On Thingification and Technological Takeover: The Roles Humans Play

We have been on Han for a while now, and I may say I’m a big fan. But a thought suddenly came to my mind while reading “The Information Regime,” and it gained ground. Han speaks of technology as though it has no calculative human connection at all. I do not agree. Yes, technology is fast taking over from humans, but humans are also the ones responsible for that. Rather than speaking of technology as though it erupted out of nowhere with the aim of dethroning the thingness of humans, I think of it as a strategic tool used by humans to achieve propaganda. Han confirms this in his description of new-materialist dataists with information and AI serving as their tools. According to Han, these people believe the 21st century is complex, and technology is the requisite to meet those complexities (p. 34). The upcoming centuries will continue to be complex, and more complex technological interventions will continue to emerge. So, when we complain of technology taking over from humans, let’s argue from the perspective of humans also being responsible. (180) [TO-12]

[Han, 2022]

One thought on “On Thingification and Technological Takeover: The Roles Humans Play

  1. HI Temi,
    With you until your indictment of Han as not implicating us humans in all of this. If anything, the human is right there, front and center, within the diatribe, don’t you think? I do however wish there were more solutions in Han for contending with the non-things supplanting us. We get it from Jenny O, though I’m finding myself struggling with the idea of “doing nothing” against forceful infospheric machinations. I know JO’s charge is not as basic and I’m making it, granted, but I guess I’m curious now if there’s a a way for us to achieve equilibrium that doesn’t fully jettison the world we created but also enlarges/reestablishes us and our histories.

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