While the term technology itself is a term that is
not easy to get its definition appropriately.
According to MacKenzie and Wajcman (1985) (in
Bijker, et. Al (eds.), 1989), there are three layers of
understanding that can be distinguished from the
word "technology", first, there are levels of objects
physically or artifacts, for example: bicycles, lights,
plastic. Second, "technology" can refer to activities
or processes, such as: the manufacture or casting of
steel. Third, "technology" can refer to what people
know about what they can do, for example: "know-
how" to design bicycles or operate ultrasound
devices at obstetric clinics.
However, technoculture discussion is not the
same as when discussing technology alone or culture
itself only, technology is an integral part of culture
(Slack and Wise, 2005), so there is no term
"technological age" as we call it: Stone Age, Bronze
Age, Iron Age, Industrial Age, Information Age and
Digital Age. Human culture is always present in
relationships that we understand as technology
(stone, fire, clocks, computers to nanotechnology for
example). Technoculture is defined as the
interrelationships and dependencies between
technology and culture, where technology is
considered to contribute to forming culture and
society (technological determinism) (Bell, 2007) and
on the contrary people are considered to play a role
in shaping technology (cultural determinism) (Slack
and Wise, 2005).
Slack and Wise (2005) call technological
determinism meant that technology is understood as
having an effect and that technological change is the
main determinant of cultural change. Landong
Winner (in Slack and Wise, 2005) explains that
technological determinism is believed to depend on
two hypotheses: (1) that technology is central to
defining what culture is; and (2) that technology
causes effects and that technological change is a
major cause of cultural change. On this issue
technology is the cause. Whereas the opposite is
cultural determinism, namely: culture is understood
as a cause and technology is as a result.
Technological determinists argue that scientific
advances are driving technological progress, but
social determinists say that strong social elites
(military, bureaucrats and corporations) play a
changing role (Green, 2002).
The discussion of technology and culture can not
be separated from the influence with matters of
policy (authority) and the structure of society. Our
lives are inseparable from one or more of these
things, so discussing technoculture is also about
doing activities between: culture and society,
technology and policy (Green, 2002). In this case the
focus of technoculture that is discussed is about
cyberculture and the Internet, which one of the
effects is to the world of digital communication
centers.
Talks about technoculture involving society,
technology, policy and culture also include talking
about 'neutrality' in technology, public interest,
popular culture, regulation, gender, modernism and
postmodernism, and the nature of the information
society. There is a cycle that works here: culture
creates new communication technologies, which are
then put together as technoculture, which then
encourages further technological discovery (Green,
2002). Electricity, apartment buildings, fabric
factories may have technocultural elements, and can
be called technoculture. The balance between techno
(-logi) / culture might be more developed so that
electricity is more technological, and synchronized
swimming becomes more cultural.
Slack and Wise (2005) divide the response to
technology into three: (1) Ludism; (2) Appropriate
Technology (AT); and (3) Unabomber. Ludism is a
term for Luddites who are anti-technology and anti-
progress. They are referred to as machine haters,
anti-technology, anti-progress, anti-development and
anti-life are established. Ludism refers to a
movement of skilled workers in England in 1811-
1817 in the textile industry. They damage (or
precisely sabotage) weaving machines because they
believe that the machine will replace the role of the
workers and make them lose their jobs. But
according to the EP. Thompson explanation. in his
book “The Making of English Working Class” that
these Luddites are not entirely anti-technological,
they only want that "industrial growth should be
arranged according to ethical priorities and profit
seeking must be below what is needed".
Those who accept technology as Appropriate
Technology are about making technological choices
that oppose the development of technology for
technology, or for the benefit of sacrificing quality
of life. In his manifesto Ted Kaczynski aka
Unabomber (as FC / Freedom Club) mentions
human transformation towards the need for
machinery, environmental transformation, and
damage to human dignity and autonomy. These
three responses represent: (1) fear and anti-
technology; (2) cooperating and utilizing
technology; and (3) misusing technology.
Technology is political economy, therefore
technology is political because it can be used for
political purposes but also technology is economical
because it can be used for economic purposes.
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