In this post, we’ll unpack all you need to know about technology, defining exactly what it is, its characteristics, how it develops, how it impacts society and more.
What Is Technology?
Technology (often referred to as tech for short) is defined as channelling energy in order to achieve a particular outcome.
Technology is an extension of the human mind.
The Evolutionary Perspective
Technology serves as a tool to help us meet our basic survival needs more efficiently. By automating or simplifying tasks, it reduces the time and effort required to secure these needs, freeing up time for other, more meaningful pursuits.
Technology is a tool for outsourcing survival needs. Technology reduces the time necessary to address survival needs.
Domains & Subdomains
Technologies develop within specific domains (for example, electronics) which themselves evolve and give rise to subdomains. Progress in one domain can influence and drive progress in other domains.
Solutions & Problems
Every technology comes with both solutions and problems, which create new technologies which come with further solutions and problems. Since the dawn of human history, this dance has played out and will continue to play out indefinitely.
It’s A System
Technologies function as a complex system comprising various components working together to achieve specific goals. This system can includes hardware, software and human input.
It’s A Living Organism
Tech is a living organism. The same way living organisms reproduce, grow, respond and adapt to their environment is the same way technologies reproduce, grow, respond and adapt to their environment.
How It Develops
The process of technological innovation mirrors the process of natural selection through recombination.
The same way existing genes combine to create new genes is the same way existing technologies combine to create new technologies.
When all the required conditions generated by previous technologies are in place, the next technology can arise.
Thus, the development of tech is not a sudden individual process — it is an incremental collective process. It builds on itself based on what works.
As the number of existing technologies increases, so too do the possibilities for combinations that create new technologies.
“In essence, the haves fund the evolution of technology for the have-laters. Isn’t that how it should be, that the rich fund the development of cheap technology for the poor?“
Technology’s Imperative
The progression of inventions is in many ways the march toward forms dictated by the laws of the universe in a sequence determined by the rules of complexity. We can call this technology’s imperative.
There are three types of evidence suggesting that the paths of technologies are inevitable:
- Almost all inventions and discoveries have been made independently by more than one person.
- In ancient times, we see that independent timelines of tech on different continents converging upon a set order.
- In modern times, we find sequences of improvement that are difficult to stop, derail or alter.
How It Impacts Society
The relationship between tech and society is symbiotic — tech shapes society and society shapes tech. This feedback loop drives continuous innovation and adaptation, ensuring that both tech and society evolve together.
All human progress is dependent on humans channelling energy more effectively.
It’s A Net Job Creator
Tech is a net job creator because it drives innovation and creates new industries, products and services, requiring new skills and roles even as it automates existing ones.
It’s Disinflationary
Tech is disinflationary because it increases productivity by increasing efficiency, reducing production costs and intensifying competition — all of which lead to lower prices for consumers.
Summary (TL;DR)
Technology is defined as channelling energy in order to achieve a particular purpose.
Tech functions as a complex system which is comprises of various components working together to achieve specific goals.
The process technological innovation mirrors the process of natural selection. The same way existing genes combine to create new genes is the same way existing tech combines to create new tech.
