What's a Luddite? An expert on technology and society explains

• At the time there was a thriving textile industry that depended on manual knitting frames and a skilled workforce to create cloth and garments out of cotton and wool.
• But as the Industrial Revolution gathered momentum, steam-powered mills threatened the livelihood of thousands of artisanal textile workers.
• It’s not clear whether Ned Ludd was a real person, or simply a figment of folklore invented during a period of upheaval.

Questioning doesn’t mean rejecting

• Rather, they were skilled adopters and users of the artisanal textile technologies of the time.
• Their argument was not with technology, per se, but with the ways that wealthy industrialists were robbing them of their way of life.
• Yet technologists like Musk and Gates aren’t rejecting technology or innovation.
• Instead, they’re rejecting a worldview that all technological advances are ultimately good for society.

Why Luddism matters

• In fact, “Neo-Luddites” or “New Luddites” is a term that emerged at the end of the 20th century.
• Then there are the Neo-Luddites who actively reject modern technologies, fearing that they are damaging to society.
• Screens are an anathema to the group, which sees them as a drain on mental health.
• Yet there is a common thread here: the idea that technology can lead to personal and societal harm if it is not developed responsibly.