The advent of stupid tech

Tags: technology
Date: 2025-04-13

Aristotle described τέχνη (téchne) as a "productive behaviour governed by knowledge". The term is often translated as "art”, but not as a generic form of creative expression, rather as mastery of a certain domain, or as the ability to make something. We could simplify the meaning téchne as the art of making things.
If technology implies the concept of téchne, we would expect those who develop the latest technological innovations to do so by virtue of this art.
How did we end up with a washing machine that asks me to download an app?

Reinventing the wheel

The use of infotainment systems in modern cars is one of the most glaring examples of how the industry is more concerned with following trends rather than trying to make life easier for its customers. While until a few years ago no one would have dreamed of removing physical buttons for basic functions like controlling the air conditioning, the radio, or even selecting gears (see Tesla), now there’s a race to create the most uncomfortable and risky solution to this non-existing problems.

Muscle memory allows to reach a manual control without taking your eyes off the road, and it also provides tactile feedback that confirms you've performed the action. Today, to do the same operation, you need to take your eyes off the road, scroll through the slow screens of a touchscreen (which not only came out of the factory already outdated, but has also been baking in the sun every day of its life), touch the right "button”, and continue to stare at the screen to verify you've completed the action.
It seemed like a necessary evil though, because now the general public expects to be able to view maps, play music or make phone calls. If only there were an object that already allowed us to do all these things...

You've finally left the house. You're at a pub/restaurant/café with your friends. Everything is fine, you just want to spend quality time together. Then you see it, the QR code. You scan it, but your phone doesn't connect. No problem though, because there's Wi-Fi. So you connect to the extremely slow Wi-Fi, and after opening various sections of the menu, each of which required loading time, you manage to find what you wanted (which is the same thing you've been ordering for 10 years). Watch out though, there's a long list of off-menu items. They're off-menu not because they're special, but because updating the menu now means updating a website, whereas before it was enough to add a line on a sheet of paper or a blackboard. Anyways, I'll have the usual, thanks.

One could give many examples of times when the tech-industry convinced itself it needed to respond to needs that no one ever expressed, or to technologies never requested. 3D televisions, curved screens, foldable smartphones, smart homes. Throughout all this, printing a document has remained the same frustrating experience as always.

Occam's electric razor

There are technologies that make us more free, more capable, more independent, or that simply make our lives easier. If something gives autonomy, if it allows you to do things you wouldn’t have done, if it empowers you, than it is useful tech. Everything else should be avoided, because in the best case it's pure consumerism, in the worst case it's the surrender of another piece of independence to the usual feudal lords.

According to Occam's Razor principle, the simplest solution to solve a problem is the one to prefer. What would Occam say if he saw you asking Alexa to adjust the thermostat?