Anti-tech sentiment

Extracted Attributes

• Key Drivers

  Societal impact concerns, perceived safety risks, media backlash, loss of risk tolerance

• Core Components

  Negative social media attitudes, AI fears, negative view of modernity

• Historical Root

  English Luddites (1811-1817)

• Alternative Names

  Techlash, Technophobia, Neo-Luddism, Westernophobia (in specific contexts)

• Psychological Correlates

  Loneliness, conspiracy thinking, need for uniqueness, need for chaos

Timeline

• The original Luddite movement begins in England, opposing industrial technology due to economic implications. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1811-01-01

• Publication of 'On the Origin of the Influencing Machine in Schizophrenia,' linking technology to psychological states. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1919-01-01

• Axios-Survey Monkey poll shows 40 percent of respondents worry the government will not regulate tech enough. (Source: ITIF)

  2017-11-01

• ITIF publishes 'A Policymaker's Guide to the Techlash' to analyze the depth of anti-tech sentiment. (Source: ITIF)

  2019-10-28

• A Cruise robotaxi accident in San Francisco triggers significant media backlash and discussions on anti-tech sentiment. (Source: Document 0c408fae-3516-4cfd-b67f-0e6ab624be7d)

  2023-10-01

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) publishes an analysis on the 'three-player game' of online tech sentiment involving Builders, Solvers, and Cynics. (Source: a16z)

  2025-10-24

Anti-Western sentiment

Anti-Western sentiment, also known as anti-Atlanticism or Westernophobia, refers to broad opposition, bias, or hostility towards the people, culture, or policies of the Western world. This sentiment is found worldwide. It often stems from anti-imperialism and criticism of past colonial actions by Western powers. For example, in Africa, figures like Patrice Lumumba and Mobutu Sese Seko blamed the West for imperialism in the Congo region. In Ethiopia, resentment over internal politics and conflict resolution during the Tigray war led to anti-Western sentiment. In the Middle East, Pan-Arabism and Islamism contribute to anti-Western attitudes. Jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS view Western countries as targets for terrorism due to perceived insults against Islam and military interventions in Muslim countries. Many Latin American countries harbor criticism due to historical American and European interventions. In Russia, anti-Western sentiment has been endorsed by many. Russian leaders have traditionally rejected Western liberalism which they see as a threat to Russian hegemony in the region. The phenomenon is often exacerbated by contemporary events. In recent decades, anti-Western feelings have been fueled by factors such as the Iraq War, support for Israel, and sanctions against countries like Iran.

Web Search Results

• Working Paper: Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, and the Politics ...

  Our findings provide several insights about the nature and implications of anti-technology attitudes in the United States. We find that anti-tech sentiment is a coherent orientation, distinct from but related to other psychological and political factors. This orientation strongly predicts policy preferences and, in some cases, support for extreme actions. We identified which segments of the population were most likely to score high on our anti-tech orientation, finding that loneliness, conspiracy thinking, need for uniqueness, and need for chaos correlate with the general anti-technology factor (these relationships hold after controlling for partisanship and education). Finally, beyond personal dispositions, we show that anti-tech sentiments shape respondents’ policy preferences, [...] anti-tech sentiments shape respondents’ policy preferences, especially concerning the governance and regulation of technology. The paper also documents how anti-tech attitudes might breed acceptance or even endorsement of extremist actions, including support for violence against tech businesses or technological entities (or their proponents), establishing that there is a clear association between anti-tech beliefs and supporting justifications of violent actions against the leaders of tech companies. Finally, we show that the public can (currently) be persuaded by both pro- and anti-AI arguments, although anti-AI arguments were on average deemed more persuasive. [...] Using a pair of surveys and an experiment, we take an empirical approach to measure the contours of anti-technology sentiment among Americans. First, we measure three distinct anti-technology components: 1) negative attitudes toward social media , 2) fears over AI, and 3) a negative view of modernity. We show that these anti-technology components form an anti-tech disposition, which is relatively common among Americans. For instance, a majority of our survey respondents agree that “technology has taken over our lives” or that social media harms young users and fuels envy and social comparisons. Over half of respondents also fear that AI could hurt humans. Psychological variables including loneliness and conspiracism are associated with stronger anti-tech sentiment. Partisanship plays a

• Builders, Solvers and Cynics | Andreessen Horowitz

  FOLLOW a16z See More Results # Builders, Solvers and Cynics The three-player game of online tech sentiment Alex Danco share Copy Link Email X LinkedIn Facebook Hacker News WhatsApp Flipboard Reddit Table of Contents Table of Contents Posted October 24, 2025 Reactionary anti-tech sentiment is a real and important force in the world, and possibly an underdiscussed topic. Not in the sense that it should get more airtime (it shouldn’t); but in the sense that it’s interesting. Part of being a good citizen is being genuinely open-minded about your opposition: where are they coming from? What value systems or psychological drives are running the show over there? [...] Cynics and Solvers both contribute to anti-tech sentiment, but in different ways. Cynics are motivated by two things. First, to “Not Fall For It”, and avoid appearing gullible at all cost. And second, to stamp out inauthenticity, particularly anything new or unresolved in the world. These motives are classic projection (as Freud defined it a century ago), and once you realize this, their behaviour makes more sense. The cynics have a rich cultural canon: from Diogenes and the Greek cynics, to smart pieces of culture like South Park and The Sopranos that have recently contributed to the belief system. [...] Nowadays, the leading edge of culture isn’t on TV; it’s all online. And the source of most of online culture comes from the forums, the posting, and the online humour that extends the South Park “don’t fall for it” mantra, and the romanticized projection-defence of the Sopranos. And culture eventually starts to shape our value system, if you give it enough time. ### Three kinds of honesty: Fidelity, Sincerity, and Authenticity We will get to anti-tech sentiment itself in a second, I promise. But there is one more critical concept we need to introduce, which is our social concept of honesty.

• Against the “anti-technology” strawman | LibrarianShipwreck

  Quite frankly, the answer does not matter – though it is more than likely that the answer is a pretty resounding no. The actually existing individuals who are opposed to genuinely “all” technology are so few in number as to be statistically insignificant. And those who are most likely to be held up as exemplars of “anti-technology” sentiments (such as anarcho-primitivists) are more likely to be in favor of radically eco-centric technologies as opposed to genuinely wanting zero technology. Granted, those likely to denounce others as “anti-technology” are unlikely to have taken the time to have actually read any of those individuals. [...] Nevertheless, it is relatively easy to understand why many writers feel the need to include such disclaimers. After all, to have one’s work, or one’s self, denounced as “anti-technology” is for many individuals a frightening prospect. For being labeled a “technophobe” or a “Luddite” is perceived as being akin to a sort of banishment from whence one’s ideas can never safely return. Though calling someone “anti-technology” or “Luddite” is not in and of itself an actual argument – it’s just a classic manifestation of the logical fallacy of attacking the advocate – these are still dishonors which many writers seek to avoid having pinned to their persons. And thus, one can understand why many authors feel the need to openly declare that they are in favor of technology. Yet it’s worth bearing [...] Thus, the “anti-technology” figure is really nothing more than a bogeyman – or better put, a straw man. Hoisted up by the celebrants of the current techno-social situation the straw-stuffed “anti-technologist” is meant to stand in for a position which pretty much nobody actually takes. And yet…it is still a straw man argument that many people feel that they must reply to. Hence the earlier mentioned disclaimers. And thus, this straw man is kept alive, insofar as it winds up getting treated as a legitimate argument. Yet this figure is desperately needed by those who deploy it as it allows them to deflect criticism while pretending to actually have an argument. When someone criticizes, for example, the growing consolidation of power by a handful of tech companies denouncing this critic as

• Neo-Luddism

  Neo-Luddism or new Luddism is a philosophy opposing many forms of modern technology. The term Luddite is generally used as a pejorative applied to people showing technophobic leanings. The name is based on the historical legacy of the English Luddites, who were active between 1811 and 1817. While the original Luddites were mostly concerned with the economic implications of improving technology in regard to industrialization, neo-Luddites tend to have a broader and more holistic distrust of technological improvement. [...] Neo-Luddism is a leaderless movement of non-affiliated groups that resist modern technologies and dictate a return of some or all technologies to a more primitive level. Neo-Luddites are characterized by one or more of the following practices: passively abandoning the use of technology, protesting technology harmful to the environment, advocating simple living, or sabotaging technology. The modern neo-Luddite movement has connections with the anti-globalization movement, anarcho-primitivism, radical environmentalism, and deep ecology. [...] Pentti Linkola – Finnish ecologist (1932–2020) Reactionary – Political view advocating return to a previous societal state + New World Order – Conspiracy theory regarding a totalitarian world government - Brave New World – 1932 dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley "On the Origin of the 'Influencing Machine' in Schizophrenia" – 1919 article in psychoanalysis Technophobia – Fear or discomfort with technology + Existential risk from artificial intelligence – Hypothesized risk to human existence - AI takeover – Hypothetical outcome of artificial intelligence Ted Kaczynski – American domestic terrorist (1942–2023) Technological singularity – Hypothetical event Uncanny valley – Hypothesis that human replicas elicit revulsion

• A Policymaker's Guide to the “Techlash”

  But how broad and deep is this techlash? To listen to those who are most heavily invested in it, the techlash reflects the sentiments of a large majority of Americans who have turned against tech and tech companies. But certainly, at the most basic level, this is not true. As Rob Walker wrote recently in The New York Times, if there were a real techlash, one would expect to see Americans reducing their use of technologies.(#_edn17) But in fact, the opposite is occurring, with use of social networks and devices increasing, not decreasing. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of Americans use some form of social media, a percentage that has risen steadily for years and shows no sign of flagging.(#_edn18) [...] To be sure, fear and opposition to technology is certainly not new. People have long opposed new technologies, fearing they would be unsafe, destroy morals, hurt jobs, harm children, and lead to a range of other purported ills. As the podcast Pessimists Archive has documented, these technologies include tunnels, the telegraph, recorded music, electricity, the elevator, and even the Walkman.(#_edn33) Indeed, many of today’s complaints mirror those of yesteryear. We have seen this before. Case in point is the turn-of-the-20th-century techlash against the automobile, wherein some places passed red-flag laws that required a person to walk in front of “horseless carriages” waiving a red flag.(#_edn34) (See figure 1.)However, the scope and vociferousness of today’s techlash suggests it might be [...] So, while public views of tech and the tech industry are less favorable than they once were, they are still by and large quite positive. Meanwhile, there is somewhat mixed evidence that Americans want elected officials to crack down on technology companies. In an Axios-Survey Monkey online poll conducted in November 2017, 40 percent of respondents said they worried the government wouldn’t do enough to regulate tech, while 57 percent said the government would do too much.(#_edn25) In a February 2018 poll, that number had increased to 55 and 39 percent, respectively.(#_edn26) However, a September 2019 Morning Consult/Advertising Week poll found that the tech industry ranked 15th out of 19 industries U.S. adults said presidential candidates should be more critical of.(#_edn27)