What is technological determinism?

The belief that technology is the driving force of social change and that society can only react to it.

In this view technology develops by its own logic, and society adapts afterwards: "AI is coming, so we must adjust." It is the default framing of many headlines ("300 million jobs will be lost").

Why it matters ethically: if technology is destiny, then nobody is responsible and nothing can be decided, so all that remains is to adapt. The counter-position is sociotechnical co-evolution: technology and society shape each other. Which technologies are developed, funded, regulated, adopted, repurposed or refused is the result of human decisions and power relations. Seeing that is what makes futures negotiable again.

Tip: determinism hides in grammar. "Technology will change work" has no actor. "Companies are deciding to automate X" names one.

Go deeper:

• Wikipedia: Technological determinism — hard and soft versions of the theory and its critics.