The data paper for Techno-Optimism Archive is now published! All the data from the archive are publicly available on Zenodo, regularly updated, and open for research and other uses. For anyone interested in the methodological nerdy details, the paper explains everything. (all links in the comment)

Had a great conversation with @superglaze.eurosky.social on Tech Gets Real about my archive of techno-optimism. Thanks for having me! For Polish listeners, I’ll also be on Radio TOK FM this Monday. And I’m very happy that the archive reached 10,000 visits in its first two weeks!

David Meyer@superglaze.eurosky.social · 4mo ago

Really enjoyed this conversation with @krystianlukasik.bsky.social about the Techno-Optimism Archive, which I can highly recommend as a reminder that hype around the new is anything but new youtu.be/XaTo-5Z7Ga0 @technooptimismarch.bsky.social

Really enjoyed this conversation with @krystianlukasik.bsky.social about the Techno-Optimism Archive, which I can highly recommend as a reminder that hype around the new is anything but new youtu.be/XaTo-5Z7Ga0 @technooptimismarch.bsky.social

We've always wanted tech to bring us together

YouTube video by Tech Gets Real

youtu.be

1997 "Internet would do no less than bring world peace by breaking down national borders" Title: Negroponte: Internet is way to world peace Publication: Reuters Source: technooptimism.org/archive/inte...

In the early 20th century, the telephone was advertised as a cure for loneliness - especially for rural women. Bit ironic today, given the links we now draw between phones and loneliness.

Evil Pessimists Archive be like:

hits different after spending three hours fixing archive file metadata 🥲

Techno-Optimism Archive@technooptimismarch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

(1965) “Many scientists hope that in time the computer will allow man to return to the Hellenic concept of leisure, in which the Greeks had time to cultivate their minds and improve their environment while slaves did all the labor. The slaves, in modern Hellenism, would be the computers.”

This is already a cool project, and with huge potential nonetheless. We need more focus on the history of ideas foundational for the digital age (see: Balbi et al 2021), and techno-optimism is chief among them

Techno-Optimism Archive@technooptimismarch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

New technologies have long been expected to solve social problems. In the 19th century, the telegraph was sold as a way to end war by reducing misunderstanding between nations. Today we are launching Techno-Optimism Archive, which collects historical press materials documenting old tech promises

(1932) Title: Radio Assures Peace. Observers Belive Pen-Tode to Prove Mightier Than Sword Publication: Radio Guide

People once believed: – the telegraph would end war and prejudice, – moving pictures would make books obsolete, – the automobile would make people “too prosperous to fight”. I’ve built a digital archive of these kinds of promises. Techno-Optimism Archive

Techno-Optimism Archive@technooptimismarch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

New technologies have long been expected to solve social problems. In the 19th century, the telegraph was sold as a way to end war by reducing misunderstanding between nations. Today we are launching Techno-Optimism Archive, which collects historical press materials documenting old tech promises

I’m happy to share that I’ve started a new position as a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Science, Technology and Society!

An article by M. Bylicki, E. Zawojska and myself has just been published in Technology in Society. We ask: Can stronger privacy protection for Facebook and Google users improve social welfare in Poland?