Synopses & Reviews
Technology influences society, and society influences technology--but how? The newly updated 11th edition of TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE helps you answer that question and others with a diverse collection of articles and essays that examine the controversial technological issues affecting society. Written by technology critics and enthusiasts, the essays take you beyond definitions and descriptions and into the minds of some of the field's most respected thought leaders. Thoroughly covering the philosophical approaches and specific technologies, TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE provides a unique and unparalleled overview of technology today.
Review
"...In analyzing the essays in the Teich text, my students develop the skill of argument analysis."
Review
" I like the organization of the table of contents by topics. It made it extremely easy for me to scan the titles to see which would fulfill course objectives."
Synopsis
This diverse collection of readings by technology enthusiasts and critics introduces you to different philosophical approaches regarding the impact of technology, as well as specific technologies to give you a complete overview of technology today.
About the Author
Albert H. Teich has been Director of Science and Policy Programs at the venerable American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1990 and has held positions at George Washington University, the State University of New York, and Syracuse University. He currently chairs the Advisory Board of the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, serves on advisory boards at Columbia University and the Loka Institute, and is Codirector of the new Center for Innovation Policy Research and Education in Budapest. A widely quoted, well-known author and speaker on science and technology policy, Dr. Teich is an advisory board member for several scientific journals and a consultant to various companies and organizations. Dr. Teich holds a BS in physics and a PhD in political science, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Table of Contents
PART I: THINKING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. 1. Does Improved Technology Mean Progress? - Leo Marx. 2. How Society Shapes Technology - Robert Pool. 3. The Shock of the Old - David Edgerton 4. Can Technology Replace Social Engineering? - Alvin M. Weinberg. 5. Technology and the Tragic View - Samuel C. Florman. 6. Do Artifacts Have Politics? - Langdon Winner. PART II: DEBATING TECHNOLOGY: 1960S STYLE. 7. The Role of Technology in Society - Emmanuel G. Mesthene. 8. Technology: The Opiate of the Intellectuals - John McDermott. PART III: DEBATING TECHNOLOGY: TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY STYLE. 9. Why the Future Doesn't Need Us - Bill Joy. 10. A Response to Bill Joy and the Doom-and-Gloom Technofuturists - John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid. 11. Promise and Peril - Ray Kurzweil. PART IV: CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGICAL DILEMMAS: CLIMATE CHANGE. 12. The Science Behind Climate Change - William Collins, Robert Colman, James Haywood, Martin R. Manning, and Philip Mote. 13. The Climate Science Isn't Settled - Richard S. Lindzen. 14. The Geoengineering Option; A Last Resort Against Global Warming? - David G. Victor, M. Granger Morgan, Jay Apt, John Steinbrunner, and Katharine Ricke. 15. 20 Reasons Why Geoengineering May Be a Bad Idea - Alan Robock. PART V: CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGICAL DILEMMAS: THE NEW BIOLOGY. 16. Stem Cell Research: The Great Moral Divide - Christopher Thomas Scott. 17. Applications, Benefits and Risks of Synthetic Biology - Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. 18. Five Hard Truths for Synthetic Biology - Roberta Kwok. 19. The Case Against Perfection - Michael J. Sandel. 20. Some Possible Legal and Social Implications of Advances in Neuroscience - Henry T. Greely. PART VI: CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGICAL DILEMMAS: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY. 21. An Unforeseen Revolution: Computers and Expectations, 1935-1985 - Paul Ceruzzi. 22. Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer - Wendell Berry. 23. Computer Ethics - Deborah G. Johnson. 24. Is Google Making Us Stupid? - Nicholas Carr. 25. Net Neutrality 101, Save the Internet. 26. Managing Broadband Networks: A Policymaker's Guide - George Ou. PART VII: GOVERNANCE AND GLOBALIZATION. 27. Government and Technology - Albert H. Teich. 28. The World Is Flat - Thomas L. Friedman.