Technological Autonomy and Three Definitions of Technology

Abstract

In this essay I argue that one way to comprehend popular discourse about new technologies is to explore the meanings of the term technology. I develop the need to interrogate the meaning of technology by contrasting studies of technological discourse with studies of scientific discourse. I delineate three meanings of technology assumed in popular and academic discourse: technology-as-instrumentality, technology-as-industrialization, and technology-as-novelty. Finally, I examine the deployment of these definitions by the Clinton administration as it promulgates and defends its policies regarding the Internet. I conclude by reflecting on the significance of popular equivocation on the meaning of technology for understanding the ideology of technology.