QuoteProject
Technological defeatism - a belief that, since a given technology is here to stay, there's nothing we can do about it other than get on with it and simply adjust our norms - is a persistent feature of social thought about technology. We'll come to pay for it very dearly.
Evgeny Morozov
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Technological defeatism suggests that we must accept and adapt to technologies rather than challenge or change them, which can lead to negative consequences.

In this quote, Evgeny Morozov discusses the concept of technological defeatism, highlighting the passive acceptance of technology as an inevitable force in society. He warns that this mindset can result in significant costs to our social norms and structures as we fail to critically engage with the implications of technological advances.

Themes

Technological DefeatismAcceptanceAdaptationNormsConsequences

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a discussion about the social responsibilities of tech companies.

More from Evgeny Morozov

Just as Josef K, the protagonist of Kafka's 'The Trial,' awoke one day to discover that he had become part of some unfathomable legal carnival, we, too are frequently waking to discover that the rules of the digital game have once again profoundly changed.
Evgeny MorozovRead
For many oppositional movements, the Internet, while providing the opportunity to distribute information more quickly and cheaper, may have actually made their struggle more difficult in the long run.
Evgeny MorozovRead
I have no problem with technological solutions to social problems. The key question for me is, 'Who gets to implement them?' and, 'What kinds of politics of reform do technological solutions smuggle through the back door?'
Evgeny MorozovRead
The newspaper offers something very different from Google's aggregators. It offers a value system, an idea of what matters in the world. Newspapers need to start articulating that value.
Evgeny MorozovRead
Social media's greatest assets - anonymity, 'virality,' interconnectedness - are also its main weaknesses.
Evgeny MorozovRead
The decentralized nature of online conversations often makes it easier to manipulate public opinion, both domestically and globally. Regimes that once relied on centralized systems of media control can now deliver ideological messages more subtly, with the help of little-known intermediaries like anonymous commenters on websites.
Evgeny MorozovRead

Similar quotes

Learning how to understand how technology evolves, using tools like a Technology Road Map, is what you need more than anything to ride on top of the tsunami instead of being crushed by it.
Peter DiamandisRead
I believe this artificial intelligence is going to be our partner. If we misuse it, it will be a risk. If we use it right, it can be our partner.
Masayoshi SonRead
If I had time and a hammer, I'd track down every bootleg copy and smash it.
George LucasRead
In digital era, privacy must be a priority. Is it just me, or is secret blanket surveillance obscenely outrageous?
Al GoreRead
The internet, Facebook and Twitter have created mass communications and social spaces that regimes cannot control.
Shimon PeresRead
To our human minds, computers behave less like rocks and trees than they do like humans, so we unconsciously treat them like people.... In other words, humans have special instincts that tell them how to behave around other sentient beings, and as soon as any object exhibits sufficient cognitive function, those instincts kick in and we react as though we were interacting with another sentient human being.
Alan CooperRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.