#1 Let’s look at technology with our eyes wide open
This is the opening windo of my advent calendar called "25 things we need to know about technological change."
Halfway through December last year I got the idea to do 24 things we need to know about technological change. It came straight from Neil Postman’s brilliant 1998 speech 5 things we need to know about technological change.
I pitched it to Martin. He loved it and thought I should publish it already in January (he never really understood Christmassy traditions, except the part where he gets 24 surprises from Biltema).
So. Here we go. The 24 things we need to know about technological change launches today. I’ll post one Substack essay each day until Christmas, each one inspired by some of the greats: Claude Shannon, John Sweller, Neil Postman. And yes, of course, my Martin Wallin.
#1 Let’s look at technology with our eyes wide open
Postman’s warning is still the best starting point: we should never move into new technology like sleepwalkers. And yet, that is exactly what we tend to do. We adopt first, reflect later. if at all.
To look at technology with our eyes wide open means refusing both the naive optimism and the reflexive pessimism. It means stepping out of the emotional noise and paying attention to what is actually happening.
It’s a simple discipline: Notice what the technology gives you. Notice what it takes away. Notice who it empowers. Notice who it weakens. And be honest about why you use it.
This is not anti-tech. It’s just being awake.
Most technologies arrive dressed as convenience or progress. But every one of them silently reorganises something. Habits, values, expectations, relationships, time.
“Eyes wide open” is the invitation to stay conscious while that reorganisation happens. Not to panic. Not to worship. Just to see clearly.
That’s where we should start. And that’s the whole idea with my advent calendar. Twenty-four doors. Twenty-four moments to slow down, stay awake, and make sense of the world we’re building.
Martin took the photo during Advent, 2021.