“The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race.”  

There are few statements that can fully and boldly encapsulate a philosophical view the same way as the one above, pulled from Ted Kaczynski’ “Industrial Society and Its Future.” These words resonate in the modern day movement against the current technological advancement of society. Views such as the one above are being embraced by many in society, especially younger members, who have continued to watch as society struggles with the repercussions of continuous advancements in technology.  

Technology is omnipresent in most people’s lives across the world. The industrial revolution and further technological improvements that followed it allowed humanity to enter a new period of dominance over the planet, holding power to affect the nature that once existed as an equal to humanity. It is near impossible to think of a world without the level of mass advancement we have now, with seemingly all of humanity using technologies like the internet, cars, smartphones, computers, and plenty of other advancements that have allowed society to prosper.

While this technological surge allowed many benefits for humanity, the further production of essential goods, increased access to communication, and general comfortable and security, it came with some notable side effects. As humanity entered what some have labeled as the Anthropocene, the planet has struggled to keep up with such rapid acceleration, and nature as a result has suffered as human society went from being equals with nature to extracting from nature all that it needed without ever giving back. 

The continued advancement of technology worldwide, especially in the digital space with the emergence of A.I, went from being viewed positively as a potential benefit to humanity to now causing existential fear and resentment in many people around the world. This is especially evident with younger generations, as A.I and other forms of automation seem poised to take their jobs and diminish their role further in society.

With modern society seemingly reliant on technology, it appears near impossible to fully escape its presence as of now, even with the emergence of movements and initiatives to try and reverse its destructive course. It appears to many that we have entered a point where we will continue along this path and eventually enter a point of societal and ecological collapse unless humanity takes a more drastic path. One such movement that has emerged to respond these conditions is that of Neo-Luddism, with it advocating for the rejection current advancement of human technology and its role in society, with luddite artist Crabapple describing to the the Guardian that “For me, a luddite is someone who looks at technology critically and rejects aspects of it that are meant to disempower, deskill or impoverish them.” 

Luddites hold the view that technological evolution has never served any true benefit to wider humanity, instead, only privileging the powerful elite whilst poorer members of society are forced to contend with technology further encroaching on their jobs, with Crabapple stating that “Technology is not something that’s introduced by some god in heaven who has our best interests at heart. Technological development is shaped by money, it’s shaped by power, and it’s generally targeted towards the interests of those in power as opposed to the interests of those without it.”

While these viewpoints are considered by most to be somewhat extreme, for many, these views hold some resonance with people, especially younger individuals and creatives who have grown increasingly pessimistic towards new technology in a world of continuous advancement in the world of artificial intelligence, with these advancements for many pushing them out of jobs and taking their livelihoods. Many now have even taken to acts of resistance against what they see as technological overreach, with a display of AI-generated landscapes being vandalised with “AI IS THEFT” while opponents of Ring camera door bells in Los Angeles began distributing “Anti Ring” stickers to be placed over the cameras. 

Industrial Society and Its Consequences 

Perhaps one of the most famous figures/influences in modern day anti-tech movements was the infamous Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber. Over the course of 17 years between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski mailed bombs from his isolated cabin in Lincoln, Montana that killed three people and injured almost two dozen more. While Kaczynski’s exact beliefs have always been in question, many of his views that he expressed in his literary works such as the one mentioned at the beginning of the article are in line with many neo-luddite views, with him stating in his manifesto that the industrial revolution’s effects “have destabilized society, have made life unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to indignities, have led to widespread psychological suffering (in the Third World to physical suffering as well) and have inflicted severe damage on the natural world” further adding that “The continued development of technology will worsen the situation. It will certainly subject human beings to greater indignities and inflict greater damage on the natural world, it will probably lead to greater social disruption and psychological suffering, and it may lead to increased physical suffering even in ‘advanced’ countries”

Kaczynski, in his manifesto as well as his other works, advocated that the only solution towards the problems he stated was revolution against current society, stating “This revolution may or may not make use of violence; it may be sudden or it may be a relatively gradual process spanning a few decades. We can’t predict any of that. But we do outline in a very general way the measures that those who hate the industrial system should take in order to prepare the way for a revolution against that form of society. This is not to be a political revolution. Its object will be to overthrow not governments but the economic and technological basis of the present society.”

While Kaczynski is on the extreme far end of the anti-technology spectrum and his violent actions should not be glorified, many of his core views and ideas are the basis of the modern neo-luddite philosophy, particularly his belief in the industrial revolution’s failure to provide any real benefit to humanity as well as calling for the rapid de-industrialization of human society. 

Overall, we now live in a world where technology feels increasingly pervasive in everyday life, whether it be A.I, internet, general automation, etc. We also live in a world where people have become more aware of the impact humanity leaves on our planet as a result of technology. As we continue to move forward, it is likely that pessimism and resistance against modern technology will continue to grow as technological progress moves at a continuously fast and uncontrollable pace and people will try to resist it, as the original luddites did in the 19th century. Whether modern neo-luddism will face the same fate as their predecessors and be relegated to the dustbin of history remains unknown.