technocritics

Technocritics are writers and scholars who study technology and its social, political, and cultural implications. The term, used across science and technology studies, cultural studies, and philosophy of technology, denotes critics who interrogate not only how technologies function, but how they are shaped by interests, institutions, and power relations, and how they in turn influence social life, work, knowledge, and governance.

Technocritics rely on frameworks such as the social construction of technology (SCOT), actor-network theory (ANT), and feminist technoscience to analyze topics including surveillance, data governance, digital labor, platform capitalism, automation and AI, environmental impact, and digital divides. Their methods blend historical analysis, ethnography, discourse analysis, and artifact studies to reveal the social processes behind technological development and deployment.

A core aim is to challenge techno-utopian narratives that portray technology as inherently progressive or neutral. Technocritics emphasize questions of who benefits, who bears risks, and how democratic oversight and accountability can be incorporated into technological design and governance. The field draws on a range of disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, philosophy, media studies, information science, and cultural studies, reflecting its interdisciplinary character.

Notable figures associated with technocritical thought include Langdon Winner, Bruno Latour, Andrew Feenberg, Sherry Turkle, Donna Haraway, and Melvin Kranzberg, among others. While the term can describe scholars who take a critical stance toward technology, it also encompasses a broader community of writers and researchers who seek to illuminate the social dimensions of technological change and advocate for more equitable and responsible innovation.