Good write-up, Aki. I've been wondering the same. I personally love the broader definition of technology that also encompasses language. That is, everything that helps us deal with our finitude; or, as McLuhan put it, everything that extends our nervous system.
I find "technology" as the most accurate description of language and the group of what I call "storytelling technologies" that are built on language, such as metaphors, stereotypes, ideology, identity, media and religion. I understand that it's not fully unproblematic as it leads us to think of these through the metaphor of a machine. But at the same time, the very act of grouping these natural technologies as technologies makes it easier for us to view them as a stack of interconnected and related things, as a technological stack instead of separate unique concepts. Also, when we look at them as technologies, we can extend the Winner's thoughts about technological somnambulism to affect them as well. We shouldn't be mere users of language and ideologies, we should take part in developing them.
The other widely used dictionary definition of technology, I believe, is"Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge for achieving practical goals.". I would argue that in the case of language-based technologies, this is exactly what we are doing. With them, we are mostly simplifying or mediating experiences, making sense of things that are inherently complex, and impacting others.
So, when I talk about technology in the context of language and its different uses, I don’t mean technology as a metaphor but as the most accurate term describing the function and make-up of those things. But maybe when we talk about technologies such as language and everything related to language, we should use a prefix of language-, natural-, storytelling- before the word technology. But I wouldn't exclude those outside the realm of technologists, especially in the age of AI and due to the rise of NLP technologies.
Thank you for the insightful comment Tatu - I see the prefix approach you suggest as a useful manouevre. I was hesitant to put this post out because it felt only getting half way at the topic best, but then again sharing and getting into dialogue is always more valuable than striving for some kind of false perfectionism!
Nicely done. Will reread with more care, but for now, kudos and keep up the good work.
Good write-up, Aki. I've been wondering the same. I personally love the broader definition of technology that also encompasses language. That is, everything that helps us deal with our finitude; or, as McLuhan put it, everything that extends our nervous system.
I find "technology" as the most accurate description of language and the group of what I call "storytelling technologies" that are built on language, such as metaphors, stereotypes, ideology, identity, media and religion. I understand that it's not fully unproblematic as it leads us to think of these through the metaphor of a machine. But at the same time, the very act of grouping these natural technologies as technologies makes it easier for us to view them as a stack of interconnected and related things, as a technological stack instead of separate unique concepts. Also, when we look at them as technologies, we can extend the Winner's thoughts about technological somnambulism to affect them as well. We shouldn't be mere users of language and ideologies, we should take part in developing them.
The other widely used dictionary definition of technology, I believe, is"Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge for achieving practical goals.". I would argue that in the case of language-based technologies, this is exactly what we are doing. With them, we are mostly simplifying or mediating experiences, making sense of things that are inherently complex, and impacting others.
So, when I talk about technology in the context of language and its different uses, I don’t mean technology as a metaphor but as the most accurate term describing the function and make-up of those things. But maybe when we talk about technologies such as language and everything related to language, we should use a prefix of language-, natural-, storytelling- before the word technology. But I wouldn't exclude those outside the realm of technologists, especially in the age of AI and due to the rise of NLP technologies.
Thank you for the insightful comment Tatu - I see the prefix approach you suggest as a useful manouevre. I was hesitant to put this post out because it felt only getting half way at the topic best, but then again sharing and getting into dialogue is always more valuable than striving for some kind of false perfectionism!