# Technologies

### What do we understand as a technology?

Technology is a concept that might be defined in many different ways. At Envisioning, we understand that technology is everything that humans do in order to solve systemic problems. As already defined by W. Brian Arthur, technology can be explained through three different parameters: \
\
(1) a means to fulfill a purpose; \
(2) an assemblage of practices and components;\
(3) a collection of devices and engineering practices available to a culture. 

In a sense, every technology begins as an idea. Some spring from academic insights, while others can be found in the pages of science fiction. From the moment of their creation, every technology evolves in different ways to become a social reality, a product or a system that can be used by people across the globe. This journey takes time and happens in different stages. Some technologies are affected by the difficulty in developing technical components, but are quickly accepted throughout society, while others take the opposite path.

There are several ways to measure the applicability of a technology and there are many different institutions and companies that have their own methods. We decided to apply different approaches to evaluate the specific technological impact and development of a technology in order to create a culture of measurement and accountability. You can find these measument methods as it follows:

{% content-ref url="/pages/-Ly16Kwq52kn4n2LRIa1" %}
[Taxonomy](/lenses/taxonomy.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/-Ly1577jmCt\_qNQtHRdY" %}
[SDG](/lenses/sdgs.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/-Ly159eJOhcWv\_Q36cN7" %}
[Industry](/lenses/industries.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/-Ly173w3QW-WrJ4RK60E" %}
[Networks](/networks.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

## Editorial line

Understanding the way we write

### Directions

The following directions are designed to shed light on how Envisioning creates narratives based on qualitative research methods. All technology descriptions must have at least 1500 characters covering two parts described as it follows:

{% hint style="info" %}
**The first part** should have at least two paragraphs and the description must talk about the technology in terms of the present, and refer to the following topics:
{% endhint %}

| Topics        | Questions to be answered                                                                                                                                                              |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Technical     | What is it?                                                                                                                                                                           |
| Relevance     | <p>What does it do?</p><p>Which problems does it solve?</p>                                                                                                                           |
| Functionality | <p>How does it work?</p><p>How is it applied across different industries? </p>                                                                                                        |
| Impact        | <p>What is the present impact of this technology?<br>\*Consider topics such as environmental consequences,  impact on social equality, job creation, privacy, relationships, etc.</p> |
| Challenges    | Which are the obstacles that the technology faces today?                                                                                                                              |

{% hint style="info" %}
**The second part** of the description should be introduced by the subtitle **# Future Perspectives** and raise awareness for the technology's consequences in the future. This is when researchers should stress creative thinking, imagine possible scenarios, and thereby discuss with their peers possible closing stages by taking science-fiction as the main reference. This part must have at least one paragraph and refer to the following topics:
{% endhint %}

| **Topics**                                      | **Questions to be answered**                                                                                                                                                              |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Future Relevance                                | What might it be able to do in the future?                                                                                                                                                |
| Future Impact                                   | <p>What could be the future impact of this technology?<br>\*Consider topics such as environmental consequences, impact on social equality, job creation, privacy, relationships, etc.</p> |
| <p>Possible Challenges/</p><p>Opportunities</p> | <p>What obstacles this technology might encounter? What new opportunities it might create?<br></p>                                                                                        |

## Technology Standards

The technology standards must be followed closely. At this section, we give some directions below based on "Do's" and "Don't's":

## **Technology Description**

| **Do**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | **Don't**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <ul><li>Summary descriptions are independent from full descriptions so it's ok to paraphrase part of your description</li><li>Be didactic</li><li>A good summary explains the technology from two aspects:<br>Technical: What is it?<br>Relevance: What does it do?</li></ul> | <ul><li>Never copy+paste from sources</li><li>Don't use more than 300 characters</li><li>Don't start the summary description with technology name, unless it's an alternative name</li><li>Don't start the summary with "it's", "this is" </li><li>Don't mention organizations (labs, companies, start ups)</li><li>Don't be assertive about the future, use terms such as "it might", "it probably will", etc.</li><li>Don't give detailed historical explanation</li><li>Don't be judgmental about the technology, </li><li>Don't overuse adjectives</li><li>Don't use long sentences and avoid the passive voice whenever possible</li></ul> |

## **Technology Summary**

| **Do**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     | **Don't**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <ul><li>Summarize the name in up to four words</li><li>Good names explain what sets the technology apart</li><li>Use "Title Case"</li><li>Use the most popular name and if an alternative name exists, use it on the description</li></ul> | <ul><li>Don't use plural titles (“Solar Panels", “Self-driving Vehicles")</li><li>Avoid empty words (“Smart Car", "Next-gen Keychain", "Health 3.0")</li><li>Avoid product names (“Powerwall" → "Wall-mounted Household Battery")</li><li>Avoid charged words (ex: Cancer -> Malignancy ; Slavery -> Forced Labo<strong>r)</strong></li></ul> |

## **Technology Title**

| **Do**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            | Don't                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <p></p><ul><li>Summarize the name in up to four words</li><li>Good names explain what sets the technology apart</li><li>Use "Title Case"</li><li>Use the most popular name and if an alternative name exists, use it on the description</li></ul> | <p></p><ul><li>Don't use plural titles (“Solar Panels", “Self-driving Vehicles")</li><li>Avoid empty words (“Smart Car", "Next-gen Keychain", "Health 3.0")</li><li>Avoid product names (“Powerwall" → "Wall-mounted Household Battery")</li><li>Avoid charged words (ex: Cancer -> Malignancy ; Slavery -> Forced Labor)</li></ul> |

### TDB Tutorial

How to add a technology

* [ ] Enter [TDB](http://app.envisioning.io)
* [ ] Click \[Technologies]
* [ ] Click \[+Add new technology]
* [ ] Add a Summary, an Image, a Description and at least two Sources
* [ ] Click \[Publish] once the description and summary are final
* [ ] Save Technology

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/ehftyohhb-4>" %}

###


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