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Lars Nyre

Lars Nyre

Position

Professor, media design

Affiliation

E-mail
lars.nyre@uib.no
Phone number
+47 55589133
Visitor address
Fosswinckels gate 6
5007 Bergen
Room: 641
Postal address
P.O. Box 7802
NO-5020 Bergen
Norway

Lars Nyre

Position

Professor, media design

Affiliation

Research groups

Research

In the Norwegian system an academic has four main obligations: research, communication, teaching, and innovation. The menus presenting my academic career are organized according to these four categories. You can read about each by clicking on the menus above.

This section introduces my general approach to the four obligations and presents an overview of my career.

Researcher autonomy

Academia allows me to disregard short-term expectations of profit and use-value. As a professor at the University of Bergen in the democratic state of Norway I have the privilege of deciding the content of my research and innovation according to my own values, and also to explore and formulate those values over a long period of time with the methods and theories I see fit. I use this privilege for maximum effect in my exploration of new media technologies.

My research is not value free at all; it is guided by the norms of local democracy, the ideal of good communication, and technological sustainability. My main objective is to stimulate excellence in the development of local and regional media technologies in Norway. More specifically, three technology complexes have been at the center of my attention for a number of years: support tools for journalism, immersive media and climate change communication.

Collaboration with colleagues and students are the most valuable resources by which I can explore long term scenarios and radical solutions.

Biography

Lars Nyre (born 1969) comes from the farm Nyre in the town of Voss in Hordaland. He lives in the Bergen suburb Minde with his partner Barbara and has three grown-up children. Lars has studied and/or worked at the Infomedia Department at the University of Bergen since 1990. He became an associate professor in 2008 and a full professor in 2012.

From 2019 to 2024 Lars is also a professor II at the Department of Media and Social Studies at the University of Stavanger. He was a professor II at Volda University College from 2008 to 2010, and also conducted his PhD work at Volda from 1997 - 2003. 

Lars Nyre enjoys music under the pseudonym DJ Syrenyre.

Employment and education

This is a reverse chronological list of my employment history.

  • 2012 - present: Professor at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies (UiB).
  • 2019 - 2024: Professor II at the Department of Media and Social Studies, University of Stavanger.
  • 2023 -: Head of the program committee for media and interaction design and human computer interaction (MIX/HCI) at Infomedia, UiB.
  • 2021 - 2023: Member of the program committee for media and interaction design and human computer interaction (MIX/HCI) at Infomedia, UiB.
  • 2018 - 2019. Researcher (10 %) in the research project NewsAngler funded by the Norwegian Research Council.
  • 2018: Interim chair of the program committee for media and interaction design (MIX) at Infomedia. 
  • 2016 - 2020. Researcher (20 %) in the research project Vismedia funded by the Norwegian Research Council..
  • 2016 -  2018: Researcher (10 %) in the EU Innovation Action INJECT.
  • 2013: Six-month research stay at City University London and London School of Economics, July to December 2013.
  • 2009 - 2013: Editor of the Norwegian Journal of Media Studies.
  • 2008 – 2012: Associate professor at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies (UiB).
  • 2008 – 2010: 20 % research position at the School of Journalism at Volda University College, in collaboration with the NFR project “Journalistikk i endring” (JOSAM).
  • 2007 – 2008: Part-time teacher and researcher at Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen.
  • 2005-2008: Web Editor and responsible for website design and database development for the ECREA website.
  • 2003 – 2006: Post doctor in media studies, Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen. Funded by the Norwegian Research Council, under the Culture, ICT and Media programme (KIM).
  • 2004: Six-month research stay at Royal Holloway University, London, UK, January to June 2004.
  • 1998 – 2003: Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Media Studies at the University of Bergen and the School of Journalism at Volda University College. Doctoral dissertation was defended in May 2003.
  • 2000: Six-month stay at Stony Brook University, New York, USA, January to June 2000.
  • 1997: Completion of licentiate thesis (hovudfag) in media studies, Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen.
  • 1995 – 1996: Full-time position as cultural editor of the student newspaper Studvest, Bergen.
  • 1993: «Mellomfag» in media studies, University of Bergen.
  • 1992: «Mellomfag» in literary studies, University of Bergen.
  • 1991: «Grunnfag» in media studies, University of Bergen.
  • 1989: «Grunnfag» in English, University of Bergen.
  • 1989 – 1990: Full-time position as news journalist in the local paper Vaksdal Posten, Vaksdal.
  • 1987 – 1988: Part-time position as news journalist in the local paper Horda Tidend, Voss.

Responsibilities

This is a list of important responsibilities that my position has allowed me to have.

  • 2022 - 2024: Director of a 5.000.000 NOK pedagogical project called "TekLab Enterprise". Funded by HK-dir.
  • 2021 - 2023: Director of a 5.000.000 NOK pedagogical project called "Innovation Pedagogy for Media Education". Funded by HK-dir.
  • 2020 - 2022: Member of the NORDFORSK research network "Augmented Journalism".
  • 2012 - present: Director of the academic network variously called tvertek, J-lab and TekLab.
  • 2015 - 2016: Jury member of Fritt Ords youth prize for Freedom of Speech.
  • 2010 to 2015: Chair of the research network “ICT and Media” under the umbrella of UH-nett Vest.
  • 2010 to 2011: Member of “Resource group for media”, in Bergen Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
  • 2010 to 2013: External censor for Institutt for medier og kommunikasjon, UiO.
  • 2010 to 2014: Member of the Management Committee for Norway of COST Action “Transforming Audiences, Transforming Society”.
  • 2009 to 2011: Member of the NORDFORSK research network "The Culture of Ubiquitous Information".
  • 2010 to 2018: Member of the research group Digital Radio Cultures in Europe.
  • 2009 to 2012: Chair of the research group TVERTEK which also ran T-lab, a modest research laboratory located at UiB.
  • 2009 – 2010: Member of the program committee for the journalism bachelor’s degree at Infomedia, UiB.
  • 2008 to present: Member of the international board of the Journal of Radio and Audio Media.
  • 2008 – 2010: Member of the program committee for the conference Nordic Media Festival, which attracts over a thousand journalists and TV-producers to Bergen in May every year.
  • 2004 – 2009: Chair of the research group Digital Radio Cultures in Europe, originally established as part of the EU-funded COST A20 network “The Impact of the Internet on the mass media in Europe”.
  • 2003 - 2008: Executive board member of ECREA. From 2003-2005 I was board member of European Communication Association (ECA) which merged with the European Consortium of Communication Research (ECCR) to form ECREA in 2005.
  • 2006: PhD course. Nyre was responsible for the international doctoral course “Technology and the Public Sphere” 14-17 November 2006. Twenty doctoral students from across Europe and keynote speakers Andrew Feenberg, Brian Winston and Peter Dahlgren attended. Funded by the University of Bergen and the Norwegian Council of Research and organized as part of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA).
  • 2004: Member of the organization committee for the conference ECA Istanbul Conference 2004, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 2004.
  • 2003-2005: Chair of the “Radio and Sound Media Group” in the Nordic Media Researcher Association.
  • 2001-2006: Norwegian delegate for radio and music to the EU-funded network COST A20, called “The Impact of the Internet on the mass media in Europe”. Management committee member representing Norway from 2004-2006.
Outreach

In the Norwegian system an academic has four main obligations: research, teaching, communication, and innovation. This section presents my communication activities. You will find a more comprehensive presentation in the Norwegian section.

Ambivalence towards artificial intelligence

I am responsible for a major communication initiative at the University Museum at UiB from June to December 2024. The TekLab project, which I am the director of, organizes a collaboration between students in Media City Bergen and the curators at the University Museum. The students are creating an exhibition about "ambivalence towards artificial intelligence" which will be on display for six months and may attract up to 40,000 visitors.
 

Future Fest

I was responsible for a large communication initiative in Media City Bergen on 17 August 2023. The project TekLab, which I am the director of, invited the 450 participants at the Nordmedia conference to what we called Future Fest. Here we presented a total of 13 prototypes of new media designs that aim to counteract the future shock Norwegian academia seems to suffer from. The event was organized by the student staff at TekLab in collaboration with Media Futures and Media City Bergen.

Communication autonomy

As a professor at the University of Bergen I am expected to communicate research results and academic insights to the general public. This is a central part of the job, but it is very difficult to balance against academic autonomy. It is important not become an "expert" on everything and nothing, and to avoid becoming a voice for the needs of journalists and communicators instead of the needs of the university and my own research.

My autonomous approach was formulated in an essay in 2012. I had become increasingly frustrated with the subordinate role that researchers enter into as interview objects for the national and regional press. I wrote a critical essay where I explained the problem and announced that I would withdraw from the role of an interview object and pursue other avenues of communication. You can read the Norwegian language essay here: Journalistikken koloniserer universitetet.

I mainly communicate my research on independent media platforms outside the mainstream press circuit. Furthermore, I never accept fees or salaries for speeches or lectures, and almost never speeches in the private sector. My communication activities take place within the framework of position as a professor in Bergen and Stavanger. My public reach is therefore limited, but at least highly controlled. My public communication is coherent, consistent and cumulative, but it is not spread as widely in the Norwegian public as it could have been if I gave up these principles.

Please consult the Norwegian language section on “Formidling” to read more about my activities in this field.

Teaching

In the Norwegian system an academic has four main obligations: research, teaching, communication, and innovation. This section presents my teaching activities.

Teaching autonomy

My teaching is solution oriented. I am more concerned with the future than with the past, and I try to teach my students how to construct valuable media solutions for the future. Three technology complexes are at the center of my attention as a teacher as well as a researcher: support tools for journalism, immersive media, and climate change communication.

The constructive, solution-oriented approach creates a certain tension with the normal way of doing things. While it is very important with analytical approaches to historical and ongoing social developments, it is also important to work with design, innovation, and entrepreneurship. A serious reorientation is needed to make media departments at universities better able to teach these skills.

I am among the relatively few academics who get their fingers dirty with innovation and entrepreneurship. You have to be a diplomat, a salesman and a zealot, and you have to write a million emails. Many chose academia to avoid just such work.

However, it is just as intellectually demanding for students to design new solutions for media businesses as it is to read Pierre Bourdieu and apply his theories on social relations. The possibilities for dialogue, criticisms and conflict are just as vital too.

Innovation pedagogy

I have taught media studies and media design since 2008 when I was employed as an associate professor at the University of Bergen. My teaching has been increasingly characterized by an effort to explore technological innovation along with students. The approach is called innovation pedagogy. Please read this short article about innovation pedagogy at the UiB Website.

This approach presumes that students have to tackle the permanent disruption going on in the media industry in order to get relevant jobs and contribute to society. Our proposition is that the best way to prepare, is by evaluating and making prototypes of new and emerging media solutions in collaboration with local and regional media companies.

Please consult the Norwegian language section on “Undervisning” to read more about my activities in this field.

Publications

In the Norwegian system an academic has four main obligations: research, teaching, communication and innovation. All of these activities are supposed to lead to publication, and here I present an overview of my publication history.

Publication autonomy

My research, teaching and innovation is based on media studies, but has the interdisciplinary goal of building a bridge between theoretical and practical activities. I collaborate with both theoretically oriented researchers and teachers in practical areas within journalism, TV production and other media forms. It is also a goal to build a bridge between thematic areas such as philosophy and media studies, business development and media studies and climate research and media studies.

Media design: synthetic media studies

Karl Marx said that the scientist cannot just interpret the world; he must change the world directly. Media researchers cannot just analyze the media, we must create new media. I want to know as much as possible about the connection between media technology, content production and human experience. Every prototype we make tell us a lot about what did not work, and a little bit about what's worth investing in. 

I want to facilitate the exploration of responsible design and innovation projects related to new media technology, and I consider that I’m conducting a special type of media studies called synthetic.

Most media studies are based on approaches from the humanities and social sciences and are fundamentally analytic. Analysis is critical. It assesses weaknesses, contradictions, and bad effects on people’s lives. Analysis consists of taking apart what has already been put together to look critically at its components. It is a past-oriented research practice, where the researcher uses methods that can help gather information about cultural and social practices to analyze their qualities. This makes the humanities and social sciences bad at orienting to the future.

My claim has long been that analysis is not enough! There must be synthetic media studies. Synthesis consists of putting together components into a new whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Synthesis is constructive by trying to solve the problems that are currently being pointed out by analysts.

There must be well-informed studies that lead to proposals for new solutions to solve the problems pointed out. Media scholars are typically not willing to go down this road.

Research publications in media design

  • Maiden, Neil, Konstantinos Zachos, Suzanne Franks, Lars Nyre & Carl-Gustav Linden (2023) Automating Science Journalism Tasks: Emerging Opportunities. In Journalism Practice. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2023.2226116 (open access).
  • Nyre, Lars och Fredrik Håland Jensen (2023, under publisering) Mediedesign: en postnormal undersökning av framtidens tekniska medielösningar. I Martin Berg, Maria Engberg & Sara Leckner (red.). Tekniska mediestudier. En introduktion till metoder och teknologier. Stockholm: Studentlitteratur.
  • Vindenes, Joakim  and Lars Nyre (2023, forthcoming) Prototyping first-person viewer positions for VR narratives with storyboards and pilot productions. Special Issue of the Journal of Screenwriting.
  • Nyre, Lars and Neil Maiden (2022) Can action research improve local journalism? In Nordicom Review 43 (2): 171 - 189. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2022-0011.
  • Nyre, Lars (2021) Designing collective intelligence to improve the democratic public. A dialogue between Anna De Liddo and Lars Nyre. In Norsk medietidsskrift 28(2). Side 1–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18261/ISSN.0805-9535-2021-02-06
  • Nyre, Lars and Joakim Vindenes (2020) Immersive journalism as witnessing. In Uskali, Turo & Astrid Gynnild (eds) Immersive Journalism as Storytelling: Ethics, Production and Design. London: Routledge (Media and Journalism Studies).
  • Nyre, Lars (2020) Tre spørsmål om metodeutvikling i medievitskapen. Norsk medietidsskrift 27(1). Side 1–5. https://doi.org/10.18261/ISSN.0805-9535-2020-01-08.
  • Maiden, Neil, Lars Nyre et.al. (2018) Making the News: Digital Creativity Support for Journalists. CHI '18: Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Paper No.: 475. Pages 1–11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3174049
  • Hoem, Jon og Lars Nyre (2018) Tilhører. En prototype på fremtidens omsluttende radio. Norsk medietidsskrift 25(1): 1–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.0805-9535-2018-01-04
  • Guribye, Frode, Lars Nyre & Astrid Gynnild (2018) Kameradroner som journalistisk verktøy - et designeksperiment i høyere utdanning. I Astrid Gynnild (Red.) Droner i sivilsamfunnet. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, p. 101-120.
  • Nyre, Lars, Frode Guribye & Astrid Gynnild (2018) «Taking risks with drones. Responsible innovation pedagogy for media education". In Gynnild & Uskali (eds.) Responsible Drone Journalism. Abingdon: Routledge Focus, p. 71-85.
  • Nyre, Lars, Joao Ribeiro and Bjørnar Tessem (2018) «Business models for academic prototypes. A new approach to media innovation». Journal of Media Innovation 4(2).
  • Midtun, Joar, Bjørnar Tessem, Simen Karlsen & Lars Nyre (2017) "Realistic face manipulation by morphing with average faces". Norsk Informatikkonferanse 2017. Henta frå https://ojs.bibsys.no/index.php/NIK/article/view/426.
  • Nyre, Lars, Jon Hoem, Bjørnar Tessem & Johannes Ringheim (2017) Designing the Auditor: A Prototype of Locative Radio with Original Sound Content. Journal of Radio & Audio Media 24(1): 90-110.
  • Tessem, Bjørnar, Simen Skaret Karlsen og Lars Nyre (2016) "Mobilen som distribusjonskanal for hyperlokale nyheiter". NOKOBIT.
  • Bjørnar Tessem, Solveig Bjørnestad, Weiqin Chen, Lars Nyre (2015) «Word Cloud Visualisation of Locative Information», Journal of Location-based Services. 9(4): 254-272.
  • Nyre, Lars (2015) Akademiske prototypar. Ei retning for medieutviklinga på Vestlandet i Bjerke, Paul, Lewe, Thomas, Sivertsen, Erling, Strøm, Gunnar og Werenskjold, Rolf (red) (2015) Festskrift for Sverre Liestøl. Oslo: Forlag 1, s. 165-181.
  • Nyre, Lars (2015) "Designing the Amplifon. A locative sound medium to supplement DAB radio". Journal of Media Innovations, vol 2(2): 58-73).
  • Nyre, Lars (2014) ”Amplifon. På sporet av et mer intelligent radiomedium”. Nordicom-Information 36(4): 92-96.
  • Nyre, Lars (2014) ”God lokaljournalistikk berre på nett: Hypotetisk redesign av avisa Hordaland på Voss”, in Krumsvik and Morlandstø (eds) Innovasjon og verdiskaping i lokale medier, Cappelen Damm Høyskoleforlaget 2014.
  • Nyre, Lars (2014) “Media design method. Combining media studies with design science to make new media”. Inaugural issue of Journal of Media Innovations. Vol 1(1).
  • Nyre, Lars, Solveig Bjørnestad, Bjørnar Tessem and Kjetil Vaage Øie (2012) Locative journalism: Designing a location-dependent news medium for smartphones. Convergence18(3): 297–314. DOI: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856512441151
  • Nyre, Lars (2010) ”Experimenting with new media for journalism”, in Nordicom Information 32(2-3): pp. 83-93.
  • Nyre, Lars (2007) Minimum journalism. Experimental procedures for democratic participation in sound media. Journalism Studies 8(3): 397-413. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700701276158

Cristin

Below you will find a list of all my registered publications in the official Norwegian database of research publications «Cristin».

2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

Innovasjon

Ny bok om teknologi

Les alt om mi nye fagbok "Teknologi. En teoretisk innføring".

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Mitt arbeid med innovasjon tek utgangspunkt i at ein professor har fire oppgåver: forsking, formidling, undervisning og innovasjon.

Innovasjonsstrategi

Innovasjon er eit ganske nytt tilskot til oppgåvene i akademia, og er ikkje anerkjent på same måte som dei tre andre. Mange akademikarar er skeptiske til å skulla «skitna til hendene sine» med innovasjon, noko eg har påtalt i Khrono.

Mitt bidrag til medieinnovasjon skjer ikkje på vegner av ei viss mediebedrift, ein offentleg instans eller forening, men på vegner av det norske samfunnet heilt generelt. Eg avstår planmessig frå sjølv å investera i forretningsprosjekt, og eg unngår også offentlege verv, styremedlemskap eller andre rollar der eg måtta ha fremja ei spesifikk interesse.

Slagordet mitt er: "Eg vil heller dra til Hallingdalen enn Silicon Valley". Det betyr at eg brukar mine ressursar på å bidra til innovasjonsprosjekt som vert konstruert i lokale og regionale omgivnader. I Noreg må me byggja våre eigne teknologiar, kompetanse og verksemder frå grasrota og opp. Me kan ikkje stola på avansert importert teknologi frå Google, Facebook og Apple. Eg vil heller stå ustøtt på ei lita tue her heime enn å stå fjellstøtt i ein allianse med globale bedrifter frå Silicon Valley i USA.

INJECT

INJECT star for “Innovation Journalism – Enhanced Creativity Tools” og var eit forskings- og utviklingsprosjekt leia av professor Neil Maiden ved City University London. Det var finansiert av EUs Horizon 2020 forskings- og innovasjonsprogram frå 2017-2018. Det var eit stort anlagt samarbeid mellom institusjonar i Storbritannia, Frankrike, Tyskland, Nederland, Hellas og Noreg. Eg var leiar for det norske delprosjektet.

TekLab

TekLab er det fremste verkemiddelet eg har for mediedesign og innovasjonsprosjekt. TekLab er eit nettverk for studentaktiv teknologiutvikling, som eg er leiar for, og som for tida vert støtta av HK-dir under program for studentaktiv læring og tiltak for økt arbeidslivsrelevans i høgare utdanning. TekLab har tidlegare hatt status som forskingsnettverk for "Teknologi og materialmiljø" i SAMKUL, Noregs forskingsråd i 2018-2019.

Tipps

Prosjektet Tipps viser godt korleis TekLab kan bidra til innovasjon. Tipps er ei teneste som hjelper lokalaviser å ta imot nyheitstips særleg frå ungdom. Tipps er no eit kommersielt produkt som vert drifta av firmaet Future Solutions på Bømlo. Produktet begynte som ein prototype kalt Ekko som vart laga av studentar ved UiB i 2019, og ressursane til TekLab var sentrale for å få dette til å skje. To studentgrupper har seinare bidratt til å vidareutvikla prototypen, og det er Tipps vol.2 - Ungdommen har også nyheter ved Universitetet i Stavanger og Gi oss et lite vink ved Universitetet i Bergen.

Finansiering av Tipps:

  • 2018: Vellykket finansiering av SkatteFUNN Hallingdølen prosjekt 289108 i samarbeid mellom Hallingdølen, konsulentselskapet Future Solutions og TekLab. Prosjektet bygger på studenters prototype i kurset MIX250.
  • 2018: Vellykket finansiering av SkatteFUNN Hordaland Bladdrift prosjekt 305648i samarbeid mellom Hordaland, konsulentselskapet Future Solutions og TekLab. Prosjektet bygger på studenters prototype i kurset MIX250.

Studentbaserte innovasjonsprosjekt

Eg er mentor for ei rekke entreprenørskapsprosjekt der ambisiøse studentar går vidare med idéar dei har fått under utdanninga.

  • 2023: Mentor for søknad til UiB Idé ved bachelorkandidat på MIX Hedvig Bache Hungnes og medstudentar:Studybuddies. Søknaden vart innvilga 100.000 kr til vidare utvikling og kommersialisering.
  • 2023: Mentor for søknad til UiB Idé ved kollega John Magnus R. Dahl i Media Futures: Safe Space - The responsible dating app. Søknaden vart ikkje innvilga.
  • 2021: Mentor for søknad til UiB Idé ved student Gianmarco Caruso basert på hans masterprosjekt: Diem: A math-less clock for people with Down syndrome. Søknaden vart innvilga 100.000 kr til vidare utvikling og kommersialisering.
  • 2021: Mentor for søknad til UiB Idé frå ei studentgruppe på kurset MIX250 med prosjektet WindFace. Søknaden vart ikkje innvilga.
  • 2021: Mentor for søknad til UiB Idé frå ei studentgruppe på kurset MIX250 med prosjektet Værkampen. Søknaden vart ikkje innvilga.
  • 2021: Mentor for Jo Fridstrøm, masterstudent ved UiS, som var praktikant i TekLab i samband med sitt masterprosjekt i samfunnssikkerhet ved UiS. Jo bidro sterkt til innovasjonsprosjektet Tipps.
  • 2019: Mentor for PhD-kandidat Joakim Vindenes og masterstudent Audun Klyve Gulbrandsen i forbindelse deira søknad om STUD-ENT-midlar frå Norges Forskningsråd. Dei fikk 1.000.000 kr til å etablere selskapet Spello.
  • 2017: Mentor for Yan Kai, en masterstudent ved Vienna University of Technology. Hun var Erasmus+-praktikant ved TekLab. Les hennar artikkel "First ever Erasmus intern at TekLab".
 

 

* NY BOK OM TEKNOLOGI *

Teknologi. En teoretisk innføring

av Lars Nyre

Boken blir utgitt på Universitetsforlaget i april 2024. Den er på 592 sider og er skrevet på bokmål. Boken er gjennomillustrert av tegner Atle Skorstad. ISBN: 9788215050133. Les mer om boken og bestill ditt eksemplar på forlagets hjemmeside.

Hvordan kan vi forstå det moderne teknologiske samfunnet?

Teknologi er for viktig til å overlates til spesialister. Boken er skrevet for å være forståelig for alle som ønsker å få en dypere forståelse for moderne teknologier og menneskenes forhold til dem.

Vi mennesker er omgitt av nye teknologier med kraftfulle egenskaper. De tar over stadig flere handlinger vi tidligere måtte gjøre selv. De teknologiske tingene er gjerne håndfaste og begripelige når vi får dem i hus, slik som bilen, støvsugeren og den bærbare datamaskinen. Men prosessene som ledet frem til dem er det sjelden vi får innsikt i.

Om vi løfter blikket og forsøker å forstå den teknologiske utviklingen i et lengre tidsperspektiv, blir bildet raskt uklart. Samtidig som mennesker blir stadig mer avhengige av teknologi, blir teknologiene stadig mindre forståelige for oss.

Hva er det egentlig som driver utviklingen, og hvilken påvirkningskraft har vi mennesker på retningen den tar? I denne boken presenteres teknologiteorier fra en rekke kjente og mindre kjente akademikere. De forklarer hvordan teknologier har utviklet seg historisk, hvilke teknikker vi bruker for å håndtere dem, og hvordan disse avanserte maskinene faktisk fungerer.

Om boken

Boken har tjuefire kapitler som er fordelt i tre deler. 

Del 1: Drivkrefter.
Teorier om hvordan vi kan forstå den teknologiske utviklingen og dens påvirkning på enkeltmennesker, samfunn og naturen.

01: Fiksjonsfortellinger
02: Storhistorie
03: Fremskrittsoptimisme
04: Teknologisk determinisme
05: Teknisk evolusjon
06: Fremmedgjøring
07: Antropocen
08: Sosialkonstruktivisme

Del 2: Teknikker.
Teorier om hvordan mennesker lager teknologier, og de tekniske ferdighetene man må tilegne seg for å kunne bidra til utviklingen.

09: Hverdagsbruk
10: Ekspertise
11: Oppfinnelse
12: Industridesign
13: Interaksjonsdesign
14: Designetikk
15: Innovasjon
16: Forskning og utvikling (FoU)

Del 3: Maskiner.
Teorier om hvordan avanserte teknologier faktisk fungerer, og hvilke tekniske egenskaper de har.

17: Maskiner
18: Elektroniske medier
19: Datamaskiner
20: Internett
21: Kunstig intelligens
22: Roboter
23: Virtuell virkelighet
24: Singulariteten