and attempts to rigorously extrapolate them
into the future.[97] Science fiction is often used as a source of ideas.[97]:
173
Futures research methodologies include survey research,
modeling, statistical analysis, and computer simulations.[97]: 187
Existential risk
Main article: Global catastrophic risk
Existential risk researchers analyze risks that could lead to human
extinction or civilizational collapse, and look for ways to build resilience
against them.[98][99] Relevant research centers include the Cambridge Center
for the Study of Existential Risk, and the Stanford Existential Risk Initiative.
[100]
Future technologies may contribute to the risks of artificial general
intelligence, biological warfare, nuclear
warfare, nanotechnology, anthropogenic climate change, global warming,
or stable global totalitarianism, though technologies may also help us
mitigate asteroid impacts and gamma-ray bursts.[101] In 2019
philosopher Nick Bostrom introduced the notion of a vulnerable world, "one
in which there is some level of technological development at which
civilization almost certainly gets devastated by default", citing the risks of
a pandemic caused by bioterrorists, or an arms race triggered by the
development of novel armaments and the loss of mutual assured
destruction.[102] He invites policymakers to question the assumptions that
technological progress is always beneficial, that scientific openness is
always preferable, or that they can afford to wait until a dangerous
technology has been invented before they prepare mitigations.[102]

Emerging technologies
Main article: Emerging technologies
 Experimental 3D printing of muscle tissue
Emerging technologies are novel technologies whose development or
practical applications are still largely unrealized. They
include nanotechnology, biotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, blockchains,
and artificial intelligence.

In 2005, futurist Ray Kurzweil claimed the next technological revolution

would rest upon advances in genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics, with
robotics being the most impactful of the three technologies.[103] Genetic
engineering will allow far greater control over human biological nature
through a process called directed evolution. Some thinkers believe that this
may shatter our sense of self, and have urged for renewed public debate
exploring the issue more thoroughly;[104] others fear that directed evolution
could lead to eugenics or extreme social inequality. Nanotechnology will
grant us the ability to manipulate matter "at the molecular and atomic
scale",[105] which could allow us to reshape ourselves and our environment
in fundamental ways.[106] Nanobots could be used within the human body to
destroy cancer cells or form new body parts, blurring the line between
biology and technology.[107] Autonomous robots have undergone rapid
progress, and are expected to replace humans at many dangerous tasks,
including search and rescue, bomb disposal, firefighting, and war.[108]

Estimates on the advent of artificial general intelligence vary, but half of

machine learning experts surveyed in 2018 believe that AI will "accomplish
every task better and more cheaply" than humans by 2063, and automate
all human jobs by 2140.[109] This expected technological unemployment has
led to calls for increased emphasis on computer science education and
debates about universal basic income. Political science experts predict that
this could lead to a rise in extremism, while others see it as an opportunity
to usher in a post-scarcity economy.

Movements
Appropriate technology
Main article: Appropriate technology
Some segments of the 1960s hippie counterculture grew to dislike urban
living and developed a preference for locally autonomous, sustainable,
and decentralized technology, termed appropriate technology. This later
influenced hacker culture and technopaganism.
Technological utopianism
Main article: Technological utopianism
Technological utopianism refers to the belief that technological
development is a moral good, which can and should bring about a utopia,
that is, a society in which laws, governments, and social conditions serve
the needs of all its citizens.[110] Examples of techno-utopian goals
include post-scarcity economics, life extension, mind uploading, cryonics,
and the creation of artificial superintelligence. Major techno-utopian
movements include transhumanism and singularitarianism.

The transhumanism movement is founded upon the "continued evolution of

human life beyond its current human form" through science and
technology, informed by "life-promoting principles and values."[111] The
movement gained wider popularity in the early 21st century.[112]

Singularitarians believe that machine superintelligence will "accelerate

technological progress" by orders of magnitude and "create even more
intelligent entities ever faster", which may lead to a pace of societal and
technological change that is "incomprehensible" to us. This event horizon is
known as the technological singularity.[113]

Major figures of techno-utopianism include Ray Kurzweil and Nick Bostrom.

Techno-utopianism has attracted both praise and criticism from
progressive, religious, and conservative thinkers.[114]
Anti-technology backlash
See also: Luddite, Neo-Luddism, and Bioconservatism
Technology's central role in our lives has drawn concerns and backlash.
The backlash against technology is not a uniform movement and
encompasses many heterogeneous ideologies.[115]

The earliest known revolt against technology was Luddism, a pushback

against early automation in textile production. Automation had resulted in a
need for fewer workers, a process known as technological unemployment.
Between the 1970s and 1990s, American terrorist Ted Kaczynski carried
out a series of bombings across America and published the Unabomber
Manifesto denouncing technology's negative impacts on nature and human
freedom. The essay resonated with a large part of the American public.[116] It
was partly inspired by Jacques Ellul's The Technological Society.[117]

Some subcultures, like the off-the-grid movement, advocate a withdrawal

from technology and a return to nature. The ecovillage movement seeks to
reestablish harmony between technology and nature.[118]

Relation to science and engineering

Antoine Lavoisier experimenting with

combustion generated by amplified sunlight
See also: Science and Engineering
Engineering is the process by which technology is developed. It often
requires problem-solving under strict constraints.[119] Technological
development is "action-oriented", while scientific knowledge is
fundamentally explanatory.[120] Polish philosopher Henryk
Skolimowski framed it like so: "science concerns itself with what is,
technology with what is to be."[121]: 375

The direction of causality between scientific discovery and technological

innovation has been debated by scientists, philosophers and policymakers.
[122]
Because innovation is often undertaken at the edge of scientific
knowledge, most technologies are not derived from scientific knowledge,
but instead from engineering, tinkering and chance.[123]: 217–240 For example, in
the 1940s and 1950s, when knowledge of turbulent combustion or fluid
dynamics was still crude, jet engines were invented through "running the
device to destruction, analyzing what broke [...] and repeating the process".
[119]
Scientific explanations often follow technological developments rather
than preceding them.[123]: 217–240 Many discoveries also arose from pure
chance, like the discovery of penicillin as a result of accidental lab
contamination.[124] Since the 1960s, the assumption that government funding
of basic research would lead to the discovery of marketable technologies
has lost credibility.[125][126] Probabilist Nassim Taleb argues that national
research programs that implement the notions
of serendipity and convexity through frequent trial and error are more likely
to lead to useful innovations than research that aims to reach specific
outcomes.[123][127]

Despite this, modern technology is increasingly reliant on deep, domain-

specific scientific knowledge. In 1975, there was an average of one citation
of scientific literature in every three patents granted in the U.S.; by 1989,
this increased to an average of one citation per patent. The average was
skewed upwards by patents related to the pharmaceutical industry,
chemistry, and electronics.[128] A 2021 analysis shows that patents that are
based on scientific discoveries are on average 26% more valuable than
equivalent non-science-based patents.[129]

Other animal species

See also: Tool use by animals, Structures built by animals, and Ecosystem
engineer

This adult gorilla uses a branch as a walking

stick to gauge the water's depth.
The use of basic technology is also a feature of non-human animal species.
Tool use was once considered a defining characteristic of the genus Homo.
[130]
This view was supplanted after discovering evidence of tool use
among chimpanzees and other primates,[131] dolphins,[132] and crows.[133]
[134]
For example, researchers have observed wild chimpanzees using basic
foraging tools, pestles, levers, using leaves as sponges, and tree bark or
vines as probes to fish termites.[135] West African chimpanzees use stone
hammers and anvils for cracking nuts,[136] as do capuchin monkeys of Boa
Vista, Brazil.[137] Tool use is not the only form of animal technology use; for
example, beaver dams, built with wooden sticks or large stones, are a
technology with "dramatic" impacts on river habitats and ecosystems.[138]

Popular culture
See also: Science fiction
The relationship of humanity with technology has been explored in science-
fiction literature, for example in Brave New World, A Clockwork
Orange, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Isaac Asimov's essays, and movies
like Minority Report, Total Recall, Gattaca, and Inception. It has spawned
the dystopian and futuristic cyberpunk genre, which juxtaposes futuristic
technology with societal collapse, dystopia or decay.[139] Notable cyberpunk
works include William Gibson's Neuromancer novel, and movies like Blade
Runner, and The Matrix.