Critical Theory Of Technology Research Articles

Landscapes of Sociotechnical Imaginaries in Education: A Theoretical Examination of Integrating Artificial Intelligence in Education

AbstractThe vision of integrating artificial intelligence in education is part of an ongoing push for harnessing digital solutions to improve teaching and learning. Drawing from Jasanoff (Future imperfect: Science, technology, and the imaginations of modernity. In S. Jasanoff, & S. H. Kim (Eds.), Dreamscapes of modernity: Sociotechnical imaginaries and the fabrication of power (pp. 1–33). The University of Chicago Press, 2015. 10.7208/9780226276663) and Hasse (Socratic ignorance in processes of learning with technology. In H. Bound, A. Edwards, & A. Chia (Eds.), Workplace learning for changing social and economic circumstances (pp. 76–90). Routledge, 2023), this paper deliberates on how sociotechnical imaginaries are interrelated to the implications of new technologies, such as AI, in education. Complicating Hasses’s (Socratic ignorance in processes of learning with technology. In H. Bound, A. Edwards, & A. Chia (Eds.), Workplace learning for changing social and economic circumstances (pp. 76–90). Routledge, 2023) call for the development of Socratic ignorance to consider our predispositions about new technologies and open new prospects of thought, this paper revisits postphenomenology (Ihde, Technology and the lifeworld: From garden to earth. Indiana University Press, 1990; Ihde, Postphenomenology: Essays in the postmodern context. Northwestern University Press, 1993; Ihde, Postphenomenology and technoscience. The Peking University lectures. State University of New York Press, 2009) and Feenberg’s (Critical theory of technology, Oxford University Press, 1991; Between reason and experience, MIT Press, 2010; Techne: Res Philos Technol 24:27–40, 2020) critical constructivist theories. While embracing the notion of Socratic ignorance, this paper stresses the importance of developing a nuanced understanding of technology that realizes its lack of neutrality and supports the creation of a deeper understanding of how knowledge is produced, deployed, and interpreted in the digital age. Thus, this paper argues that an amalgam of Hasse’s call for advancing Socratic ignorance combined with postphenomenology and critical constructivism can support students in developing a critical understanding of technology and opening new landscapes of imaginaries.

The politics of the city: Critical theory of technology and urban design(s)

This article aims at approaching urban design from a philosophical point of view, specifically through Andrew Feenberg's critical theory of technology. It attempts to present the politics of urban design, rejecting an urban-technological determinism that refers to a specific technical environment as the only one possible. If technology is an open process with social implications and consequences, the same holds for urban technologies and designs. This approach argues that contemporary cities are formed within a specific socio-technical context which is seemingly the most functional for the current social, political and economic world, but since environmental and urban crises rise, there seems to be a need for rethinking over the form of current cities. Thus, this article attempts to offer a theoretical contribution to the debate over alternative urban designs through Andrew Feenberg's insights. Drawing upon some of his most crucial notions, like the “technical code”, the “interpretative flexibility” and the “operational autonomy” and presenting their role in a philosophy of the city, I attempt to highlight that current urban forms could be replaced by other functional alternatives. The choice over one or another urban design is political hence the need for the relation between the philosophy of the city and technical politics.

Kritická teorie v kontextu informačních a komunikačních technologií a velkých dat

The study analyzes the theory presented in the book Critical Theory and Social Media: Between Emancipation and Commodification by Thomas Allmer. The primary goal of the study is to place this work in the broader context of the critical theory of technology. The first part analyzes the context and the requirement for the philosophy of technology in the current digital age. Subsequently, Allmer’s methodology is described as an offshoot of critical theory. This theory is set in the context of the book’s primary sources of thought, especially the critical theory of technology and Andrew Feenberg’s theory. Based on this theoretical understanding, research areas in critical media and technology theory are defined. The critical theory of technology shows that in the society of big data, there are similar contradictions of capitalism as we can find in the material world. Finally, there requirement for a political theory of technology is theorized, contrary to the widespread view that the current contradictions of digital capitalism can be solved by the ethics (design) of new technologies. In this context, critical theory is compared with the – so-called – ethics of new technologies.

Zooming Through a Crisis

The coronavirus pandemic has led the world not to shut down but to move from the physical to the virtual. Various technologies have been used to maintain a sense of normalcy during the pandemic, as we can now work online, shop online, and socialize online. The perceived success of this technological resiliency in the face of a global health crisis has given rise to questions about whether the move from the physical to the virtual should be maintained even after the pandemic. Given the possibility that this “new normal” could soon become simply what is considered as “normal,” this paper will investigate what it means that we have indeed been able to use technologies to maintain order in a time of global disorder. To answer this question, this paper will focus on the technology that has become most synonymous with the pandemic—Zoom—and use postphenomenology, critical theory of technology, and Arendt's political philosophy in order to investigate its use during the pandemic.

Prosthetic Symbiosis

Prosthetic Symbiosis

Rejecting instrumental-deterministic CALL: Towards a critical reading of power in online English education

As online education expands in the wake of recent global events, concerns over the privileging of dominant languages, cultures and epistemologies gain prominence. Despite the explicit biases and assumptions found within hegemonic learning contexts, however, inquiry within the domain of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) typically manifests via decontextualised interpretations. Consequently, this inquiry aims to contribute to the theoretical expansion of digital education by situating CALL within Feenberg’s critical theory of technology (CTT). In doing so, it intends to answer calls for the engagement of CTT to question instrumental and deterministic accounts of digital English language learning (ELL) and expose the subtle influences that impact the transmission of English within the online space. This inquiry finds that digital ELL obfuscates alternative epistemological and linguistic contexts, with the prevalence of English native speakerism presupposing dominion over subaltern cultures. Practitioners should thus moderate the temptation to draw on ‘euphoric’ conceptualisations of CALL, with specific reference to exaggerated visions of egalitarian participation structures and the across-the-board beneficial impact of digital practices on learner engagement. Finally, not all uses of English hold equal power and status, with graduated degrees of access to technological and linguistic capital driving a circular system of socio-economic reproduction.

The Discourse of Remote Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper examines the discourse of remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic based on its opposition to distance education. The terminological issues in this debate are identified; the main arguments of the opposition between remote teaching and distance education are addressed; and the common elements between the two educational modalities are analyzed. Based on Andrew Feenberg's Critical Theory of Technology, we argue that technological mediation in both distance and remote education has limitations as well as potentials that must be discussed.

Imagining the security of innovation: technological innovation, national security, and the American way of life

ABSTRACT In US national security policy the protection of technological innovation is of signal importance. US policy stresses, on the one hand, the need to protect technological innovation to ensure its global economic and military predominance. This reflects the classic view of innovation articulated in security studies: technological innovation is the foundation of economic and military power. Yet this account captures only one aspect of technological innovation in US national security thinking. Drawing on a combination of socio-technical imaginaries frameworks and critical theories of technology, this article argues that technological innovation is not merely a means to the end of American national security. Rather, a series of sociological and normative ideas disclosed by US policy frame market-led innovation as necessary, just, and central to the reproduction of American national identity. A specific way of creating technological systems and artefacts is the object of security in American national security policy. The security of technological innovation is central to securing the American way of life.

BIOE and the Teaching of Physics: inferences from the Critical Theory of Technology

This article reads from Andrew Feenberg's Critical Theory of Technology, analyzing the International Bank of Educational Objects (BIOE) in Physics teaching, investigating whether the Educational Objects (EO) available in BIOE contemplate a process of teaching and learning that is critical and reflexive and that articulates with one or more pedagogical conceptions linked to its educational objective. For this, the qualitative approach of the documentary type was used for data collection and content analysis to arrive at the results. Thus, we verify that the EO for Physics available in BIOE do not contemplate a critical and reflexive teaching and learning process articulated to one or more pedagogical conceptions linked to its educational objective; it does not broaden the problematization related to educational practices in physics towards the politicization of science and technology, in understanding the implications of an educational technology; and it is absent in the very understanding of human relations with such objects and the systems in which they operate, including the teaching and learning process.

Critical theory of technology and actor-network theory in the examination of techno-empowered online collaborative translation practice

Abstract While “turns” in translation studies have long been embracing the theoretical complexity integrated into the discussion of various translation phenomena, the theorisation of the use of technology and its impact on translation remain under-represented in scholarly literature of the field (O’Hagan 2016). This article considers the influence of technology on translation and reflects on the question as to how the interactive relationship between technology and translation may be theoretically conceptualised. Taking an approach informed by sociological theory, this article combines critical theory of technology (CTT) and actor-network theory (ANT) to examine the relationship between technology and translation, as well as the translation players involved. With the advent of Web 2.0, techno-empowered collaborative translation in the online TED Talks environment using Amara subtitling platform becomes a useful locale for discussion. Through a participant-observation approach, that is, with the author’s experience in the online translation environment, this article aims to explore how the technological elements in translation often described as “emergent property from new forms of translation practice” (Cronin 2010, 1) may offer critical insights from an epistemological perspective, especially the reciprocity between technology and its users.

Sociotechnical imaginaries in the present and future university: a corpus-assisted discourse analysis of UK higher education texts

ABSTRACT Technology has dominated discourse on the future university and how digital technologies disrupting wider societal activities can be leveraged in higher education. To gain an insight into UK institutional perspective on technology adoption in teaching and learning and visions for the future, two corpora of text are analysed: Teaching Excellence Framework statements (n = 88) and university strategy documents (n = 88), totalling 1, 129, 736 words. Quantitative empirical analysis reveals that institutions write about how they ‘use’ technology for teaching and learning. Interpretative analysis found that technology is ‘used’ as an end in itself as well as a means for specific ends (such as assessment and feedback and flexible learning). Using concepts from science and technology studies and philosophy of technology, these perspectives are theorised as instrumentalist, substantivist and essentialist and problematised when viewing technology in education as apolitical, neutral and inevitable. Perceived neutrality ignores the many competing ideologies and interests at play. In this context, a dichotomy of ‘pedagogy first’ or ‘technology-led’ design is explored. Critical theory of technology is used to bridge these binary discourses which are described as reductive in a complex sociotechnical university assemblage.

İngilizce öğretiminde eleştirel pedagoji ve eleştirel teknoloji kuramı

Studies on critical pedagogy and technology have been on the rise in recent decades. However, bringing critical pedagogy and critical theory of technology together has been hardly studied in English language teaching (ELT) and English as a second language (ESL). This study aims to enable the researcher and learners to compare two different technologies by using participatory action research (PAR). The participants (n=35) were given two data collection tools composed of a questionnaire and semi-structured interview form. The researcher and the learners collaborated with each other in each stage of the online syllabus preparation. The findings show that the learners developed negative attitudes towards the non-interactive Versant English Test (VET) and the online platform provided by the textbook publishers. However, the learners developed positive attitudes towards the use of the interactive online Google discussion platform where they were able to debate sociopolitical issues within the framework of critical pedagogy. In addition, the findings also imply that familiarizing learners with critical pedagogy and critical theory of technology can endorse authenticity, agency, reflection, action and praxis via online platforms.

Algorithms and the Critical Theory of Technology

I advocate for the position that radical critique of computation and calculation that must work from the register of capital. The issue is more than just analytical precision. At stake is the continuing centrality of ‘the standpoint of labour’ which in turn animates a critical theory of technology that is politically and programmatically adequate. Using the example of digitalization and automation of control rights, I link ‘algorithmic regulation’ with late capitalist logics — where capital dominates the labour-capital antagonism — to argue that this is but the latest maneuver in the always-already impulse of value towards the realization of its own totality. Nevertheless, computation provides a venue for radical political advocacy, an urgent task for contemporary public affairs.

Hacia una teoría crítica de la razón algorítmica

El artículo parte de la revisión teórica de la literatura sobre los algoritmos para trazar los ejes clave de una teoría crítica. En la dicotomía entre la descripción del mundo, por medio de los macrodatos, y la prescripción de comportamientos preestablecidos una vez analizados los big data, la razón algorítmica puede dar lugar a sistemas cerrados de comunicación que simplifiquen y estandaricen nuestras prácticas. Conforme a una metodología ensayística y filosófica que vincula forma y contenido de la crítica, las dimensiones para una teoría reflexiva sobre los algoritmos se corresponden con tres vertientes fundamentales: a) la abstracción, el cifrado matemático y el cálculo, b) la pasividad inducida ante algoritmos performativos y c) el poder invisible e impersonal. En consecuencia, la principal aportación del artículo radica en la discusión de las constricciones que nacen al abrigo de las tecnologías algorítmicas. El énfasis en una teoría crítica de la tecnología se hace tanto más pertinente a medida que los dispositivos digitales se normalizan como intermediadores en diferentes campos de la actividad humana. Se trata, pues, de problematizar la tecnología como base de comportamientos cotidianos y decisiones, desde una perspectiva teórica. En este sentido, el artículo pretende continuar el enjuiciamiento de la tecnología de autores tales como los pertenecientes a la Escuela de Frankfurt o, en el campo específico de la tecnología, Lewis Mumford y Jacques Ellul, así como críticos actuales del digitalismo, tales como Cathy O’neil, Evgeny Morozov o Nicholas Carr.

Scientific-technical revolution — important lessons of unimportant concept

This paper focuses on the concept of the scientific-technical revolution. This concept is relevant today most of all in the context of historiographic studies of the Soviet period or the reflection of contemporary technological transformation from the Marxist position. The article demonstrates its relevance in the context of important contemporary issues. For a conceptual framework, the author uses the works on the social history of science by J. D. Bernal, the contemporary studies of science, technology and society, and the critical theory of technology, which seeks to integrate the philosophy of science and technology into topical socio-political discussions. The author reveals the concept of the scientific-technical revolution as describing the radical transformations taking place since the beginning of the 20 th century in science, society, and technology. These transformations manifest the essential social and technological character of science and its previously hidden contradiction. The social character of science involves an increasing number of participants of these transformations, but the technological character leaves them passive objects of the efficiency requirements. However, the scientific-technical revolution offers a lesson in overcoming this contradiction, creating conditions for the activity of various participants — scientists, nature, lay experts, and technologies themselves. The emphasis on the radical revolutionary changes that have occurred with science allows us to keep in the spotlight the foundations of modern problems and how to solve them.

International Relations Perspectives on Technology

This paper addresses the literature of International Relations approaches to technology as a form of power in international politics in two stages: First, the current IR approaches to technological power in international politics which includes instrumentalism, essentialism and Social Construction of Technology (SCOT). Second, the historical materialist approaches to technological power in IR which includes instrumentalism, essentialism and critical theory of technology.

The integration of ICT in educational process in IB education - A comparative case study

This study aims to gain a deep understanding of international baccalaureate (IB) primary years programme (PYP) teachers' perceptions about the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in IB PYP classes. Moreover, it seeks to critically identify the teachers' barriers and needs in order to integrate ICT into teaching and learning. Following a qualitative comparative case study research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with IB PYP teachers and coordinators in Sweden and Greece. Critical theory, critical pedagogy and critical theory of technology (CTT) were used as the theoretical framework for analysing teachers' perceptions. From a critical point of view, the study reveals that deskilling of teachers, intensification of teachers' work, low school's financial budget, parents' financial burden, commodification and privatisation of IB education are the fundamental factors that negatively intervene in teachers' work in both schools and perpetuate the status quo of teaching and learning processes through integration of ICT. Keywords: International baccalaureate (IB), international and comparative education (ICE), integration of ICT, critical pedagogy, critical theory of technology (CTT).

Beyond Postphenomenolgy: Ihde’s Heidegger and the Problem of Authenticity

The quickening pace of technological development on a global scale and its increasing impact on the relation between human beings and their lifeworld has led to a surge in philosophical discussions concerning technology. Philosophy of technology after the “empirical turn” has been dominated by three approaches: actor-network theory, critical theory of technology and postphenomenology. Recently, scholars have started to question the philosophical roots of these approaches. This paper critically questions Ihde’s early adoption of Heidegger’s philosophy of technology in postphenomenology. First, the paper clarifies the central contributions of Heidegger’s philosophy of technology to postphenomenology. It then uses Heidegger’s early work on Aristotle to argue that Ihde’s notion of “use context” is based on a distorted account of Heidegger’s notion of the “totality of relevance”. Correspondingly, it contends that this has led to a misinterpretation of Heidegger’s technology critique. Second, an alternative reading of Heidegger’s ideas concerning technology is offered. This reading traces Heidegger’s use of the concept of telos in the totality of relevance to his discussion of Aristotelian virtue. It is subsequently shown how the question of the temporality of the mode of being of virtue is related to the notion of authenticity, which lies at the heart of Heidegger’s philosophy. Finally, the paper argues that postphenomenology could gain from philosophers who targeted Heidegger’s central notion of authenticity, notably Arendt and Ricoeur.

Towards mobile learning deployment in higher learning institutions: a report on the qualitative inquiries conducted in four universities in Tanzania


 
 
 Over the past two decades, mobile learning (m-learning) has been a purposeful area of research among educational technologists, educators and instructional designers whereby doubts and controversies over its relevancy and applicability have been keenly addressed. This paper explores stakeholders’ perceptions of m-learning deployment in Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs). Spe- cifically, we examine the potential of m-learning for HLIs in Tanzania and the challenges that hinder successful m-learning deployment. We adopt a comparative qualitative case study design in which four HLIs in Tanzania were purposefully selected. The study uses a combination of de- sign science research approach and qualitative methods including grounded theory, document re- views, and observation. The respondents included university lecturers, students and ICT experts, who were selected for the interviews through theoretical sampling. The transcripts were loaded, coded and analyzed in NVIVO software. The results indicate that mobiles (smartphone, tablets, laptops, feature-phones etc.) are widely used in the HLIs. Stakeholders perceive that m-learning deployment is important and useful because it improves the quality of the learning experience. The results further indicate that there are financial, pedagogical, technological, infrastructural, individuals – and policy – related challenges that hinder successful deployment of m-learning in HLIs in Tanzania, such as limited network coverage, some students ́ inability to afford mobiles, lack of qualified staff for preparation of mobile content and administration, gaps in the exist- ing policies, and faulty course design. However, our results show that participants are optimistic about the potential of m-learning in the HLIs of Tanzania. They expect that m-learning will im- prove access to learning resources, teacher-student and student-student interaction without being restricted by time or place. Thus, m-learning is considered to have the potential to address issues of crowded classrooms, expertise, access to learning materials, flexibility of the learners as well as remote connectivity.
 We recommend that HLIs should prioritize m-learning and commit resources to the success of the related projects. We also recommend that the governments and stakeholders provide policy interventions, subsidize mobile technologies, expand network coverage, build capacity within and outside HLIs, and improve digital literacy by integrating ICT education at all levels of education.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Key words: mobile learning, m-learning, mobile learning deployment, design science research, connectivism, critical theory of technology
 
 

Essa “tal” filosofia: sobre as concepções de tecnologia e seus reflexos no processo formativo em engenharia

O presente artigo objetiva o estabelecimento de relações entre a Teoria Crítica da Tecnologia – do filósofo Andrew Feenberg – e a educação em Engenharia. Ao entender que o universo social e o universo tecnológico se encontram em estreita relação, essa importante concepção de desenvolvimento tecnológico orienta um processo formativo mais crítico, reflexivo e comprometido com o bem viver coletivo. Como percurso metodológico usamos a pesquisa bibliográfica, e por meio dela construímos encaminhamentos sobre a efetivação dessa abordagem nos cursos de Engenharia. Nesse sentido, sugerimos: (a) práticas interdisciplinares que possibilitem aproximações entre filosofia da ciência e filosofia da tecnologia; (b) construção e consolidação de programas em torno do enfoque CTS; e (c) a criação – pela urgência desses assuntos – de uma disciplina de Tecnologia e Desenvolvimento com conteúdos que versem sobre a imbricada – e nunca linear – relação entre o homem, a sociedade, a ciência e a tecnologia.