
Kranzberg’s Six Laws of Technology, a Metaphor, and a Story (2011) - tobr
https://thefrailestthing.com/2011/08/25/kranzbergs-six-laws-of-technology-a-metaphor-and-a-story/
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tobr
> First Law: “Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral.”

In recent years I feel like I've gone from being a technology optimist –
believing that technology in itself is somehow a force for good – to lying
somewhere closer to Kranzberg's first law. While technology can occasionally
be used for good, for example to give power to vulnerable groups, in the long
term I think it usually just amplifies and ossifies existing power dynamics.

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harperlee
For some narrow definitions of technology, yes. But if we make space for not
only internet thingies, such as new medicines, how are those not net-positive?

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tobr
Of course! But that is one technology of many. The power dynamics that
technology amplifies can be a net positive force, and often is. In other cases
it’s a net negative, like new technologies to kill, oppress, etc. The point,
which Kranzberg captures, is that technology as a phenomenon is not a good
thing, just because it can be and often is used for good. We don’t get to
pretend that technologies don’t exist in a larger social context.

