'First we shape our tools, thereafter our tools shape us, '

At the same time, in all this noise there is a danger of snowing under a more fundamental question, namely: can we be reduced to our data? (Spoiler alert: no, we're not.)

To understand how important this question is, Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan offers a solution. With his famous one-liner 'First we shape our tools, thereafter our tools shape us, 'he drew our attention to the phenomenon that new technologies, once embedded in the social fabric, have a decisive influence on human thinking and consciousness. For our experience of space and time, it makes a lot of difference whether we move by horse and carriage or by high-speed train.


#bigtech

'First we shape our tools, thereafter our tools shape us