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College Lecture Series - Neil Postman - "The Surrender of Culture to Technology"

College of DuPage · 170.8K views · 2013-06-03 · 1:25:11

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Overview

Neil Postman's 1997 lecture at College of DuPage, based on his book, argues that Americans treat technology as a national religion and depend on it to solve larger human problems. It includes audience questions.

On Hacker News

HN recommends it to engineers as a skeptical counterweight to technology boosterism, especially for those building AI and consumer tech features.

Recommended by 5 HN people across 5 months · HN mentions 2014–2025

Topics

Futurism & technology and societyMedia, journalism & propagandaPhilosophy & ethics
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What people said

jackdoe · 2025-09 · Strong recommendation

I suggest the people working on those features watch Neil Postman's "The Surrender of Culture to Technology": [VIDEO] Part of me is actually excited for the acceleration of the end of the web, I even wrote [LINK] few days ago in frustration. The sooner it ends the better. I really don't want to see "summarization" tokens of other people's tokens.

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blueridge · 2023-09 · Recommendation

Yes, likewise. We have no smart devices, no TV in the house, no cameras or smart doorbells or Internet enabled appliances. People are always disoriented when they visit because there is no TV and no Echo-like device on the kitchen counter. Here's Neil Postman on using technology to solve problems that no one has, linked to start at 20:03: [VIDEO]

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zulgan · 2020-03 · Recommendation

a bit off topic, but if you enjoy questioning the value of technology and the impact on our society, check out Neil Postman's "The Surrender of Culture to Technology" [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by College of DuPage, played through YouTube.

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