Chapter 3: Human-Technology Entanglement
Chapter 3, titled “Human-Technology Entanglement,” explores the anthropological, sociological, and historical perspectives of technogenesis which encourages us to understand that the technology-human relationship is deeply intertwined as we have coevolved with it. We are intrinsically connected to technology. Together, we continually influence how we communicate, make decisions, and build our societies. Ever since the first tool was created, we have taken the path of being dependent on things, and we have been caught up in the intimate entanglement of the things we have created.
The concept of an entangled AI ecosystem is introduced, building on socio-technical perspectives but extending to complex adaptive systems where technology innovation is inseparable from organizational development and change. This ecosystem involves multiple actors (e.g., human knowledge base, LLM developers, data sources, cloud providers, regulators, and users), with constant flows of data, technology, and investment, creating dynamic and often unpredictable relationships.
Ian Hodder’s theory of entanglement is central to this chapter, describing how “humans depend on things, things depend on other things, things depend on humans, and humans depend on humans”, creating a perpetual loop of dependency and constraint. Entanglement mangles human and technology issues and generally cannot be disentangled. However, in situations where elements are interwoven rather than entangled, we can find the leverage points for interventions.
We need to be mindful that there are limitations in the intelligent technologies we have developed due to the deep asymmetries between humans and machines. For example, some AI technologies, like autonomous weapons systems, claim to enhance situational awareness but often create closed loop environments that actually reduce it. We should identify these asymmetries and limitations in our systems to address them effectively. When building AI models, it’s important to remember that these facsimiles are not equivalent to real-world complexity. The chapter urges reflection and conscious choices in shaping technology’s trajectory rather than passively accepting a perceived inevitable future.
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