Technoheretics

Technoheretics is a term used to describe individuals or groups that challenge traditional understandings of technology and its impact on society. The concept of technoheretics emerged in the context of discussions around the ethics of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and computer networks.

Technoheretics are characterized by their willingness to question and critique the assumed benefits and societal implications of new technologies. They often prioritize human values and needs over the advancement and proliferation of technology. This stance can lead to disagreements with those who believe that technological progress is a necessary and inevitable force for good.

Some technoheretics have emerged within the academic community, where researchers are debating the ethics of emerging technologies. Others have taken on this mantle as independent writers, activists, or critics of technological exploitation. The term has been influenced by intellectual currents such as critical theory, postcolonial studies, and STS (science and technology studies).

Technoheretics have been critical of the notion that technological progress is objectively good, raising questions about the distribution of benefits and burdens across societies. Their concerns focus on consequences such as job displacement, social dislocation, and new forms of inequality. As a response to techno-restorationist narratives, technoheretics aim to expose the real-world costs of technological development.

The identity of technoheretics is not fixed or institutionalized, as their critiques and challenges are carried out from diverse positions and stances. They embody various intellectual shifts and require constant dialogue to articulate and revise techno-fragmented diagnosis and possible alternatives to existing monocultural determinations. Their appeals may call for deep changes in value systems and measures, in pursuit of planetary repair and demands of critique springing from within.