Welcome to knowledge & technology. This page gives you a quick overview of this optional theme of TOK, and four padlets offering quotes, knowledge questions, real-world stories, and important thinkers.
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Knowledge & technology: a quick overview
In knowledge and technology, we explore the relationship between technological advancements and the acquisition, interpretation, and dissemination of knowledge, examining how technology shapes human understanding and raises profound ethical questions about its use.
It connects directly to key concepts such as power, perspective, and responsibility, and is exemplified by two influential thinkers: Sherry Turkle, whose work on the impact of technology on human relationships and identity advocates for a more mindful and ethical approach to digital life, and Tim Berners-Lee, whose invention of the World Wide Web revolutionised how information is shared, and who has since become a powerful advocate for open access and a decentralised internet.
Contemporary issues make this theme almost inexhaustibly rich. Debates about digital privacy and surveillance raise urgent questions about the balance between individual rights and national security in an era of pervasive monitoring, while discussions about artificial intelligence and automation expose the profound ethical implications of these technologies for employment, decision-making, and human autonomy.
Engaging with this theme asks students to analyse the impact of technology on knowledge critically, appreciate both the potential and the limitations of digital tools, and develop the ethical awareness and digital literacy needed to navigate an increasingly technology-saturated world responsibly.
1 QUOTES Who said “If you run from technology, it will chase you”?
Explore these quotes on knowledge & technology by a wide range of different thinkers. Which quotes are the most and least insightful?
How do they challenge assumptions about the core theme? What do they reveal about links between the this and other aspects of the TOK course?
2 KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS Are algorithms free of biases?
Exploring knowledge questions is at the heart of TOK, prompting us to reflect on our assumptions and evaluate the reliability of our knowledge.
They give us a focus point for deeper understanding, and play a central role in both the essay and the exhibition assessment tasks.
3 REAL-WORLD STORIES Do AI girlfriends promote unhealthy relationships?
Grasp technology, see how TOK ideas manifest in the real-world, and support exhibition commentary discussions, via these examples.
They’ll also help you to challenge your assumptions and biases, and become an authentic critical thinker.
4 NOTABLE THINKERS Have we returned to a pre-Copernican level of understanding?
These thinkers will help you consolidate your understanding of technology, and articulate your ideas about the world more clearly.
Draw on them to support exhibition commentary discussions, and add depth and authority to the claims you make about knowledge.
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