The secularisation of the religion of technology

→ Secularization Comes for the Religion of Technology: Or, how to make sense of techno-optimist manifestos, the Open Ai/Altman affair, EA/e-acc movements, and the general sense of cultural stagnation

What I have in mind when I say that secularization has come for the religion of technology is relatively straightforward. The religion of technology no longer commands the kind of assent it once did, it no longer animates cultural creativity, nor does it bind a diverse society together under a collective vision for the future. It neither compels nor inspires. It rose to dominance, brought the whole scope of human affairs under its purview, sealed us off from competing sources of meaning, purpose, and value, and then simply exhausted itself leaving a cultural vacuum in its absence.

Faith in technology can feel militant at times. Reading L.M. Sacasas reminds you that those beliefs are not new. And instead, they might be the final gasps of a religion fighting against secularisation.