Technology as Infrastructure for Dehumanization:: Three Hundred Million People with the Same Face

ABSTRACTBased on humanistic psychology, this paper reflects on how and why technology has led to increasing dehumanization within society. The literature on human autonomy, or individuals’ ability to exercise agency and control over their own lives, emphasizes that erosion of autonomy adversely impacts human behavior and health—including demotivating people, heightening their anxiety and apathy, undermining interpersonal relations, reducing self-efficacy and learning, and damaging mental and physical health in substantial ways. This paper describes concrete examples of how technology is accelerating loss of human autonomy, which often occurs during invasive surveillance and covert manipulation during user-technology interactions. These examples highlight abuses of multimodal-multisensor technologies, especially during education. An analysis is provided of the psychosocial context that encourages people to use technology in abusive ways, which directly fuels the growing schism between those who control and those who are disempowered victims. Five specific directions are outlined for how our community can design future technology using counter tactics, practices, and policies that strengthen rather than eroding autonomy and well-being.