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The theory that technology is the primary driver of historical and social change, shaping and constraining the behavior and practices of societies.

Contemporary examples include how smartphones reshape social interactions, the impact of renewable energy on environmental policies, and the role of artificial intelligence in decision making.

A response to technological determinism that asserts technologies are shaped by social and human actions, emphasizing the importance of cultural and political factors in understanding technological change.

The idea that once in place, technologies follow their own course of development and use, largely independent of human control.

The concept originated in the works of Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, and later was developed by historians like Lynn White.

A concept developed by Thomas P. Hughes which suggests that at a certain point in its development and adoption, a technology gains an inertia that becomes difficult to stop.

It challenges conventional ethical considerations by positing that technology can dictate moral and ethical guidelines through its designs and applications.

Critics argue that it undervalues the role of human agency, ignores cultural and political dimensions, and oversimplifies complex socio-technical interactions.

The printing press leading to the spread of literacy, the industrial revolution driven by steam power, and the internet shaping global connectivity and information access.