I can also recommend "The Technological Society" by Jacques Ellul [0], which argues that technique (not just machines) is at odds with human autonomy and freedom. It seems paradoxical at first, given all the possibilities introduced by technology since the 50's. Are we not more free than ever before?
Then again, considering what surveillance capitalism is doing to us today, it is hard to deny that we are constantly nudged into certain grooves by algorithms that is fed massive amounts of our own fine grained behavioral data.
We crave autonomy, freedom and individuality. We often feel that we are unique and free. But zooming out, most of us are heavily formed by the environment around us, which nowadays consist of a lot of screen time and exposure to ads and content picked by algorithms, influencing many of our choices.
It's an interesting perspective to ponder, that's for sure!
[0] https://archive.org/details/JacquesEllulTheTechnologicalSoci...
Then again, considering what surveillance capitalism is doing to us today, it is hard to deny that we are constantly nudged into certain grooves by algorithms that is fed massive amounts of our own fine grained behavioral data.
We crave autonomy, freedom and individuality. We often feel that we are unique and free. But zooming out, most of us are heavily formed by the environment around us, which nowadays consist of a lot of screen time and exposure to ads and content picked by algorithms, influencing many of our choices.
It's an interesting perspective to ponder, that's for sure!
[0] https://archive.org/details/JacquesEllulTheTechnologicalSoci...