The Future of Humanity: Designing Technology with Care and Responsibility

Humanity's future depends on whether it flees technology or participates in its ethical design.

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In the late 20th century, two philosophers whose thinking completely transformed the framework for understanding "technology" were Gilbert Simondon and Bernard Stiegler.

Simondon says, "Technological objects are not merely tools; they are life-like processes in themselves."

Stiegler says, "Technology is not merely a machine; it shapes memory, identity, aspiration, and society. And if we live without understanding it, it can even destroy us."

Stiegler states bluntly that the greatest cause of the depression, distraction, loneliness, addiction, consumerism, and political polarization the world is experiencing today is a "techno-economic system" that "industrializes" human will, memory, and thinking.

He considers this entire problem in terms of concepts like pharmacology, the proletarianization of mind, techniques and time, and spiritual poverty.

But, drawing inspiration from Simondon, he also says: "If technology is intelligently restructured, it can become a tool for human development, knowledge, and collective happiness."

That is, Stiegler considers technology both a problem and a solution.

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What did Stiegler learn from Simondon?

To consider technology not an enemy, but a "living process." Unlike Heidegger and other philosophers, technology is not called a "threat" or "destruction," but a possibility.

Simondon explains the "evolution" of technological objects.

Stiegler explains technology's "power over culture and psychology."

Individuation:

Simondon's major idea is individuation—individuation is a process, not a static object.

Stiegler extends this idea to society and culture: "Human beings express themselves when they have the freedom of knowledge, memory, time, and will. Modern technological systems take away that freedom."

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Milieu:

Simondon states that technological objects evolve with their environment (milieu). Stiegler states, "The milieu of digital media is transforming human attention into algorithmic control."

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Stiegler's Main Theory: Technics and Time:

The core argument of Stiegler's three-volume book, "Technics and Time," is this: technology is an extension of human memory. For example, fire, language, writing, books, computers, and the Internet are all "external memory systems."

Technology remembers what we forget. And over time, technology begins to "design" our thoughts, tastes, desires, and behavior. Stiegler calls this "epiphylogenesis." That is, technology is a new layer of evolution.

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Industrialization of Memory:

When external memory—digital platforms, TV, advertising, social media—fills our thoughts and desires,humans' psychic individuation is disrupted. People become reactive consumers, not active creators.

In this way, technology standardizes behavior, manipulates desire, and commodifies attention.

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Proletarianization of the Mind:

Marx said that industry strips workers of their skills, turning them into "proletariat." Stiegler says that modern technology is robbing people of their ability to think. That is, "cognitive proletarianization."

Look at everyday life: once we used to remember things, now Google does. Once we used to remember routes, now maps remember them. Once we used to think after reading, now we send memes. Once we used to write diaries, now we post Instagram stories.

What does this do? Memory weakens, attention is scattered, willpower weakens, critical thinking disappears, and individuals become part of the crowd. Society transforms into a "dopamine-controlled population."

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Pharmakon: Technology as Medicine and as Poison:

Stiegler revives Plato's term pharmakon. Pharmakon—medicine and as poison.

Technology is like this. If used correctly, it increases knowledge; if used incorrectly, it destroys desire. For example, Facebook: helping to connect, it is a drug, and addiction, comparison, and depression are poison.

YouTube: as a learning platform, it is a drug, and clickbait addiction is a poison. Netflix: as a source of creativity and inspiration, it is a drug, and binge-watching is a poison.

Stiegler's question: Is modern capitalism using technology to make people "lazy, distracted, and anxious consumers" or "emancipated creators"? The answer is the former.

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Consumer Capitalism and the Death of Desire:

Stiegler believes that modern consumerism has killed "desire."

Desire means: dream, patience, imagination, and struggle.

What is in today's youth?  Instant gratification, instant rewards, scrolling addiction, information overload, and the inability to concentrate. He says, "By eliminating desire, consumer capitalism makes people anxious so they buy more."

Stiegler calls this "systematic stupefaction."

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Digital Age and Attention Economy:

Simondon said, technological objects want "possession." Stiegler says, modern digital technology wants "attention." Your attention is a commodity.

Netflix, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube ask your mind the same question: "Watch more, and I'll reward you."

But the result is distraction, anxiety, loneliness, a decline in willpower, political polarization, and a decline in human empathy. Stiegler calls this "symbolic suffering."

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Symbolic Grief: When Culture Feels Dead:

Stiegler says, “Humans need meaning. Without meaning, they begin to die.” But digital culture has handed music over to algorithms, art to brands, relationships to apps, and dialogue to comment wars. The result is emptiness, anxiety, and despair within people.

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The Big Question: What is the solution?

Stiegler is not pessimistic. He says, “Don't abandon technology, reorganize it.”

He proposes:

Digital literacy—thinking skills, not just data.

Collective individualization—community-based knowledge.

New education—creativity + critical thinking.

Cooperative economy—not just profit logic.

Slow time—meditation, imagination, and dialogue.

Digital Ethics—Responsibility of Algorithms.

His goal is to revive human will, imagination, and the power of thought.

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Techniques, Desire, and Care :

Stiegeler calls modern capitalism "careless." He says, "Without empathy and care, technological society will collapse."

Hence, his central philosophy is,

Care

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Stiegler's sociology: "Social care, cultural care, and psychic care are above economic productivity." Without care, people will become depressed, angry, addicted, violent, lonely, and society will become fragile, unstable, and anxious.

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Stiegler's final message: Humans triumph by design, not by fear.

Stiegler says, "Humanity's future depends on whether they flee technology or participate in its ethical design." He tells modern youth, "Don't be consumers, be creators." He tells educators, "Abandon repetitive learning; teach imagination."

He tells governments, "Make digital policies in accordance with human psychology." He tells companies, "Put human dignity before profit."

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The psychological experience of reading Stiegler. Stiegler is not easy, but his ideas are incredibly vivid. Stiegler makes you realize that your mind is your property, your will is your power, and your memory is your identity. If you surrender it to algorithms, you yourself become a product of the algorithm.

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Stiegler is needed in today's world

Because we live in an age where dopamine is design, AI is the attention economy, identity is the market, emotions are algorithmic, desire is capitalist, and loneliness is pandemic. Stiegler asks, "Will this future be sustainable?"

The answer is, "If care, imagination, ethics, and new education come into play, then yes."

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From Simondon to Stiegler :

Simondon said, "Technology is a living entity."

Stiegler said, "Technology changes the mind."

Simondon's question was, "How does technology evolve?"

Stiegler's question is, "What is technology making of humans?"

Simondon showed concretization and milieu. Stiegler added desire, memory, capitalism, and the future. Simondon laid the foundation. Stiegler connected the entire society.

You, me, and Stiegler in today's context:

If you check your phone frequently, your mind feels tired, your attention is short, your will is weak, you feel empty, you experience comparison and anxiety, then Stiegler says, "It's not your fault, it's the design of the system."

But then he adds, "And the responsibility to change the system is also yours."

Bernard Stiegler's entire philosophy says one thing: "Don't control technology, understand it. Don't enslave man, let him be a creator. Don't kill desire, protect it. And run society with care, imagination, and responsibility." This isn't just a philosophy, it's the blueprint for humanity's next battle.

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Bernard Stiegler & Gilbert Simondon

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