Technological development is contingent and political rather than following autonomous logic.

Evidence

If the history and sociology of technology of the last 25 years have had a single dominant theme, it is that the view of technological change as following an autonomous logic is wrong, and the stark choice between conformity and refusal that it poses is an impoverished one. Technologies can develop in different ways according to circumstances, the design of technical systems can reflect a variety of priorities, and “users” frequently reshape technical systems in important ways. Ultimately, the development and the design of technologies are political matters. — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 122

Categorization

• XREF: This is the core STS claim (Bijker, Pinch, Hughes) that Mackenzie will extend to financial models. — connects to: Technocratic ideology’s core is erasing the practice-technology distinction. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2702; Technology’s political neutrality collapses when it becomes the universal form of production — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 572; Scientific-technological ordering is inherently political — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 618 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Scientific-technological ordering is inherently political #corroborates (0.90) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 618
• Technology carries no inherent politics; usage determines its effects #contradicts (0.90)
• Technology’s political neutrality collapses when it becomes the universal form of production #expands (0.85) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 572
• AI development is not an inevitable process dictated by technology or necessity. #exemplifies (0.85) — Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna, The AI Con- How to Fight Big Tech’s…, 373
• Technology acceptance depends on whose interests it serves, not the technology itself. #expands (0.85) — Frantz Fanon, A Dying Colonialism, 21
• Technological rule substitutes causality for choice and effaces the Other #expands (0.80) — Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust, 623
• Technocratic realism is descriptively accurate but costs citizens their political autonomy #expands (0.80) — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 102