The growing gap between physical and social technologies
Wednesday, August 1, 2018 - 10:00
in Mathematics & Economics
The word "technology," from the Greek techne, usually evokes physical technologies like artificial intelligence, swarm robots, and the like. But there's an older meaning. By Jacob Bigelow's 1829 definition, technology can describe a process that benefits society. In that sense, social institutions, like governments and healthcare systems, can be seen, and studied, as technologies.