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There are a number of theories attempting to address technology, which tend to be associated with the disciplines of science and technology studies (STS) and communication studies. Most generally, the theories attempt to address the relationship between technology and society and prompt questions about agency, determinism/autonomy, and teleonomy.
If forced, one might categorize them into social and group theories. Additionally, one might distinguish between descriptive and critical theories. Descriptive theories attempt to address the definition and substance of technology, the ways it has emerged, changed and its relation to the human/social sphere. More substantively it addresses the extent of which technology is autonomous and how much force it has in determining human practice or social structure. Critical theories of technology often take a descriptive theory as their basis and articulate concerns, examining what way the relationship can be changed. The authors mentioned in this article are those that have some concern with technology or media, though they often borrow from one another and of course build upon seminal theorists that preceded them.
Critical theory goes beyond a descriptive account of how things are, to examine why they have come to be that way, and how they might otherwise be. Critical theory asks whose interests are being served by the status quo and assesses the potential of future alternatives to better serve social justice. According to Geuss's definition, "a critical theory, then, is a reflective theory which gives agents a kind of knowledge inherently productive of enlightenment and emancipation" (1981: 2). Critical theory has the explicit normative and political intent of going beyond mere description to produce actual change.
Along with other Frankfurt School critical theorists Herbert Marcuse began developing a critical theory of technology in both soviet communism and western capitalism in 'One Dimensional Man' (1964). Marcuse argued that whilst matters of technology design are often presented as neutral technical choices in fact they manifest political or moral values. Critical theory is a form of archaeology that attempt to get beneath common-sense understandings in order to reveal the power relationships and interests determining particular technological configuration and use.
Perhaps the most developed contemporary critical theory of technology is contained in the works of Andrew Feenberg including 'Transforming Technology' (2002).
Additionally, many authors have posed technology so as to critique and or emphasize aspects of technology as addressed by the mainline theories. For example,
An important philosophical approach to technology has been taken by Bernard Stiegler, whose work has been influenced by other philosophers and historians of technology including Gilbert Simondon and André Leroi-Gourhan. In the Schumpeterian and Neo-Schumpeterian theories technologies are critical factors of economic growth (Carlota Perez).
There are also a number of technology related theories that address how (media) technology affects group processes. Broadly, these theories are concerned with the social effects of communication media. Some (e.g., media richness) are concerned with questions of media choice (i.e., when to use what medium effectively). Other theories (social presence, SIDE, media naturalness) are concerned with the consequences of those media choices (i.e., what are the social effects of using particular communication media).
Finally, there are theories of technology which are not defined or claimed by a proponent, but are used by authors in describing existing literature, in contrast to their own or as a review of the field.
For example, Markus and Robey (1988) propose a general technology theory consisting of the causal structures of agency (technological, organizational, imperative, emergent), its structure (variance, process), and the level (micro, macro) of analysis.
Orlikowski (1992) notes that previous conceptualizations of technology typically differ over scope (is technology more than hardware?) and role (is it an external objective force, the interpreted human action, or an impact moderated by humans?) and identifies three models:
DeSanctis and Poole (1994) similarly write of three views of technology's effects:
Bimber (1998) addresses the determinacy of technology effects by distinguishing between the:
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