Anne Carson

Technologies that both frighten and amaze us. Why do people fear their own inventions?

This audiobook explains how mechanisms—from the first automatons to steam engines—shaped not only progress, but also our deep-rooted fears about the future.

Daniel Strassberg examines the relationship between humans and machines through a historical and psychological lens, showing where today’s anxieties about technology actually come from.

At the dawn of technological development, hovering deities from ancient theater, a flutist and Jacques de Vaucanson’s duck served above all to astonish the audience. However, by definition, machines evoke in humans a blend of admiration and anxiety—these complex emotions are what Strassberg calls “effects” (affects). Curious cabinet-of-wonders oddities conveyed the idea that God is the all-powerful creator. The invention of the clockwork paved the way for a mechanistic understanding of the state and nature. The steam engine measured a worker’s labor and inspired the prophets of industrial capitalism. But against our desire to use technology lies fear of divine punishment—an instinct deeply ingrained in European culture since time immemorial.