The media backlash against Silicon Valley and its peevish moguls, however, typically ends with nothing more radical than an earnest call for regulation or a break-up of Internet monopolies such as Facebook and Google.

Without shame, technical wonks now talk of building artificial scientists to resolve climate change, poverty and, yes, even fake news. The average teenager now works about two hours of every day - for free - providing Facebook and other social media companies with all the data they need to engineer young people’s behaviour for bigger Internet profits. The Foundation for Responsible Robotics recently created a small stir by asking if “sexual intimacy with robots could lead to greater social isolation.” Meanwhile computers and other gadgets have diminished our attention spans along with our ever-failing connection to reality. (Includes 46 notes.By now you have probably read about the so-called “tech backlash.”įacebook and other social media have undermined what’s left of the illusion of democracy, while smartphones damage young brains and erode the nature of discourse in the family.

In a society dominated by propaganda, rationality disappears. Second, Ellul points out that persuasion is based on emotion and irrationality. Ellul's contribution to rhetorical theory lies in his understanding that persuasion does not occur in a single isolated instance but in a whole social, cultural, and technological framework of society. Those responsible for public discussion of issues, such as the media systems and the government, now use the techniques of propaganda to override rational discourse and critical thinking. According to this theory, 'la technique' has invaded the realm of politics and persuasion. For Ellul, technology itself is merely an example of the problem rather than the problem itself. It is the technological mindset, he argues, that disrupts human reflectivity and the quality of human life. Ellul is known for his searing attack on the technological mindset, 'la technique,' which he argues is a self-directing and self-augmenting entity. Of interest to students of rhetorical criticism, Ellul does divide propaganda into political and sociological types. Ellul's interest in these areas is evident in 'Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes' (1965) and 'The Humiliation of the Word' (1985). Less well known is Ellul's deep interest in human life. Jacques Ellul is widely known among sociologists and philosophers in the West for his analyses of the impact technology has on human society and humans themselves.

Ellul propaganda