Humanization of Technology: Slogan or Ethical Imperative?

In Byrne Edmund (ed.), Research in Philosophy & Technology, Vol. I. pp. 149-177 (1978)
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Abstract

Contra mercantile propaganda, technology is "humanized" to the extent that it satisfies or at least permits satisfaction of basic human needs or enhancements. To assess a technology's contribution to humanization requires (1) rejection of the primacy of the machine (cyborg model) and commitment to primacy of the human being (prosthesis model) in man/machine relations, and (2) insistence on the responsibility of managers for consequences of their technology-related decisions. Such decisions are appropriate in this respect to the extent that they help meet basic human needs rather than artificially engendered needs. Meta-evaluation requires active citizen participation in government regulation of technology.

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Edmund Byrne
Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis

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