Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies

Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies
ISBN-10
0190467053
ISBN-13
9780190467050
Category
Political Science
Pages
320
Language
English
Published
2016-06-06
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Author
Calestous Juma

Description

It is a curious situation that technologies we now take for granted have, when first introduced, so often stoked public controversy and concern for public welfare. At the root of this tension is the perception that the benefits of new technologies will accrue only to small sections of society, while the risks will be more widely distributed. Drawing from nearly 600 years of technology history, Calestous Juma identifies the tension between the need for innovation and the pressure to maintain continuity, social order, and stability as one of today's biggest policy challenges. He reveals the extent to which modern technological controversies grow out of distrust in public and private institutions and shows how new technologies emerge, take root, and create new institutional ecologies that favor their establishment in the marketplace. Innovation and Its Enemies calls upon public leaders to work with scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to manage technological change and expand public engagement on scientific and technological matters.

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