Introduction

While, at first sight, it might transpire that the prevalent views on technological change and, correspondingly, predictions for the future are diverse, upon closer inspection, they tend to coalesce into two broad camps. On the one side, views that can be generally described as technological progressivism provide an optimistic—even utopian—vision of technology solving humanity’s problems and enabling full mastery over the world. On the other side, though, technological pessimism engages in nostalgia and paints the future in dystopian terms, mourning the alleged loss of human autonomy and centrality vis-à-vis the world. Both views are interpreted here as coping strategies in the face of rapid technological change that are more illustrative of human propensities than of technology itself.