In the Introduction, the need for an interdisciplinary approach to human well-being is presented, focusing on law and the social sciences, to elevate the interests of humanity amid rapid scientific and technological change.

In Chapter 10, the book concludes with a review of the numerous means available in the law to support the well-being of humans in an age of rapid scientific and technological development, emphasizing the need to revisit what it is to be human.

In Chapter 4, a history of the scientific method and the philosophies of science and technology are presented. The relationship between science, technology, and government indicate the impact of scientism and technological determinism on government policymaking, including a growing neglect of human well-being.

In Chapter 5, the development of industrial power and its influence on government reveals the strong impact of technological determinism, which favors the protection of industry as an inapt proxy for human well-being.

The transformation of the night in early modern Japan deviates from the paths set elsewhere in the world and invites broader reflections on the ways in which we write about the transforming world. Including preindustrial Japan in a global history of the modernizing night dethrones West-centered models and triumphalist narratives of technological progress while suggesting narrative possibilities centered on dead-ends, non sequiturs, and the “global disconnected.”

This chapter dissects the intense, seemingly irrational boom in generative AI (GenAI), moving beyond superficial hype to reveal the complex, structural incentives driving billions of dollars into an industry with uncertain returns. It argues that the current boom is propelled not purely by altruistic motives or technological inevitability, but by ten powerful forces. These forces – namely, shareholder primacy, financial imperatives, the pursuit of first-mover advantages, insatiable data-collection needs, self-serving safety justifications, fear of losing relevance, the pursuit of prestige, fear of missing out (FOMO), a belief in “manifest destiny,” and regulatory entrepreneurship – collectively prioritize speed, growth, and market capture over caution, sustainability, and societal benefit. By examining these systemic pressures, the chapter provides the framework for understanding the breakneck pace of AI development and for shaping its ultimate deployment.

Culture is presented as the invisible force shaping how AI is designed, adopted, and lived with around the world. The chapter contrasts technological determinism with constructivism, showing that AI reflects social norms, values, and narratives as much as code. Examples range from Japanese caregiving robots shaped by local customs to Latin American projects like Latam-GPT, highlighting how cultural metaphors and WEIRD versus non-WEIRD contexts influence trust, resistance, and enthusiasm toward AI. It also examines generational and regional differences in attitudes toward AI, calling for inclusive design and training that bridge cultural divides. Ultimately, AI is shown as not universal but plural, inseparable from the cultural systems that give it meaning.

This chapter examines the intricate interplay between science, technology, and society, questioning whether technological advancements inevitably drive societal change (technological determinism). It analyzes the impact of technology on diverse aspects of our lives, highlighting both positive transformations (enhanced communication) and negative consequences (environmental concerns, privacy intrusions). It introduces contrasting perspectives: Hard determinism proposes an autonomous technological trajectory, while soft determinism acknowledges societal influence on the timing of technological effects. Further, it explores extreme viewpoints represented by technothusiasts and technoskeptics. The chapter then counters with social determinism, which argues that society actively shapes the direction of scientific and technological endeavors through funding, regulation, and social norms. Ultimately, the chapter advocates for a balanced approach acknowledging technology’s transformative potential and possible risks. It emphasizes the need for proactive societal engagement to influence the course of technological progress and minimize its adverse effects.

This chapter explores the direct experiences of renowned record producers, working with metal music, to construct an in-depth understanding of the genesis, and development, of recorded metal music. Technological democracy has changed the experience of making metal records, affording creative flexibility and control that would historically have been out of reach, technologically and financially. Multitrack technologies and fragmented production processes are also examined. Framed by the experiences of producers that have shaped the recording careers of artists such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, this chapter links the direct experiences of record-making to musical, sociocultural and technological development.

Four planet-level dangers loom over humankind in the coming hundred years, requiring solutions that can only be achieved through planet-level strategies and instruments. Reversing climate change requires a concerted effort among all the world’s peoples to decarbonize their economies and energy systems as swiftly as possible, while ramping up new technologies for removing accumulated carbon dioxide. Nuclear weapons will continue to pose an existential threat as long as nations vie with each other in a zero-sum competition for power and dominance. Naturally occurring or bioengineered pandemics threaten human well-being, and can only be mitigated via a comprehensive system of global regulation. Artificial intelligence proffers many tantalizing benefits, but will also create extreme risks unless humankind finds ways to control the development of these powerful machines. The historical track record suggests that these challenges, while daunting, can realistically be surmounted by concerted action.

This chapter examines the social construction of technology (SCOT) perspective. This perspective examines how people shape technology use toward their own ends, and why deterministic models of media use fail to account for how people actually use technology. This chapter contrasts a relational approach from competing perspectives, especially technology-centered ones. Technological determinism and media domestication are examined. The SCOT perspective is brought into dialogue with constructivist theories of personal relationships and with dialectical and ironic perspectives on media’s influence on relationships. Three social factors influencing the use of technology are explored: norms of technology use, using technology to access important others, and make-do or seemfulness.

Introduces the argument that technological change draws on existing social and economic structures in order to succeed, even while destroying or transforming them. Those institutions and expectations, however, are themselves changing in order to make new machines work. A literature review guides readers through the methods and approaches developed in the history of technology and deployed in the text. These include the divide between internalist and contextual analysis, between the causation claims inherent in technological determinism and social constructivism, and the effort to reconcile the two in actor-network theory and in maintenance studies. This historiographical overview also briefly addresses the approaches found in economic history, national and global history, and social and labor and environmental history, and shifts the Big Question in the history of Industrial Revolution historiography from “Why did England industrialize?” to “Why did these specific machines work then and there?”

Culture is a key determinant in organizational effectiveness and plays an enormous role in the lives of military organizations. Cultural biases often result in unstated assumptions that have a deep impact on strategy, operational planning, doctrinal creation, and organization and training of armed forces. The impact of culture on military affairs often remains opaque for years, if not decades, after the events it has affected. Leadership is essential to creating and maintaining organizational culture. Leaders who can shape an organization’s culture from its inception have an outsized influence on its future orientation. Leaders, therefore, must be discriminating when establishing the initial culture of an organization, for once embedded, that culture will prove extraordinarily difficult to change. But even superb leaders are limited. Selection of the right subordinate leaders is critical if an organization’s culture is to survive a leadership transition. Some military organizations do change, assisted by cultures that embrace innovation and a reasonable degree of risk-taking. Organizational culture takes on the characteristics of wider societal culture, but when the military becomes a caste apart, the result can be the degradation of its ethical foundations. Military organizations often have subcultures with significant influence on the larger organization. Technology-centric forces must not allow a culture focused on technological excellence to turn into one centered on technological determinism. Professional military education is critical in sustaining organizational culture.