Death by Technology - Cook, John R.

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Résumé :
This book refutes the 21st-century notion that advancing technology is an unambiguous social good, and examines the effects of this uncritical acceptance and dependence. The author argues that technology has become the new religion for the digital age, and that elevating technology to nearly the status of a deity allows for the denial of problems created by reliance upon machines. From the release of toxins into the environment to the unsustainable energy demands of the modern era, technological dependence is driving humanity near the brink of extinction. Despite these problems, and existential issues such as artificial intelligence and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, many people have an unwavering belief in the ability of technology, particularly any device labeled smart, to create a perfect future--while denying the history of unmet promises and unintended consequences of technological innovation. The author explores the psychological underpinnings of these beliefs from both a clinical and a cognitive perspective. The social and economic forces that maintain our reliance on, or addiction to, technology are critiqued as are the ethical and security issues associated with the control of advanced technology....

Biographie:
John R. Cook is an associate professor of clinical psychology at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, Georgia....

Sommaire:
Table of Contents

An Author's Note and Acknowledgments
Preface
?1.?The Deification of Technology
?2.?The Myth of Progress
?3.?Killing All the Bees: Technology and Environment
?4.?The Coming Cataclysm: A Runaway Train Jumps
delete delete?the Tracks
?5.?Unmet Promises: Life as a Beta Test
?6.?Unintended Consequences: The God of Technology
delete delete?Is a Tricky Devil
?7.?Involuntary Cyborg: No Place to Hide
?8.?Big Data, the Surveillance State and the Death
delete delete?of Privacy
?9.?Artificial Intelligence: Meet Your Android Overlords
10.?Death by Technology: The Nuclear Menace and
delete delete?WMDs
11.?Evolutionary Dead End: Wrong Turn?
Bibliography
Index
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