Tech agnostic : how technology became the world's most powerful religion, and why it desperately needs a reformation

Book

Tech agnostic : how technology became the world's most powerful religion, and why it desperately needs a reformation / Greg M. Epstein.

Summary:

"Today's tech has overtaken religion as the chief shaper of 21st-century human lives and communities. In this book, Greg M. Epstein, the influential humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT, explores what it means to be a critical thinker about this new faith, taking readers on a journey towards reasserting our common humanity"-- Provided by publisher.

"Today's technology has overtaken religion as the chief influence on twenty-first century life and community. In Tech Agnostic, Harvard and MIT's influential humanist chaplain Greg Epstein explores what it means to be a critical thinker with respect to this new faith. Encouraging readers to reassert their common humanity beyond the seductive sheen of 'tech,' this book argues for tech agnosticism - not worship - as a way of life. Without suggesting we return to a mythical pre-tech past, Epstein shows why we must maintain a freethinking critical perspective toward innovation until it proves itself worthy of our faith or not. Epstein asks probing questions that center humanity at the heart of engineering: Who profits from an uncritical faith in technology? How can we remedy technology's problems while retaining its benefits? Showing how unbelief has always served humanity, Epstein revisits the historical apostates, skeptics, mystics, Cassandras, heretics, and whistleblowers who embody the tech reformation we desperately need. He argues that we must learn how to collectively demand that technology serve our pursuit of human lives that are deeply worth living." -- Publisher's description.

Record details

ISBN: 9780262049207
ISBN: 0262049201
Physical Description: 359 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Publisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2024]
Copyright: ©2024

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: Part I. Beliefs ; Tech Theology ; Doctrine -- Part II. Practices ; Hierarchies and castes, or, Utopia for white men ; Ritual ; Apocalypse(s) -- Part III. Beloved community, or the reformation. apostates and heretics ; Humanists ; The congregation -- Conclusion. Tech agnosticism is a humanism.