Instrumental Conception of Technology - Example: Personal Computing

Example: Personal Computing

Manuel Castells’ account of the development of the personal computer adheres to the instrumental conception of technology. He claims technology develops independent of other social forces, since “economic, industrial and technological paths, while related, are slow-moving and imperfectly fitting in their interaction”. He argues Ted Hoff’s microprocessor invented in 1971 came out of “knowledge and ingenuity” developed at Intel and in Silicon Valley since the 1950s. This made possible the microcomputer, which was able to function in networks as a result of advances in telecommunications. Thus, he states, computer technology “did not come out of any pre-established necessity: it was technologically induced rather than socially determined".