Technological evolution: Difference between revisions

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Generalized the introductory description of "technological evolution". The previous main part describes the history of technology rather than a general theory which can be called "technological evolution". The new section "Combinatoric theory of technological change" describes a theory of technological change which has triggered an increasing number of scientific publications over the last 10-20 years.
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The term technological evolution captures explanations of technological change that draw on mechanisms from evolutionary biology. Evolutionary biology has one of its roots in the book “On the origin of species” by Charles Darwin. In the style of this catchphrase, technological evolution might describe the origin of new technologies.
'''Technological evolution''' is a theory of radical transformation of society through technological development. This theory originated with [[Czechs|Czech]] philosopher [[Radovan Richta]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Böhme|first1=Gernot|last2=Stehr|first2=Nico|title=The Knowledge Society: The Growing Impact of Scientific Knowledge on Social Relations|date=2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9789400947245|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mdDBAAAQBAJ&q=radovan%20richta%20describes%20the%20radical%20transformation%20of%20society%20through%20technological%20development&pg=PA5|access-date=27 March 2017|language=en}}</ref>

==Combinatoric theory of technological change==

The combinatoric theory of technological change states that every technology always consists of simpler technologies and a new technology is made of already existing technologies. One notion of this theory is that this interaction of technologies creates a network. All the technologies which interact to form a new technology can be thought of as complements, such as a screwdriver and a screw which by their interaction create the process of screwing a screw <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kauffman |first1=Stuart |title=Innovation and The Evolution of the Economic Web |journal=Entropy |date=2019 |volume=21 |issue=9 |doi=https://doi.org/10.3390/e21090864 |url=https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/21/9/864/htm#B2-entropy-21-00864 |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>. This newly formed process of screwing a screw can be perceived as a technology itself and can therefore be represented by a new node in the network of technologies. The new technology itself can interact with other technologies to form a new technology again. If this process of combining existing technologies is repeated again and again, the network of technologies grows.

The here described mechanism of technological change has been termed “combinatorial evolution” <ref>{{cite web |last1=Arthur |first1=W. Brian |title=Darwinism theory of evolution applied to technology |url=https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Darwinism-theory-of-evolution-applied-to-technology#:~:text=Their%20reasoning%2C%20very%20much%20%C3%A0,ideas%20%2D%20which%20produces%20many%20variations.&text=The%20steady%20accumulation%20of%20such,and%20the%20result%20is%20evolution. |website=ComputerWeekly.com |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>. Others call it “technological recursion” <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fink |first1=Thomas M. A. |last2=Teimouri |first2=Ali |title=The mathematical structure of innovation |date=2019 |page=1 |url=https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.03281 |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>.

Brian Arthur has elaborated how the theory is related to the mechanism of genetic recombination from evolutionary biology and in which aspects it differs <ref>{{cite web |last1=Arthur |first1=W. Brian |title=Darwinism theory of evolution applied to technology |url=https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Darwinism-theory-of-evolution-applied-to-technology#:~:text=Their%20reasoning%2C%20very%20much%20%C3%A0,ideas%20%2D%20which%20produces%20many%20variations.&text=The%20steady%20accumulation%20of%20such,and%20the%20result%20is%20evolution. |website=ComputerWeekly.com |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>.


==History of technological evolution==
==History of technological evolution==
'''Technological evolution''' is a theory of radical transformation of society through technological development. This theory originated with [[Czechs|Czech]] philosopher [[Radovan Richta]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Böhme|first1=Gernot|last2=Stehr|first2=Nico|title=The Knowledge Society: The Growing Impact of Scientific Knowledge on Social Relations|date=2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9789400947245|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mdDBAAAQBAJ&q=radovan%20richta%20describes%20the%20radical%20transformation%20of%20society%20through%20technological%20development&pg=PA5|access-date=27 March 2017|language=en}}</ref>

''[[Mankind in Transition|Mankind In Transition]]; A View of the Distant Past, the Present and the Far Future'', Masefield Books, 1993.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bloomfield|first1=Masse|title=The Automated Society; A View of the Distant Past, the Present and the Far Future|date=1993|publisher=Masefield Books|isbn=1879981025|url=http://massebloomfield.com/books/the-automated-society/|access-date=29 March 2017|language=en}}</ref> [[Technology]] (which Richta defines as "a material entity created by the application of mental and physical effort to nature in order to achieve some value") evolves in three stages: tools, machine, [[automation]]. This evolution, he says, follows two trends:
''[[Mankind in Transition|Mankind In Transition]]; A View of the Distant Past, the Present and the Far Future'', Masefield Books, 1993.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bloomfield|first1=Masse|title=The Automated Society; A View of the Distant Past, the Present and the Far Future|date=1993|publisher=Masefield Books|isbn=1879981025|url=http://massebloomfield.com/books/the-automated-society/|access-date=29 March 2017|language=en}}</ref> [[Technology]] (which Richta defines as "a material entity created by the application of mental and physical effort to nature in order to achieve some value") evolves in three stages: tools, machine, [[automation]]. This evolution, he says, follows two trends:



Revision as of 21:10, 18 August 2021

The term technological evolution captures explanations of technological change that draw on mechanisms from evolutionary biology. Evolutionary biology has one of its roots in the book “On the origin of species” by Charles Darwin. In the style of this catchphrase, technological evolution might describe the origin of new technologies.

Combinatoric theory of technological change

The combinatoric theory of technological change states that every technology always consists of simpler technologies and a new technology is made of already existing technologies. One notion of this theory is that this interaction of technologies creates a network. All the technologies which interact to form a new technology can be thought of as complements, such as a screwdriver and a screw which by their interaction create the process of screwing a screw [1]. This newly formed process of screwing a screw can be perceived as a technology itself and can therefore be represented by a new node in the network of technologies. The new technology itself can interact with other technologies to form a new technology again. If this process of combining existing technologies is repeated again and again, the network of technologies grows.

The here described mechanism of technological change has been termed “combinatorial evolution” [2]. Others call it “technological recursion” [3].

Brian Arthur has elaborated how the theory is related to the mechanism of genetic recombination from evolutionary biology and in which aspects it differs [4].

History of technological evolution

Technological evolution is a theory of radical transformation of society through technological development. This theory originated with Czech philosopher Radovan Richta.[5]

Mankind In Transition; A View of the Distant Past, the Present and the Far Future, Masefield Books, 1993.[6] Technology (which Richta defines as "a material entity created by the application of mental and physical effort to nature in order to achieve some value") evolves in three stages: tools, machine, automation. This evolution, he says, follows two trends:

The pre-technological period, in which all other animal species remain today (aside from some avian and primate species) was a non-rational period of the early prehistoric man.

The emergence of technology, made possible by the development of the rational faculty, paved the way for the first stage: the tool. A tool provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task, such as an arrow, plow, or hammer that augments physical labor to more efficiently achieve his objective. Later animal-powered tools such as the plow and the horse, increased the productivity of food production about tenfold over the technology of the hunter-gatherers. Tools allow one to do things impossible to accomplish with one's body alone, such as seeing minute visual detail with a microscope, manipulating heavy objects with a pulley and cart, or carrying volumes of water in a bucket.

The second technological stage was the creation of the machine. A machine (a powered machine to be more precise) is a tool that substitutes part of or all of the element of human physical effort, requiring only the control of its functions. Machines became widespread with the industrial revolution, though windmills, a type of machine, are much older.

Examples of this include cars, trains, computers, and lights. Machines allow humans to Tremendously exceed the limitations of their bodies. Putting a machine on the farm, a tractor, increased food productivity at least tenfold over the technology of the plow and the horse.

The third, and final stage of technological evolution is the automation. The automation is a machine that removes the element of human control with an automatic algorithm. Examples of machines that exhibit this characteristic are digital watches, automatic telephone switches, pacemakers, and computer programs.

It is crucial to understand that the three stages outline the introduction of the fundamental types of technology, and so all three continue to be widely used today. A spear, a plow, a pen, a knife, a glove, a chicken and an optical microscope are all examples of tools.

Theoretical implications

An economic implication of the above idea is that intellectual labour will become increasingly more important relative to physical labour. Contracts and agreements around information will become increasingly more common at the marketplace. Expansion and creation of new kinds of institutes that works with information such as universities, book stores, patent-trading companies, etc. is considered an indication that a civilization is in technological evolution.

This highlights the importance underlining the debate over intellectual property in conjunction with decentralized distribution systems such as today's internet. Where the price of information distribution is going towards zero with ever more efficient tools to distribute information is being invented. Growing amounts of information being distributed to an increasingly larger customer base as times goes by. With growing disintermediation in said markets and growing concerns over the protection of intellectual property rights it is not clear what form markets for information will take with the evolution of the information age.

External links

The Evolution of Technology, George Basalla, University of Delaware

References

  1. ^ Kauffman, Stuart (2019). "Innovation and The Evolution of the Economic Web". Entropy. 21 (9). doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/e21090864. Retrieved 18 August 2021. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help); External link in |doi= (help)
  2. ^ Arthur, W. Brian. "Darwinism theory of evolution applied to technology". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  3. ^ Fink, Thomas M. A.; Teimouri, Ali (2019). "The mathematical structure of innovation": 1. Retrieved 18 August 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Arthur, W. Brian. "Darwinism theory of evolution applied to technology". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  5. ^ Böhme, Gernot; Stehr, Nico (2012). The Knowledge Society: The Growing Impact of Scientific Knowledge on Social Relations. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9789400947245. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  6. ^ Bloomfield, Masse (1993). The Automated Society; A View of the Distant Past, the Present and the Far Future. Masefield Books. ISBN 1879981025. Retrieved 29 March 2017.