Utopia has undeniably changed the way we think. It has been the goal of society since Sir Thomas More first coined the word Utopia in 1516 over five centuries ago - for politicians, economists, social scientists, and the topic of today's post, engineers. So why does utopia always slip through our fingers, like golden sunrays on a bitter, wintery morning? In the world of sociotechnology, a destiny of repeating a cycle of great expectations and glum dissatisfactions (as with the iphone battery life), seems too dystopian to me and irreverent of our propensity for adaptability as homo sapiens.
Let me tell you a story to inspire. It begins with a man. He's bearded, had a heavy European accent and the bright eyes of someone running on adrenaline - as many great philosophy activists escaping the authorities are. After seeking refuge in London and deciding blending in wasn't his MO, he spent much of his days either quietly writing his revolutionary rhetoric in the British Museum reading room, or raucously discussing his ideas with a long-term friend, Friedrich Engels. This man is, of course, Karl Heinrich Marx. Their topic of discussion? Among other things (largely communism), it was how the scientific revolution could marry democracy and conceive this idyllic, unified society - the techno-utopia.
Floating cities, self-sufficient societies, ecotopias, are all words that exist courtesy of the technotopia. They are beautiful and fantastic paradises, innovative and revolutionary oases, a coveted, futuristic heaven that is at the cusp of reality of modern society, thanks to technology.
Or have I just trapped your mind into the culture of hype?
What is 'hype' and why is it a problem for the you in Utopia?
Hype is the marketing strategy many companies use to promote technologies, exaggurating their impact to omnipotence, often with terms such as "new and revolutionary". Steven Rayner, Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Society in Oxford University explains that such language is more compelling than 'incremenetal scientific advancements' for public and private investment; not only monetary or institutional attention, but also to attract researchers to an exciting field that could give them a psychological and social boost.
The effects of this language, however is powerful and in some cases pernicious. The Gartner Hype Cycle provides us with a generalised view of the trend of hype. Following a peak of hype, we see a drop to disappointment, but the ultimate result is an upward trend of productivity. Thus, this model is net generative, by continually inspiring innovation, even if it is inevitable that we suffer 'disillusionment' in the process. If we can believe this hype cycle, utopia is a land promised to us by our own expectation.
Another way to put it is hype is a self-fulfilling prophecy, whereby the value one creates an technology for will be eventually satisfied, and in-so-doing you construct your own reality - something like Meggie Folchart in Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke, where a quick hand and a silver tongue could form reality. The hype cycle is itself a self-fulfilling prophecy with its value-laden positive outlook on hype, for Gartner encourages companies to use this model to create their own hype, disappointment, and... what next? Translating an idea into technological reality isn't as easy for us as it is for Meggie.
First, societies are not homogenous. Humans are celebrated for their unique and diverse perspectives, rationalities and needs. An idea, however, requires financial investment and organisational or instituional support, which introduces selective bias, where ideas may be excluded for factors independent of validity. Can one's imagination target the value that is deeply legimate for us all? "Imagination also operates at an intersubjective level, uniting members of a social community in shared perceptions of futures that should or should not be realized" writes Sheila Jasanoff, a Professor of Science and Technology in Harvard. For instance, engineering is a male-dominated field where implicit gender bias may result, in practicality of physical design or algorithmic inequality. Moreover, the aims and values of ethnic groups and political science aren't always commensurate, and tensions arise when technology indirectly favour or exclude any ethnic groups. Expectation is often directional, helping some members of a community and not others. Hype is a false promise for those it excludes or hasn't considered due to the invisible, intangible value instilled within it. No one wants to be trapped in a reality that was envisioned that didn't think about them, so careful consideration into the equitable function is important.
Second, practical constraints often mean the goal is adjusted from its early development to its realistic conception, creating this temporal variability. Disappointments can similarly ensue due to "future abstractions", or the detachment of inventor's fanciful ideas from the realities and uncertainities of future society needs and wants, meaning the effects of a technology are not so predictable as marketing purports. So, do all of the practical adjustments transform utopianism to dystopianism?
But why am I optimistic, and why could you be optimistic?
I still hold onto my optimism for self-sufficient cities, for it is not dependent on technology, investment nor the hype-disappointment cycle. Self-sufficient communities were in the past (e.g. the circular Hakka houses) and eco-friendly societies are a thing of the present (Ecovillage in Findhorn, Scotland, or Masdar City, Dubai), so I'm fairly confident they are part of our future (Oceanix City, an United Natons initiative tackling the problem of submerging communities). Incommensurability of ideals is a challenge, but sometimes scaling down first to to community-led projects and thinking about our underlying ideals allows us to overcome them. Nations are hard to unite, for communities within a nation are different and differently different. No technology can account for all of these differences, however Rayner says the public can assess technology with degrees of social learning. People can identify inequalities or differences of societies and extract common goals. Technology can then be used, as tools, to enable communities (at home or globally) to lead themselves in a direction that is favourable to them all.
It may take a furrowed brow and a tilted chin to follow the ancient philosophy of Cynicism, where one lives in virtue and in agreement with nature, or find a new consciousness, so we can catch the sunlight in solar panels and the sparkle of your eye.
So, are the words of Marx those of a pragmatist or a visionary, and is a dream of utopia realistic or imaginary? Or is the conception of expectation the prophecy that ignores the minority? I hope for the best - not hype, hope.
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