Technology, Innovation, Power, and Social Consequence

There are many claims and counterclaims in the academic literature on innovations in information and communication technologies (ICTs) about their relationship to power. Different disciplinary perspectives privilege various assumptions about the social consequences that are likely to accompany the innovation process. In this chapter, some of these competing analytical perspectives are considered briefly. This is followed by an assessment of some of the issues that are deserving of deeper investigation. Although some analysts envisage a relatively smooth progression towards equitable access and use of these technologies in ways that, on balance, are empowering for citizens and consumers, others do not. In many instances claims about the nature of this relationship are supported by weak empirical evidence or underpinned by a disavowal of the notion that technologies are political. In this contribution, my aim is to set out the foundation for the assertion that the ground is very flimsy for the claim that innovation in ICTs inevitably favors decentralization, the flattening of hierarchy, or the automatic empowerment of human beings.