IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2017 - 88

Last Word
Christine Perakslis

n this issue, we ac -
k n o w l e d g e d that
technologies are not
merely aids to human
activity, but powerful
forces acting to shape, or reshape,
our world [1]. We surveyed a future
with robots. We contemplate the
advantages of indefatigable human-
oids with enhanced physical capabil-
ity to care for the more vulnerable
members of society. Yet, we also per-
ceive the threats of dehumanization
when activities done by empathetic
human caregivers are offloaded to
thinking machines who cannot share
in our grief, heartache, or pain [2].
Our peers also drew our attention
to the dangers of constant time-stress,
and the frenetic pace of a high-
speed, high-pressured, 24/7 connect-
ed world. We perceive how easy it
is for us to be lulled into technological
somnambulism [1]. Our peers also
cautioned us to guard against the
overreach of technological determin-
ism. We were reminded; even if tech-
nologies significantly influence our
world, technology does not predomi-
nantly determine our cultural values
or social structures. Popnology events
demonstrate vividly how pop culture
has shaped technology. Social struc-
tures can be the means by which we
mediate our interactions with tech-

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Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2017.2703181
Date of publication: 8 June 2017

88

Intentionality:
Value Apart from
the Machine
nology. At  unplugged parties, partici-
pants relinquish their phones at the
door before entering the party. Other
social collectives champion technol-
ogy-free zones, digital sabbaticals,
mindfulness apps, and gadget-free
camps for adults. Some breweries
require that guests unplug to engage
the five senses. Certain restaurants
in New York offer 50% off to patrons
who turn off phones during the meal.
With intentionality, these social struc-
tures are rearranging the combina-
tion of human and nonhuman actors
to preserve the value of being human
apart from the machine.
Undoubtedly, technologies are
powerful forces of influence. Yet,
the effect of technologies on our
lives might be less about technology
and more about the priorities and
parameters we set [3]. We are not
fated to live subjugated to technol-
ogy. We are equipped with choice;
and our choices are not subjected to
fixed, mechanical temporal forces,
or even to the arbitrary influences of

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

fate [4]. Providentially, in this issue,
our peers did well to empower us
with practical tools and restorative
alternatives to better equip us to
shape (or reshape) our lives in a
world of pervasive technology.

Author Information
Christine Perakslis is Associate Pro-
fessor in the MBA Program, College
of Management, Johnson & Wales
University, Providence, RI. Email:
christine.perakslis@jwu.edu.

References
[1] L. Winner, "Technologies as forms of
life," in Epistemology, Methodology and
the Social Sciences. Netherlands: Springer,
1983, pp. 249-263.
[2] K. Trynacity, Close Enough to Care,
June 12, 2014 [Video file]. https://vimeo.
com/137052784.
[3] J. Wajcman, Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism. Chi-
cago, IL: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2014.
[4] G.W. Richards, The Heidelberg Catechism: Historical and Doctrinal Studies.
Philadelphia, PA: Publication and Sunday
School Board of the Reformed Church in
the United States, 1913.

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