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54 Most Interesting Technology Research Topics for 2023

May 30, 2023

Scrambling to find technology research topics for the assignment that’s due sooner than you thought? Take a scroll down these 54 interesting technology essay topics in 10 different categories, including controversial technology topics, and some example research questions for each.

Social technology research topics

Whether you have active profiles on every social media platform, you’ve taken a social media break, or you generally try to limit your engagement as much as possible, you probably understand how pervasive social technologies have become in today’s culture. Social technology will especially appeal to those looking for widely discussed, mainstream technology essay topics.

• How do viewers respond to virtual influencers vs human influencers? Is one more effective or ethical over the other?
• Across social media platforms, when and where is mob mentality most prevalent? How do the nuances of mob mentality shift depending on the platform or topic?
• Portable devices like cell phones, laptops, and tablets have certainly made daily life easier in some ways. But how have they made daily life more difficult?
• How does access to social media affect developing brains? And what about mature brains?
• Can dating apps alter how users perceive and interact with people in real life?
• Studies have proven “doomscrolling” to negatively impact mental health—could there ever be any positive impacts?

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology research topics

Following cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has been a rollercoaster the last few years. And since Bitcoin’s conception in 2009, cryptocurrency has consistently showed up on many lists of controversial technology topics.

• Is it ethical for celebrities or influential people to promote cryptocurrencies or cryptographic assets like NFTs ?
• What are the environmental impacts of mining cryptocurrencies? Could those impacts ever change?
• How does cryptocurrency impact financial security and financial health?
• Could the privacy cryptocurrency offers ever be worth the added security risks?
• How might cryptocurrency regulations and impacts continue to evolve?
• Created to enable cryptocurrency, blockchain has since proven useful in several other industries. What new uses could blockchain have?

Artificial intelligence technology research topics

We started 2023 with M3GAN’s box office success, and now we’re fascinated (or horrified) with ChatGPT , voice cloning , and deepfakes . While people have discussed artificial intelligence for ages, recent advances have really pushed this topic to the front of our minds. Those searching for controversial technology topics should pay close attention to this one.

• OpenAI –the company behind ChatGPT–has shown commitment to safe, moderated AI tools that they hope will provide positive benefits to society. Sam Altman, their CEO, recently testified before a US Senate He described what AI makes possible and called for more regulation in the industry. But even with companies like OpenAI displaying efforts to produce safe AI and advocating for regulations, can AI ever have a purely positive impact? Are certain pitfalls unavoidable?
• In a similar vein, can AI ever actually be ethically or safely produced? Will there always be certain risks?
• How might AI tools impact society across future generations?
• Countless movies and television shows explore the idea of AI going wrong, going back all the way to 1927’s Metropolis . What has a greater impact on public perception—representations in media or industry developments? And can public perception impact industry developments and their effectiveness?

Beauty and anti-aging technology 

Throughout human history, people in many cultures have gone to extreme lengths to capture and maintain a youthful beauty. But technology has taken the pursuit of beauty and youth to another level. For those seeking technology essay topics that are both timely and timeless, this one’s a gold mine.

• With augmented reality technology, companies like Perfect allow app users to virtually try on makeup, hair color, hair accessories, and hand or wrist accessories. Could virtual try-ons lead to a somewhat less wasteful beauty industry? What downsides should we consider?
• Users of the Perfect app can also receive virtual diagnoses for skin care issues and virtually “beautify” themselves with smoothed skin, erased blemishes, whitened teeth, brightened under-eye circles, and reshaped facial structures. How could advancements in beauty and anti-aging technology affect self-perception and mental health?
• What are the best alternatives to animal testing within the beauty and anti-aging industry?
• Is anti-aging purely a cosmetic pursuit? Could anti-aging technology provide other benefits?
• Could people actually find a “cure” to aging? And could a cure to aging lead to longer lifespans?
• How might longer human lifespans affect the Earth?

Geoengineering technology research topics

An umbrella term, geoengineering refers to large-scale technologies that can alter the earth and its climate. Typically, these types of technologies aim to combat climate change. Those searching for controversial technology topics should consider looking into this one.

• What benefits can solar geoengineering provide? Can they outweigh the severe risks?
• Compare solar geoengineering methods like mirrors in space, stratospheric aerosol injection, marine cloud brightening, and other proposed methods. How have these methods evolved? How might they continue to evolve?
• Which direct air capture methods are most sustainable?
• How can technology contribute to reforestation efforts?
• What are the best uses for biochar? And how can biochar help or harm the earth?
• Out of all the carbon geoengineering methods that exist or have been proposed, which should we focus on the most?

Creative and performing arts technology topics

While tensions often arise between artists and technology, they’ve also maintained a symbiotic relationship in many ways. It’s complicated. But of course, that’s what makes it interesting. Here’s another option for those searching for timely and timeless technology essay topics.

• How has the relationship between art and technology evolved over time?
• How has technology impacted the ways people create art? And how has technology impacted the ways people engage with art?
• Technology has made creating and viewing art widely accessible. Does this increased accessibility change the value of art? And do we value physical art more than digital art?
• Does technology complement storytelling in the performing arts? Or does technology hinder storytelling in the performing arts?
• Which current issues in the creative or performing arts could potentially be solved with technology?

Cellular agriculture technology research topics

And another route for those drawn to controversial technology topics: cellular agriculture. You’ve probably heard about popular plant-based meat options from brands like Impossible and Beyond Meat . While products made with cellular agriculture also don’t require the raising and slaughtering of livestock, they are not plant-based. Cellular agriculture allows for the production of animal-sourced foods and materials made from cultured animal cells.

• Many consumers have a proven bias against plant-based meats. Will that same bias extend to cultured meat, despite cultured meat coming from actual animal cells?
• Which issues can arise from patenting genes?
• Does the animal agriculture industry provide any benefits that cellular agriculture may have trouble replicating?
• How might products made with cellular agriculture become more affordable?
• Could cellular agriculture conflict with the notion of a “ circular bioeconomy ?” And should we strive for a circular bioeconomy? Can we create a sustainable relationship between technology, capitalism, and the environment, with or without cellular agriculture?

Transportation technology research topics

For decades, we’ve expected flying cars to carry us into a techno-utopia, where everything’s shiny, digital, and easy. We’ve heard promises of super fast trains that can zap us across the country or even across the world. We’ve imagined spring breaks on the moon, jet packs, and teleportation. Who wouldn’t love the option to go anywhere, anytime, super quickly? Transportation technology is another great option for those seeking widely discussed, mainstream technology essay topics.

• Once upon a time, Lady Gaga was set to perform in space as a promotion for Virgin Galactic . While Virgin Galactic never actually launched the iconic musician/actor, soon, they hope to launch their first commercial flight full of civilians–who paid $450,000 a pop–on a 90-minute trip into the stars. And if you think that’s pricey, SpaceX launched three businessmen into space for $55 million in April, 2022 (though with meals included, this is actually a total steal). So should we be launching people into space just for fun? What are the impacts of space tourism?
• Could technology improve the way hazardous materials get transported?
• How can the 5.9 GHz Safety Band affect drivers?
• Which might be safer: self-driving cars or self-flying airplanes?
• Compare hyperloop and maglev Which is better and why?
• Can technology improve safety for cyclists?

Gaming technology topics

A recent study involving over 2000 children found links between video game play and enhanced cognitive abilities. While many different studies have found the impacts of video games to be positive or neutral, we still don’t fully understand the impact of every type of video game on every type of brain. Regardless, most people have opinions on video gaming. So this one’s for those seeking widely discussed, mainstream, and controversial technology topics.

• Are different types or genres of video games more cognitively beneficial than others? Or are certain gaming consoles more cognitively beneficial than others?
• How do the impacts of video games differ from other types of games, such as board games or puzzles?
• What ethical challenges and safety risks come with virtual reality gaming?
• How does a player perceive reality during a virtual reality game compared to during other types of video games?
• Can neurodivergent brains benefit from video games in different ways than neurotypical brains?

Medical technology 

Advancements in healthcare have the power to change and save lives. In the last ten years, countless new medical technologies have been developed, and in the next ten years, countless more will likely emerge. Always relevant and often controversial, this final technology research topic could interest anyone.

• Which ethical issues might arise from editing genes using CRISPR-Cas9 technology? And should this technology continue to be illegal in the United States?
• How has telemedicine impacted patients and the healthcare they receive?
• Can neurotechnology devices potentially affect a user’s agency, identity, privacy, and/or cognitive liberty?
• How could the use of medical 3-D printing continue to evolve?
• Are patients more likely to skip digital therapeutics than in-person therapeutic methods? And can the increased screen-time required by digital therapeutics impact mental health

What do you do next?

Now that you’ve picked from this list of technology essay topics, you can do a deep dive and immerse yourself in new ideas, new information, and new perspectives. And of course, now that these topics have motivated you to change the world, look into the best computer science schools , the top feeders to tech and Silicon Valley , the best summer programs for STEM students , and the best biomedical engineering schools .

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Mariya holds a BFA in Creative Writing from the Pratt Institute and is currently pursuing an MFA in writing at the University of California Davis. Mariya serves as a teaching assistant in the English department at UC Davis. She previously served as an associate editor at Carve Magazine for two years, where she managed 60 fiction writers. She is the winner of the 2015 Stony Brook Fiction Prize, and her short stories have been published in Mid-American Review , Cutbank , Sonora Review , New Orleans Review , and The Collagist , among other magazines.

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The Top 10 Most Interesting Technology Research Topics

With technological innovation streamlining processes in businesses at all levels and customers opting for digital interaction, adopting modern technologies have become critical for success in all industries. Technology continues to positively impact organizations , according to Statista, which is why technology research topics have become common among college-level students.

In this article, we have hand-picked the best examples of technology research topics and technology research questions to help you choose a direction to focus your research efforts. These technology research paper topics will inspire you to consider new ways to analyze technology and its evolving role in today’s world.

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What makes a strong technology research topic.

A strong research topic is clear, relevant, and original. It should intrigue readers to learn more about the role of technology through your research paper. A successful research topic meets the requirements of the assignment and isn’t too broad or narrow.

Technology research topics must identify a broad area of research on technologies, so an extremely technical topic can be overwhelming to write. Your technology research paper topic should be suitable for the academic level of your audience.

Tips for Choosing a Technology Research Topic

• Make sure it’s clear. Select a research topic with a clear main idea that you can explain in simple language. It should be able to capture the attention of the audience and keep them engaged in your research paper.
• Make sure it’s relevant. The technology research paper topic should be relevant to the understanding and academic level of the readers. It should enhance their knowledge of a specific technological topic, instead of simply providing vague, directionless ideas about different types of technologies.
• Employ approachable language. Even though you might be choosing a topic from complex technology research topics, the language should be simple. It can be field-specific, but the technical terms used must be basic and easy to understand for the readers.
• Discuss innovations. New technologies get introduced frequently, which adds to the variety of technology research paper topics. Your research topic shouldn’t be limited to old or common technologies. Along with the famous technologies, it should include evolving technologies and introduce them to the audience.
• Be creative . With the rapid growth of technological development, some technology research topics have become increasingly common. It can be challenging to be creative with a topic that has been exhausted through numerous research papers. Your research topic should provide unique information to the audience, which can attract them to your work.

What’s the Difference Between a Research Topic and a Research Question?

A research topic is a subject or a problem being studied by a researcher. It is the foundation of any research paper that sets the tone of the research. It should be broad with a wide range of information available for conducting research.

On the other hand, a research question is closely related to the research topic and is addressed in the study. The answer is formed through data analysis and interpretation. It is more field-specific and directs the research paper toward a specific aspect of a broad subject.

How to Create Strong Technology Research Questions

Technology research questions should be concise, specific, and original while showing a connection to the technology research paper topic. It should be researchable and answerable through analysis of a problem or issue. Make sure it is easy to understand and write within the given word limit and timeframe of the research paper.

Technology is an emerging field with several areas of study, so a strong research question is based on a specific part of a large technical field. For example, many technologies are used in branches of healthcare such as genetics and DNA. Therefore, a research paper about genetics technology should feature a research question that is exclusive to genetics technology only.

Top 10 Technology Research Paper Topics

1. the future of computer-assisted education.

The world shifted to digital learning in the last few years. Students were using the Internet to take online classes, online exams, and courses. Some people prefer distance learning courses over face-to-face classes now, as they only require modern technologies like laptops, mobile phones, and the Internet to study, complete assignments, and even attend lectures.

The demand for digital learning has increased, and it will be an essential part of the education system in the coming years. As a result of the increasing demand, the global digital learning market is expecting a growth of about 110 percent by 2026 .

2. Children’s Use of Social Media

Nowadays, parents allow their children to use the Internet from a very young age. A recent poll by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital reported that 32 percent of parents allow their children aged seven to nine to use social media sites. This can expose them to cyber bullying and age-inappropriate content, as well as increase their dependence on technology.

Kids need to engage in physical activities and explore the world around them. Using social media sites in childhood can be negative for their personalities and brain health. Analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the use of technology among young children can create an interesting research paper.

3. The Risks of Digital Voting

Digital voting is an easy way of casting and counting votes. It can save the cost and time associated with traveling to the polling station and getting a postal vote. However, it has a different set of security challenges. A research paper can list the major election security risks caused by digital voting.

Voting in an online format can expose your personal information and decisions to a hacker. As no computer device or software is completely unhackable, the voting system can be taken down, or the hacking may even go undetected.

4. Technology’s Impact on Society in 20 Years

Technological development has accelerated in the last decade. Current technology trends in innovation are focusing on artificial intelligence development, machine learning, and the development and implementation of robots.

Climate change has affected both human life and animal life. Climate technology can be used to deal with global warming in the coming years, and digital learning can make education available for everyone. This technology research paper can discuss the positive and negative effects of technology in 20 years.

5. The Reliability of Self-Driving Cars

Self-driving cars are one of the most exciting trends in technology today. It is a major technology of the future and one of the controversial technology topics. It is considered safer than human driving, but there are some risks involved. For example, edge cases are still common to experience while driving.

Edge cases are occasional and unpredictable situations that may lead to accidents and injuries. It includes difficult weather conditions, objects or animals on the road, and blocked roads. Self-driving cars may struggle to respond to edge cases appropriately, requiring the driver to employ common sense to handle the situation.

6. The Impact of Technology on Infertility

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) helps infertile couples get pregnant. It employs infertility techniques such as In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT).

Infertility technologies are included in the controversial technology topics because embryonic stem cell research requires extracted human embryos. So, the research can be considered unethical. It is an excellent research topic from the reproductive technology field.

7. Evolution of War Technology

Military technologies have improved throughout history. Modern technologies, such as airplanes, missiles, nuclear reactors, and drones, are essential for war management. Countries experience major innovation in technologies during wars to fulfill their military-specific needs.

Military technologies have controversial ideas and debates linked to them, as some people believe that it plays a role in wars. A research paper on war technology can help evaluate the role of technology in warfare.

8. Using Technology to Create Eco-Friendly Food Packaging

Food technologies and agricultural technologies are trying to manage climate change through eco-friendly food packaging. The materials used are biodegradable, sustainable, and have inbuilt technology that kills microbes harmful to human life.

Research on eco-friendly food packaging can discuss the ineffectiveness of current packaging strategies. The new food technologies used for packaging can be costly, but they are better for preserving foods and the environment.

9. Disease Diagnostics and Therapeutics Through DNA Cloning

Genetic engineering deals with genes and uses them as diagnostics and therapeutics. DNA cloning creates copies of genes or parts of DNA to study different characteristics. The findings are used for diagnosing different types of cancers and even hematological diseases.

Genetic engineering is also used for therapeutic cloning, which clones an embryo for studying diseases and treatments. DNA technology, gene editing, gene therapy, and similar topics are hot topics in technology research papers.

10. Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Care

Mental health is a widely discussed topic around the world, making it perfect for technology research topics. The mental health care industry has more recently been using artificial intelligence tools and mental health technology like chatbots and virtual assistants to connect with patients.

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Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. It can help a health care provider with monitoring patient progress and assigning the right therapist based on provided data and information.

Other Examples of Technology Research Topics & Questions

Technology research topics.

• The connection between productivity and the use of digital tools
• The importance of medical technologies in the next years
• The consequences of addiction to technology
• The negative impact of social media
• The rise and future of blockchain technology

Technology Research Questions

• Is using technology in college classrooms a good or bad idea?
• What are the advantages of cloud technologies for pharmaceutical companies?
• Can new technologies help in treating morbid obesity?
• How to identify true and false information on social media
• Why is machine learning the future?

Choosing the Right Technology Research Topic

Since technology is a diverse field, it can be challenging to choose an interesting technology research topic. It is crucial to select a good research topic for a successful research paper. Any research is centered around the research topic, so it’s important to pick one carefully.

From cell phones to self-driving cars, technological development has completely transformed the world. It offers a wide range of topics to research, resulting in numerous options to choose from. We have compiled technology research topics from a variety of fields. You should select a topic that interests you, as you will be spending weeks researching and writing about it.

Technology Research Topics FAQ

Technology is important in education because it allows people to access educational opportunities globally through mobile technologies and the Internet. Students can enroll in online college degrees , courses, and attend online coding bootcamps . Technology has also made writing research papers easier with the tremendous amount of material available online.

Yes, technology can take over jobs as robotics and automation continue to evolve. However, the management of these technologies will still require human employees with technical backgrounds, such as artificial intelligence specialists, data scientists , and cloud engineers.

Solar panels and wind turbines are two forms of technology that help with climate change, as they convert energy efficiently without emitting greenhouse gases. Electric bikes run on lithium batteries and only take a few hours to charge, which makes them environmentally friendly. Carbon dioxide captures are a way of removing CO 2 from the atmosphere and storing it deep underground.

Technology helps companies manage client and employee data, store and protect important information, and develop strategies to stay ahead of competitors. Marketing technologies, such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), are great for attracting customers online.

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Digital transformation: a review, synthesis and opportunities for future research

• Open access
• Published: 18 April 2020
• Volume 71 , pages 233–341, ( 2021 )

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• Swen Nadkarni 1 &
• Reinhard Prügl 1  

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In the last years, scholarly attention was on a steady rise leading to a significant increase in the number of papers addressing different technological and organizational aspects of digital transformation. In this paper, we consolidate existing findings which mainly stem from the literature of information systems, map the territory by sharing important macro- and micro-level observations, and propose future research opportunities for this pervasive field. The paper systematically reviews 58 peer-reviewed studies published between 2001 and 2019, dealing with different aspects of digital transformation. Emerging from our review, we develop inductive thematic maps which identify technology and actor as the two aggregate dimensions of digital transformation. For each dimension, we derive further units of analysis (nine core themes in total) which help to disentangle the particularities of digital transformation processes and thereby emphasize the most influential and unique antecedents and consequences. In a second step, in order to assist in breaking down disciplinary silos and strengthen the management perspective, we supplement the resulting state-of-the-art of digital transformation by integrating cross-disciplinary contributions from reviewing 28 papers on technological disruption and 32 papers on corporate entrepreneurship. The review reveals that certain aspects, such as the pace of transformation, the culture and work environment, or the middle management perspective are significantly underdeveloped.

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Digital Transformation: A Literature Review and Guidelines for Future Research

An Introduction to Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation Framework: A Bibliometric Approach

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Digital transformation, defined as transformation ‘concerned with the changes digital technologies can bring about in a company’s business model, … products or organizational structures’ (Hess et al. 2016 , p. 124), is perhaps the most pervasive managerial challenge for incumbent firms of the last and coming decades. However, digital possibilities need to come together with skilled employees and executives in order to reveal its transformative power. Thus, digital transformation needs both technology and people. In the last years, scholarly attention, particularly in the information systems (IS) literature, was on a steady rise leading to a significant increase in the number of papers addressing different technological and organizational aspects of digital transformation. In the light of this development, we are convinced it is the right time to map the territory and reflect on the current state of knowledge. Therefore, in this paper we aim at providing a descriptive, thematic analysis of the field by critically assessing where, how and by whom research on digital transformation is conducted. Based on this analysis, we identify future research opportunities.

We approach this objective in two steps. First, we adopt an inductive approach and conduct a systematic literature review (following Tranfield et al. 2003 ; Webster and Watson 2002 ) of 58 peer-reviewed papers dealing with digital transformation. By applying elements of grounded theory and content analysis (Corley and Gioia 2004 ; Gioia et al. 1994 ) we identify important core themes in the literature that are particularly pronounced and/or unique in transformations enabled by digital technologies. In a second step, in order to assist in breaking down disciplinary silos (Jones and Gatrell 2014 ) and avoiding the building of an ivory tower (Bartunek et al. 2006 ; Fuetsch and Suess-Reyes 2017 ), we supplement the pre-dominantly IS-based digital transformation literature with a broader management perspective. Accordingly, we integrate cross-disciplinary contributions from reviewing 28 papers on technological disruption and 32 papers on corporate entrepreneurship.

We find these research fields particularly suitable for informing digital transformation research for two reasons. First, by reviewing the literature on technological disruption we hope to derive implications regarding technology adoption and integration. Burdened with the legacy of old technology, bureaucratic structures and core rigidities (Leonard-Barton 1992 ), incumbents may face major challenges in this respect during their digital transformation journey. Second, we expect corporate entrepreneurship to add a more holistic perspective on firm-internal aspects during the process of transformation, such as management influence or the impact of knowledge and organizational learning.

Our findings and related contributions are threefold: First, based on a systematic and structured analysis we develop digital transformation maps which inductively categorize and describe the existing body of research. These thematic maps identify technology and actor as the two aggregate dimensions of digital transformation. Within these dimensions, we reveal nine core themes which help to disentangle the particularities of digital transformation processes and thereby emphasize the most influential and unique antecedents and consequences of this specific type of transformation. Thus, it becomes possible to identify the predominant contextual factors for which research would create the strongest leverage for a better understanding of the challenges inherent in digital transformation. Second, we contribute to the advancement of this field by elaborating opportunities for future research on digital transformation which integrate the three perspectives mentioned above. In particular, informed by corporate entrepreneurship, we find that the important middle management perspective on digital transformation has thus far been largely neglected by researchers. Also, emerging from our review we call for more studies on the various options for integrating digital transformation within organizational architectures and existing processes. Third, in reviewing the adjacent literature on technological disruption and corporate entrepreneurship, we strengthen the valuable management perspective within the primarily IS-based discussion on digital transformation. This way we avoid the reinvention of the wheel while at the same time enable the identification of cross-disciplinary research opportunities. We hope to stimulate discussion between these different but strongly related disciplines and enable mutual learning and a fruitful exchange of ideas.

2 Conceptual foundations

Technology as a major determinant of organizational form and structure has been well acknowledged by academics for a long time (Thompson and Bates 1957 ; Woodward 1965 ; Scott 1992 ). Following a significant decline of interest in this relationship until the mid-1990s (Zammuto et al. 2007 ), innovations in information technologies (IT) and the rise of pre-internet technologies have revitalized its relevance in the context of organizational transformation. Thus, the literature on IT-enabled organizational transformation, a concept which originates from the field of information systems (IS) that has caught considerable academic attention starting back in the early 1990s (Ranganathan et al. 2004 ; Besson and Rowe 2012 ), may be seen as one of the scholarly roots of digital transformation research. In his seminal book, Morton ( 1991 ) argued that companies must experience fundamental transformations for effective IT implementation. In the course of the years a shift of attention occurred from technological to managerial and organizational issues (Markus and Benjamin 1997 ; Doherty and King 2005 ). Non-technological aspects such as leadership, culture, and employee training were found to be equally important for successful IT-enabled transformation (Markus 2004 ). This is supported by Orlikowski ( 1996 ) who found empirical evidence from a 2-year case study that organizational transformation was in fact enabled by technology, but not caused by it.

Today, information technologies have become ‘one of the threads from which the fabric of organization is now woven’ (Zammuto et al. 2007 , p. 750). Digital technologies are considered a major asset for leveraging organizational transformation, given their disruptive nature and cross-organizational and systemic effects (Besson and Rowe 2012 ). In order to achieve successful digital transformation, changes must occur at various levels within the organization, including an adaptation of the core business (Karimi and Walter 2015 ), the exchange of resources and capabilities (Cha et al. 2015 ; Yeow et al. 2018 ), the reconfiguration of processes and structures (Resca et al. 2013 ), adjustments in leadership (Hansen and Sia 2015 ; Singh and Hess 2017 ), and the implementation of a vivid digital culture (Llopis et al. 2004 ). Therefore, the scope of our review revolves around digital transformation at the organizational level only (in contrast to implications at the individual level).

In this study, we conceptualize digital transformation at the intercept of the adoption of disruptive digital technologies on the one side and actor-guided organizational transformation of capabilities, structures, processes and business model components on the other side. In other words, and in line with Hess et al. ( 2016 ), we define digital transformation as organizational change triggered by digital technologies. Hence, we argue that two perspectives of digital transformation within organizations must be captured: a technology-centric and an actor-centric perspective. To exploit the technology-centric perspective we include the literature on technological disruption (e.g. Tushman and Anderson 1986 ; Anderson and Tushman 1990 ) and merge it with research on digital transformation. For the actor-centric perspective, we derive essential implications from the field of corporate entrepreneurship (Guth and Ginsberg 1990 ), which we believe may add valuable insights regarding actor-driven innovation and renewal processes within firms. In the following, we offer a brief introduction to both concepts and their relationship with digital transformation.

Rice et al. ( 1998 ) define disruptive innovations as ‘game changers’ which have the potential ‘(1) for a 5–10 times improvement in performance compared to existing products; (2) to create the basis for a 30–50% reduction in costs; or (3) to have new-to-the world performance features’ (p. 52). Similarly, Utterback ( 1994 ) emphasizes this disruptiveness at the firm and industry level and provides a similar ‘game changer’ definition in terms of ‘change that sweeps away much of a firm’s existing investment in technical skills and knowledge, designs, production technique, plant and equipment’ (p. 200). Tushman and Anderson ( 1986 ) distinguish between product and process disruptiveness. Product disruptiveness encompasses new product classes, product substitutions, or fundamental product improvements. Process disruptiveness may take the form of process substitutions or process innovations which radically improve industry-specific dimensions of merit. Christensen and Raynor ( 2003 ) introduce a further form of disruptive innovations, namely disruptive business model innovations, which represent the implementation of fundamentally different business models in an existing business.

We argue that digital technologies may reflect in all of these definitions of disruptive innovation. They may represent new-to-the-world product innovations, dislocate existing processes, and open up entirely new business models. As resumed in a recent study by Li et al. ( 2017 ), e-commerce for instance is defined as a disruptive technology (Johnson 2010 ) which involves significant changes to an organization’s culture, business processes, capabilities, and markets (Zeng et al. 2008 ; Cui and Pan 2015 ).

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) on the other side is a multi-dimensional concept at the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategic management in existing organizations (Zahra 1996 ; Hitt et al. 2001 ; Dess et al. 2003 ). We adopt the conceptualization proposed by Guth and Ginsberg ( 1990 , p. 5), who argue that corporate entrepreneurship deals with two phenomena ‘(1) the birth of new businesses within existing organizations, i.e. internal innovation or venturing, and (2) the transformation of organizations through renewal of the key ideas on which they are built, i.e. strategic renewal.’ Particularly the aspect of strategic renewal in corporate entrepreneurship, also labelled as strategic change, revival, transformation (Schendel 1990 ), reorganization, redefinition (Zahra 1993 ), or organizational renewal (Stopford and Baden-Fuller 1994 ), provides a promising interface to digital transformation. As stated by Covin and Miles ( 1999 , p. 50), corporate entrepreneurship ‘revitalizes, reinvigorates and reinvents’—processes also required for digital transformation. Various authors have stated that corporate entrepreneurship is a vehicle to improve competitive positioning and transform corporations (Schollhammer 1982 ; Miller 1983 ; Khandwalla 1987 ; Guth and Ginsberg 1990 ; Naman and Slevin 1993 ; Lumpkin and Dess 1996 ). Considering the disruptive nature of many current digital technologies, we believe that organizations need to fundamentally renew and redefine the key ideas of their business in order to fully exploit the potential of digitization and eventually achieve successful transformation. The literature places particular attention on the role of middle managers as the locus of corporate entrepreneurship (Burgelman 1983 , Floyd and Wooldridge 1999 ). Concluding, we will review the research on corporate entrepreneurship and identify those contributions which we believe may offer valuable knowledge regarding actor-driven internal renewal and change processes in the light of digital transformation.

Our review of the literature on digital transformation, technological disruption and corporate entrepreneurship is conducted in a two-step approach. First, we review, analyze and synthesize existing articles on digital transformation. Then, in a second step we supplement these findings be simultaneously reviewing the literature stream on technological disruption and corporate entrepreneurship. We believe a separate analysis and contrasting of the research streams is appropriate for two reasons: first, it provides the reader with more clarity on the status quo of digital transformation knowledge and prevents the confusion of concepts emerging from different literature fields. Second, white spots and opportunities for future research regarding digital transformation become much more visible in such a structured approach.

3 Research methodology

A systematic review is a type of literature review that applies an explicit algorithm and a multi-stage review strategy in order to collect and critically appraise a body of research studies (Mulrow 1994 ; Pittaway et al. 2004 ; Crossan and Apaydin 2010 ). This transparent and reproducible process is ideally suited for analyzing and structuring the vast and heterogeneous literature on digital transformation. In conducting our review, we followed the guidelines of Tranfield et al. ( 2003 ) and the recommendations of Denyer and Neely ( 2004 , p. 133) Footnote 1 as well as Fisch and Block ( 2018 ) in order to ensure a high quality of the review.

The nature of our review is both scoping and descriptive (Rowe 2014 ; Paré et al. 2015 ) as we aim to provide an initial indication of the potential size and nature of the available literature as well as to summarize and map existing findings from digital transformation research. By developing opportunities for future research, our review further contributes to the advancement of this field and stimulates theory development.

For the purpose of data collection, we exclusively limit our focus on peer-reviewed academic journals as recommended by McWilliams et al. ( 2005 ). Thus, we opted to exclude work in progress, conference papers, dissertations, or books. First, based on discussion among the authors and the reading of a few highly-cited papers, we designed our search criteria using combinations of keywords containing ‘ digital* AND transform*’ , ‘ digital* AND disrupt*’ , ‘ digitalization’ , and ‘ digitization ’. Then, we manually searched each issue of each volume of the leading journals in the management Footnote 2 and IS field (AIS Basket of eight). Footnote 3 In addition, we run our search query against five different electronic databases: Business Source Premier (EBSCO) , Scopus , Science Direct , Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) , and Google Scholar . We used all years available and only included articles referring to business, management, or economics in order to exclude irrelevant publications. We abstained from including digital innovation in our search (the only exception in our sample is a recent literature review by Kohli and Melville ( 2019 ), in order to capture consolidated insights). Although we realize that it is a hot topic in IS research at the moment (e.g. Fichman et al. 2014 ; Nambisan et al. 2017 ; Yoo et al. 2010 , 2012 ), we aim to concentrate our focus on papers dealing with digital transformation on a broader level (firm and industry), rather than with transitions within innovation management.

Our first search query was conducted mid 2017 and yielded an initial sample of 1722 publications. This very large sample was mainly due to the broad ambiguity of the terms ‘digital’ and ‘disrupt’. Given these broad search parameters, we anticipated that only a small fraction of this very large sample would prove to be of substantive relevance to us. To select these relevant articles for our final sample, we performed a predefined and structured multi-step selection process (similar to the approach of Siebels and Knyphausen-Aufseß 2012 ; Vom Brocke et al. 2015 ) and defined specific criteria for inclusion (Templier and Paré 2015 ). The filters during our selection process included (1) scanning the titles, (2) reading abstracts, (3) removing duplicates, (4) full reading and in-depth analysis of the remaining papers, and finally (5) cross-referencing and backward searching by looking through the bibliographies of the most important articles to find additional relevant work. The initial pool was split in half between two panelists who separately performed the scanning of titles, analysis of abstracts and removal of duplicates. After these early steps, the sample could be narrowed down to 155 articles. As we arrived at step 4 “full reading and in-depth analysis of the remaining papers”, both panelists read and independently classified each of the remaining 155 studies. During this process, papers qualified for the final sample if they satisfied three requirements: (1) articles were required to have their primary focus and contribution within digital transformation research or digitally-induced organizational transformation (e.g. a vast number of papers inadequately captured the topic of digital transformation as they primarily focused on business model innovation), (2) articles needed to be based on a sound theoretical foundation and therefore not primarily practitioner oriented (such as articles that offer popular recommendations to business leaders on how to survive digital transformation), (3) papers that were not addressing digital transformation at an organizational level (e.g. the rise of home-based online businesses by entrepreneurs) were dismissed. Whenever disagreements emerged regarding the inclusion or classification of an article, we engaged in discussion and tried to resolve the issue together to make our selection rules more reliable. We updated the review in the autumn of 2018 for any articles that had appeared between then. Following this approach, 58 studies passed all five selection steps and were included in our final sample.

Within this sample, conceptual articles (27) and case studies (20) are dominant. Roughly 60% of the articles stem from the IS literature, while 40% cover a broader management perspective of digital transformation. While the reviewed papers span a time frame from 2001 to 2018, approximately eighty-percent of articles were published within the past 5 years, indicating the relative novelty of digital transformation as a research discipline. The distribution of our sample according to journals is provided in Table  4 of “ Appendix ”.

Upon the recommendation of Webster and Watson ( 2002 ), our categorization and analysis of the literature was concept-centric. First, to facilitate analysis and build a basis for our initial coding, each selected paper was reviewed to determine the following database information.

(1) Article title, (2) outlet, (3) research methodology, (4) sample, (5) region, and (6) key findings (see full database in Table  5 of “ Appendix ”). Next, we started coding our sample, adopting elements of the approach introduced by Corley and Gioia ( 2004 ). We began by identifying initial concepts in the data and grouping them into provisional categories and first order concepts (open coding). Then, we engaged in axial coding (Locke 2001 ) and searched for relationships and common patterns between and among these provisional categories, which allowed us to assemble them into second order themes. Finally, we assigned these second order themes to aggregate dimensions, representing the highest level of abstraction in our coding. In sum, reviewing and analyzing the extant literature, 194 coded insights were generated within the field of digital transformation: 61 first order concepts, nine second order themes, and two aggregate dimensions. The nine second order themes represent core themes across the papers, which finally constitute two aggregate dimensions: technology and actor. In conclusion, we define digital transformation as actor-driven organizational transformation triggered by the adoption of technology-driven digital disruptions. The result of the coding process is a high-level inductive map of the core themes in digital transformation research (Fig.  1 ).

Digital transformation high-level thematic map emerging from the analysis of the literature

The reviewed studies from our sample provide a rich body of knowledge regarding the specific contextual factors of digital transformation. This may be beneficial to both researchers and practitioners enabling a more comprehensive understanding of the peculiarities of digital transformation (in comparison to previous technology-driven transformations).

4.1 Macro-level findings

On a macro level, the central observation emerging from our review is that both technology- and actor-centric aspects take center stage within this debate. This is also reflected in various definitions of digital transformation provided in the sample. For example, Lanzolla and Anderson ( 2008 ) represent the technology-centric side and emphasize the diffusion of digital technologies as an enabler for transformation. Such digital technologies may include big data, mobile, cloud computing or search-based applications (White 2012 ). Similarly, Hess et al. ( 2016 ) note that digital transformation is ‘concerned with the changes digital technologies can bring about in a company’s business model, which result in changed products or organizational structures or in the automation of processes’ (p. 124). However, Hess et al. ( 2016 ) also highlight the role of actors (e.g. managers) in promoting transformation processes, while facing the challenge of simultaneously balancing the exploration and exploitation of resources. Leaders must have trust in the value and benefits of new IT technologies and support their implementation (Chatterjee et al. 2002 ).

In total, we find an almost even distribution of papers studying the two dimensions of technology and actor: 33% are technology-centric, 34% are actor-centric, and 33% of papers cover both technology and actor. However, within these two dimensions we observe a rather uneven distribution of articles by second order themes. On the technology-centric side, we find that understanding the implications of digital technologies on the consumer interface and market environment are highly active research streams. In comparison, understanding the pace of change in times of digital transformation and its direct impact on incumbents is so far comparably understudied. On the actor-centric side, our review reveals a very dominant focus on leadership and capabilities in a digital context, while in contrast company culture and work environment thus far received less recognition. We also find that the status-quo of digital transformation literature is rather diverse, in a sense that papers discuss topics across various categories of our thematic map and are therefore not restricted nor focused to a specific unit of analysis. The vast majority of articles is related to adjacent topics of digital transformation underpinning its nature as a diverse and broad field of research while again indicating its emerging nature.

In addition, we observe some degree of diversity in the theoretical foundations drawn upon. Different theories are applied by several authors to capture the context of digital transformation, e.g. alignment view, configuration theory, resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, organizational learning theory, network view or business process reengineering. It would be interesting to use other theoretical angles, for example from the literature on corporate entrepreneurship and technological disruption, in order to increase theoretical diversity. Such an exchange with different fields of research would broaden the scope of the field and help bridging an ivory divide . Finally, from a methodological perspective, we observe that actor-centric papers primarily use case studies while technology-centric studies at this point are pre-eminently conceptual. In general, the literature is scarce regarding quantitative empirical evidence. We see this as a strong indicator for the early stage of digital transformation research.

4.2 Micro-level findings: the technology-centric side of the equation

In the following, we present and discuss the most important findings of the second order themes within the technology-centric dimension. In Fig.  2 we provide a thematic map for this dimension and in Table  1 a brief summary including illustrative quotes.

Thematic map for technology-driven themes in digital transformation literature

4.2.1 Pace of change and time to market

In times of digital transformation, the speed of technological change is disproportionally accelerating with new digital capabilities being rolled out every year. The technological capability of applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cloud computing, and mobile technologies significantly increases the overall pace of change. For example, entire industries, like the newspaper business, have been transformed and digitized within a very short period of time (Karimi and Walter 2015 ). Further, the cloud and online platforms have revolutionized the process and pace of turning an innovative idea into a business (Vey et al. 2017 ). Today, innovative ideas can be realized within days and companies set-up literally ‘overnight’. In this sense, in the digital world striving for a ‘first-mover advantage’ due to a ‘winner takes it all’ environment has become more important for incumbent firms (Grover and Kohli 2013 ) as they have much less time to respond to such threats and should not give away first-mover advantages too easily.

Moreover, pure digital companies like Facebook, Google or Amazon have substantially raised the overall time to market and speed of product launches (Bharadwaj et al. 2013 ). With continuous improvements in hardware, software and connectivity, these companies set the pace for a tightly timed series of product launches. Thus, firms in the hybrid world (digital and physical) are being put under enormous pressure to also accelerate their product introductions. In a digitally transformed market, the control of speed of product development and launches is increasingly transferred to an ‘ecosystem of innovation’ in the sense of a network of actors with complementary products and services (Bharadwaj et al. 2013 ).

4.2.2 Technology capability and integration

The technological capability and power of digital transformation applications, such as for example the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cloud computing, and mobile technologies, is in terms of computing power, data storage and information distribution in many cases significantly higher than in previous technology-driven transformations. Earlier business transformations were mostly concerned about introducing internal management information systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM). These transformations were usually limited to improvements to business processes within firm boundaries (see Ash and Burn 2003 ; Kauffman and Walden 2001 in: Li et al. 2017 ). But today, cross-boundary digital technologies such as IoT devices (Ng and Wakenshaw 2017 ), 3D printing (Rayna and Striukova 2016 ), and big data analytics (Dremel et al. 2017 ), drive transformations that go far beyond internal process optimizations as they potentially induce drastic changes to business models (Rayna and Striukova 2016 ), organizational strategy (Bharadwaj et al. 2013 ), corporate culture (El Sawy et al. 2016 ; Dremel et al. 2017 ; Sia et al. 2016 ), and entire industry structures (Kohli and Johnson 2011 ).

Further, the review confirms that the role and significance of data itself is changing profoundly and that personal data has become one of the most powerful assets in the digital era (Ng and Wakenshaw 2017 ). In fact, we believe the impact of the massive increase in quantity and quality of data generated every day (Bharadwaj et al. 2013 ) and the game changing power of big data analytics (Günther et al. 2017 ) are yet to be fully experienced and understood by society, economy and academics.

With regards to the process of dematerialization of tangible products and objects (e.g. CDs, books, machinery etc.), triggered by the transformative capabilities of digital technologies, the most notable insight is that intriguingly, in many cases the digital substitutes, for example e-books, offer superior performance and higher customer benefits than their physical counterparts (Loebbecke and Picot 2015 ). This, for example, is in contrast to the assumptions provided by Christensen ( 1997 ) more than 20 years ago, arguing that new disruptive technologies usually provide different values from mainstream technologies and are often initially inferior to mainstream technologies, therefore only serving niche markets in the beginning.

Finally, regarding technology integration, the current state of research emphasizes the importance of flexible IT (Cha et al. 2015 ), new enterprise platforms (El Sawy et al. 2016 ), and a strong and scalable operational backbone (Sebastian et al. 2017 ) as part of an agile digital infrastructure. The old paradigms of technology integration are not effective any more. However, in a second step we need to reach a more comprehensive understanding of ‘how’ and ‘where’ the integration of technology and transformation activities should be embedded within the organizational architectures of incumbent firms.

4.2.3 Consumer and other stakeholder interface

With regards to the customer interface, which is currently receiving the highest levels of attention by scholars, we conclude that there is some solid research particularly on changes in consumer behavior (Berman 2012 ; El Sawy et al. 2016 ; Ives et al. 2016 ; Lanzolla and Anderson 2008 ), consumer preferences (Vey et al. 2017 ) and consumer knowledge (Berman 2012 ; Granados and Gupta 2013 ). Firstly, our review confirms that in the new digital marketplace, consumers behave differently than before, and traditional marketing techniques may not apply anymore. Today there are myriad choices to easily gather information about products and services far before the actual purchase. For instance, customer buying decisions are increasingly influenced by online customer-to-customer interaction via platforms and social media, where users share products feedbacks, upload home video clips, or publish blog entries (Berman 2012 ). In this sense, digital technologies are also transforming firms’ customer-side operations (Setia et al. 2013 ) and customer engagement strategies (Sebastian et al. 2017 ). For example, reaching out to customers in a digital environment requires digital omnichannel marketing, including e.g. social media, mobile apps, and augmented reality (El Sawy et al. 2016 ). Secondly, we may note that digital technologies increasingly reduce the information asymmetries between sellers and buyers (Granados and Gupta 2013 ). In this sense, information ubiquity (Vey et al. 2017 ) and instant access to data via mobile technologies (Berman 2012 ) profoundly change the long-established seller–customer relationship. And thirdly, the current literature raises awareness for the emergence of multi-sided business models. While in the ‘old’ world, intermediaries were matching sellers and buyers, in the digital market place, intermediation increasingly takes place through the establishment of multi-sided digital platforms and networks (Bharadwaj et al. 2013 ; Evens 2010 ; Pagani 2013 ).

4.2.4 Distributed value creation and value capture

The review of the literature reveals that the value chain has become far more distributed in times of digital transformation—particularly value creation and value capture. Two major changes can be observed here: (1) digital technologies offer opportunities to customers to co-create products with the manufacturer, e.g. via digital platforms (El Sawy et al. 2016 ; Ng and Wakenshaw 2017 ), and (2) on an inter-firm level value is increasingly co-created and captured in a series of partnerships in a value network (Evens 2010 ). As Bharadwaj et al. ( 2013 ) argue, network effects are the key differentiator and driver of value creation and capture in a digital world. The focus of value creation is therefore shifting from value chain to value networks. For this purpose, companies like Google are experimenting with multi-sided business models. In such a multilayered business model, a company gives away certain products or services in one layer to capture value at a different layer (Bharadwaj et al. 2013 ). Google is giving away its Android operating system for free and captures value via the ability to control advertising on every phone that uses Android.

In more general terms, we may conclude that control of value in the digital world is less and less determined by R&D capabilities, competitors, or industry boundaries. Instead the buyer, not the seller, determines the dimensions of value that matter (Keen and Williams 2013 ). Therefore, businesses need to engage with their customers at every point in the process of value creation (Berman 2012 ). Also, the strong impact of digital technologies on incumbent’s value chains imply some degree of deviation from the classical and often analog core business. For example, new product-related competencies, platform capabilities or value architectures will be required. And, incumbents must prepare for new forms of monetization in the digitized marketplace.

4.2.5 Market environment and rules of competition

This is a rather broad and diverse categorization in our review, as it comprises technology-driven changes in the market environment. After consumer-centric aspects this research stream received the most attention by scholars in the review (on the technology-centric side). In sum, the current state of literature recognizes three major developments. First, digital transformation redefines, blurs and even dissolves existing industry boundaries which may lead to cross-industry competition (Sia et al. 2016 ; Weill and Woerner 2015 ). Dominant industry logics (Sabatier et al. 2012 ) apparently do not work anymore in times of digital transformation. The ‘new kid on the block can come out of the blue’ (Vey et al. 2017 , p. 23) and even individuals can become competitors as 3D Printing is expected to lead to a sharp increase in competition from SMEs and individual entrepreneurs (Rayna and Striukova 2016 ). And with the emergence of multi-sided business models also incumbents are starting to disrupt new markets (Weill and Woerner 2015 ). For instance, Google is disrupting the mobility sector with its self-driving car subsidiary Waymo, while Amazon has introduced AmazonFresh as a grocery delivery service which is seen as a potentially tough competitor to supermarkets. Second, with the emergence of digital platforms, networks, and ecosystems the market infrastructure becomes increasingly interconnected (Grover and Kohli 2013 ; Majchrzak et al. 2016 ; Markus and Loebbecke 2013 ). In a broader sense, we see a shift from controlling or participating in a linear value chain to operating in an ecosystem or network (Weill and Woerner 2015 ). As different types of innovation networks with different cognitive and social translations regarding knowledge emerge, novel properties of digital infrastructure in support of each network are required. Digital technologies therefore increase innovation network knowledge heterogeneity (Lyytinen et al. 2016 ). Third, the free flow of digital goods precipitates an erosion of property rights and higher risks of imitation (Loebbecke and Picot 2015 ).

4.3 Micro-level findings: the actor-centric side of the equation

In the following, we present and discuss the most important findings of the second order themes within the actor-centric dimension. In Fig.  3 we provide a thematic map for this dimension and in Table  2 a brief summary including illustrative quotes.

Thematic map for actor-driven themes in digital transformation literature

4.3.1 Transformative leadership

Understanding the impact of digital transformation on leadership and management behavior is a very active and prioritized research focus. In total, 23 papers in our review explore this aspect. First and foremost, research calls for a shift in the traditional view of IT strategy as being subordinate to business strategy (El Sawy et al. 2016 ). In the course of the past two decades information technologies have surpassed their subordinate role as administrative ‘back office’ assets and evolved into an essential element of corporate strategy building. Thus, incumbents should align IT and business strategies on equal terms and fuse them into ‘digital business strategy’ (Bharadwaj et al. 2013 ).

Also, emphasis is placed on the changing nature of leadership itself, caused by digital transformation. Such changes may include rapid optimization of top management decision-making processes enabled by instant access to information and expansive data sets (Mazzei and Noble 2017 ), new communication principles (Bennis 2013 ; Granados and Gupta 2013 ), or changes in leadership education (Sia et al. 2016 ). Further, there is consensus that senior management requires a new digital mindset in order to captain their company’s digital transformation journey. Therefore, incumbents should also rethink their leadership education practices. In the past, leadership programs have been primarily about leadership and communication skills. But in times of digital transformation, executives must become ‘tech visionaries’ and develop their transformative powers. For example, Sia et al. ( 2016 ) have conducted a case study on an Asian bank that uses hackathons to educate their senior managers. Media transparency and exposure are further key challenges of digitization where top managers may require some additional education. Given the ubiquity of information and the speed of online data dissemination (via mobile phones, viral effects of social media etc.), leaders today are significantly more exposed publicly than their analog predecessors. Therefore, according to Bennis ( 2013 ) leadership in the digital era needs to be learned through embracing transparency and adaptive capacity (specifically resilience as the ability to rebound from problems and crisis).

Finally, the vast extent and complexity of digital transformation leads to the emergence of an additional position at the top management level—the Chief Digital Officer (Dremel et al. 2017 ; Tumbas et al. 2017 ). Given the immense challenges of digital transformation and the claim for a new mindset and different skills, CEOs or even CIOs are conceivably not the best match (Singh and Hess 2017 ). Particularly not if they are expected to drive digital transformation in addition to their original tasks.

4.3.2 Managerial and organizational capabilities

Our analysis suggests that in order to effectively drive digital transformation additional and refined capabilities are required—both managerial and organizational (Li et al. 2017 )—in comparison to the analogue world.

At the managerial level, for one thing, a much faster strategy and implementation cycle is needed to cope with the pace of digital transformation (Daniel and Wilson 2003 ). The turbulent and ever-changing digital environment is forcing managers to make decisions and implement strategies significantly faster than they had been previously required to. In order to study managerial capabilities in the context of digital transformation, some studies have adopted the theory of dynamic capabilities (Daniel and Wilson 2003 ; Li et al. 2017 ; Yeow et al. 2018 ) as introduced by Teece et al. ( 1997 ), Teece ( 2007 , 2014 ). In particular, results indicate that dynamic capabilities may support the refinement of digital strategy and are therefore not separate from alignment, but on the contrary have the potential to enact and guide the process of aligning.

At the organizational level, one of the most intriguing challenges for incumbents will be to manage the ambidexterity of capabilities in terms of analog and digital capabilities. Firms need to incorporate ‘old’ and ‘new’ capabilities into their organizational structure in a complementary and not impeding way. In addition, capabilities in two further areas are of particular importance to many firms. First, capabilities to implement and operate in networks (Bharadwaj et al. 2013 ), platforms (Li et al. 2017 ; Sebastian et al. 2017 ), and ecosystems (El Sawy et al. 2016 ; Weill and Woerner 2015 ). Depending on contextual factors like for example their industry or business model, companies must learn to take advantage of network effects in terms of complementary capabilities while also learn how to become more of an ecosystem rather than continue managing value chains. Second, in the digital era it is essential to develop sensing capabilities, such as entrepreneurial alertness and environmental scanning (Kohli and Melville 2019 ), in order to identify new ideas and critically evaluate, design, modify and eventually deliver new business models (Berman 2012 ; Daniel and Wilson 2003 ).

4.3.3 Company culture

Digital transformation is not exclusively a technology-driven challenge but requires deep cultural change. Everyone within the organization must be prepared with an adaptive skill set and digital know-how. Two major insights can be identified within the existing literature. First, digital transformation demands a data-sharing and data-driven corporate culture (Dremel et al. 2017 ). Data as such must be recognized much more as a valuable resource and an enabler to become a digital enterprise. This will require higher operational transparency in daily-business and work-routines and a data-sharing mindset among employees. In this sense, incumbents need to develop their informatic culture to an informational culture (Llopis et al. 2004 ). In comparison to an informatic culture, an informational culture values IT as a core element of strategic and tactical decisions and clearly understands the financial and transformative potential of digital technologies. Second, digital transformation may trigger cultural conflict between younger and comparably inexperienced digital employees and older but more experienced pre-digitization employees (Kohli and Johnson 2011 ). Management is well advised to prevent that two different cultures arise within the same organization—a group of employees who understand digital technologies and those who have a long-standing track record in the traditional business but are technologically lagging behind. Facilitating a learning friendly culture (Kohli and Melville 2019 ) and publicly affirming support and trust by the executive level may effectively mitigate such a potential cultural divide.

4.3.4 Work environment

Our review reveals that digital transformation is changing the daily work environment in incumbent firms in terms of work structures (Hansen and Sia 2015 ; Loebbecke and Picot 2015 ), job roles, and workplace requirements (White 2012 ). For example, digital interconnectivity enables the emergence of flexible and networked cross-location teams across the entire geographical company map. In this context, traditional hierarchical work structures dissolve and new opportunities emerge beyond company boundaries, such as the integration of external freelancers (Loebbecke and Picot 2015 ). Also, the implementation of a digital workplace becomes inevitable. Particularly for ‘born digital’ younger employees a digitally well-equipped workplace may represent a major criterion for their choice of employer (El Sawy et al. 2016 ). According to White ( 2012 ), a digital workplace must be adaptive, compliant, imaginative, predictive, and location-independent.

However, the most notable insight in this perspective is that—in addition to a potential cultural divide—digitization may effectively lead to a growing skills gap between pre-digitization workers and recently hired digitally savvy employees (Kohli and Johnson 2011 ). In fact, while digital technologies significantly help to optimize and accelerate many work processes and thereby increase productivity, incumbents must be aware that many employees might not keep pace with this digital high-speed train and feel left behind. It is unclear how such a tradeoff is considered and how firms could handle related conflicts.

5 Avoiding an ivory tower: drawing on existing knowledge from adjacent research fields

We assume that pre-existing knowledge on corporate transformation processes in general is partly already available and may provide implications for digital transformation. Therefore, at this point in our review, we aim to stimulate a theoretical discussion by identifying potential white spots abstracted from adjacent research fields. For this purpose, we additionally reviewed 28 studies from the literature on technological disruption (to gain technology-centric input) and 32 papers from corporate entrepreneurship (to expand the actor-centric view). By this, we supplement the pre-dominantly IS-based digital transformation literature with a broader management perspective. First, by reviewing the literature on disruptive innovations we hope to derive implications regarding technology adoption and integration. Burdened with the legacy of old technology, bureaucratic structures and core rigidities (Leonard-Barton 1992 ), incumbents may face major challenges in this respect during their digital transformation journey. Second, we expect corporate entrepreneurship to add a more holistic perspective on firm-internal aspects during the process of transformation, such as management contribution or the impact of knowledge and learning.

We rigorously conducted the same review and analysis process as for our digital transformation sample. A database and concept matrix (Webster and Watson 2002 ) for the sample on technological disruption and corporate entrepreneurship are provided in Tables  6 and 7 of “ Appendix ”. The data structures, which summarize the second order themes for both the actor-centric and technology-centric dimension of these additional research fields are illustrated in Figs.  5 and 6 of “ Appendix ”. Within the main body of this article, we only draw attention toward three key implications (Fig.  4 ). In the following, we provide a brief synthesis of these implications and their grounding in the respective literature. In a second step, we transfer and apply these implications to the context of digital transformation and integrate them into an agenda for future research opportunities.

Expanding the digital transformation high-level thematic map with insights from technological disruption and corporate entrepreneurship

5.1 Insights from technological disruption

Existing knowledge from the adoption of disruptive technologies suggests that in order to successfully integrate, commercialize or develop disruptive technologies incumbents need to create organizations that are independent from but interconnected in one way or another with the mainstream business (Bower and Christensen 1995 ). The reasons for this are manifold. For example, managers are encouraged to protect disruptive technologies from the processes and incentives that are targeted to serve established customers. Rather, disruptive innovations should be placed in separate new organizations that work with future customers for this technology (Bower and Christensen 1995 ; Gans 2016 ). Further, separation potentially helps to unravel the discord between viewing disruptive innovations as a threat or an opportunity. Exempted from obligations to a parent company, separate ventures are more likely to perceive a novel technology as an opportunity (Gilbert and Bower 2002 ). And lastly, a freestanding business also enables local adaptation and increased sensitivity to changes in the environment (Hill and Rothaermel 2003 ).

5.2 Insights from corporate entrepreneurship

Our review of the corporate entrepreneurship literature identifies two major implications that have not been (adequately) considered in digital transformation research yet.

First, the literature indicates that middle management plays a crucial role in redefining a firm’s strategic context and by this driving organizational transformation. A middle management perspective has thus far been completely neglected in digital transformation research. We see this as a major gap, since the middle layers of management are ‘where the action is’ (Floyd and Wooldridge 1999 , p. 124). Top management should control the level and the rate of change and ensure that entrepreneurial activities correspond to their strategic vision (Burgelman 1983 ), but middle managers at the implementation level are the driving force and key determinant behind organizational transformation. However, on the downside, middle managers may also represent a major barrier to organizational change (Thornberry 2001 ). Typically, managers have the task to minimize risks, make sure everything is compliant to the rules and perform their functional roles. Thus, middle managers usually have the most to lose from radical changes and are therefore often the least likely to be entrepreneurial or to support transformations (Thornberry 2001 ). In order to solve middle and operational manager’s risk-awareness and unleash their entrepreneurial spirit, research suggests encouraging autonomous behavior (Shimizu 2012 ). In sum, reviewing the literature on corporate entrepreneurship raises our awareness for the impact of hierarchy and management levels on organizational transformation (Hornsby et al. 2009 ).

Second, a closer cooperation and regular exchange between incumbents and start-ups in order to accelerate entrepreneurial transformation is proposed (Engel 2011 ; Kohler 2016 ). Incumbents should recognize start-up companies as a source of external innovation and develop suitable models for collaboration (e.g. corporate accelerators). In particular, incumbents are advised to implement three common best practices from successful start-ups in order to facilitate transformation: (1) working in small omni-functional teams, (2) goal-driven rapid development instead of bureaucratic processes, and (3) field-level exploration of market potential instead of complex and tedious quantitative models (Engel 2011 ). In addition, corporate entrepreneurship underlines the importance of organizational learning as a vehicle to drive and shape cultural transformation (Dess et al. 2003 ; Floyd and Wooldridge 1999 ; Zahra 2015 ). We come to understand that learning, and in fact also knowledge management, are intimately tied to the concept of organizational transformation. A culture of learning and knowledge drives experimentation, encourages the development of an adaptive skill set, reshapes competitive positioning, and opens the minds of employees to new realities (Zahra et al. 1999 ).

6 Opportunities for future research

Based on the cross-disciplinary perspectives from reviewing the literature on digital transformation, technological disruption and corporate entrepreneurship, we propose opportunities for future research on digital transformation. Using our thematic map as a lens to view future research opportunities, we focus on the two dimensions of technology and actor. For the technology-centric dimension we expand on the structural and operational integration of digital technologies and organizational transformation initiatives as well as gaining a deeper understanding of the pace of technological transformation. For the actor-centric dimension we address three topics: we start at the leadership level by emphasizing the relevance of middle management in digital transformation, after that we refer to the potential skills gap and threat of an employee divide in incumbent organizations induced by digital technologies, and finally we move beyond organizational boundaries to turn toward the potential benefits and drawbacks of cooperating with start-ups and pure digital companies to boost transformation. For each area, we propose a set of research questions. Altogether, the agenda is organized around five guiding topics (Table  3 ).

6.1 Integration of digital transformation within organizational structures and activities in incumbent firms

Our review of the literature on digital transformation reveals a knowledge gap regarding this topic. However, we do gain some interesting cross-disciplinary insights from technological disruption at this point. In fact, as already discussed, studies on technological disruption indicate that in order to successfully integrate, commercialize or develop disruptive technologies incumbents need to create organizations that are completely independent from but interconnected in one way or another with the mainstream business (Bower and Christensen 1995 ; Gans 2016 ; Gilbert and Bower 2002 ; Hill and Rothaermel 2003 ).

Thus, the question arises as to how incumbents should incorporate their digital transformation activities. Several options and interesting questions arise in this matter that future research may investigate on:

Which forms of organizational architecture are most suitable for digital transformation? Seamless integration of digital technologies requires building an agile and scalable digital infrastructure that enables continuous scalability of new initiatives (Sia et al. 2016 ). For example, Resca et al. ( 2013 ) suggest a platform-based organization. In addition, digital transformation demands a new kind of enterprise platform integration (El Sawy et al. 2016 ). Given the high intensity of interactive digital connectivity between the outside and inside of a company, traditional enterprise platforms (like ERP) and the ‘old’ supply chain management integration paradigm are in many cases not the most suitable solution anymore. Therefore, flexible IT is a key transformation resource in the digital world (Cha et al. 2015 ). Pursuing an open innovation approach might be another alternative for incumbents.

When and why is it an advantage/disadvantage to start digital transformation in a new organization which is completely independent from traditional business, as suggested by technological disruption research? Under what circumstances and why do spill - over - effects to the parent organization happen/not happen? ? For example, Ravensburger AG , a German toy and jigsaw puzzle company, founded Ravensburger Digital GmbH as a subsidiary in 2009. The purpose of the subsidiary was to become the firm’s digital competence center. In 2017, the digital subsidiary was reincorporated in the parent organization as a digital unit with the goal to apply their digital knowledge to transform the traditional business segments. We call for more qualitative case study research devoted to this question to develop our understanding in this topic.

How, when, and why do incumbents benefit from adopting a ‘let a hundred flowers bloom’ philosophy versus taking a ‘launch, learn, pivot’ approach? In the first scenario, a company would start its digital initiatives across all divisions simultaneously and locally to encourage broad experimentation. Such an approach was adopted by AmerisourceBergen Corp. , an American drug wholesale company. The company is convinced that digital transformation is a matter of culture that needs to be established across the entire organization. For this purpose, it implemented agile project teams throughout the entire enterprise, of which each focused on different aspects. On the downside, companies following such a broad approach may risk losing focus and at some point, the various initiatives may start competing against each other. Hence, we believe it is crucial to have a big picture in mind and accordingly allocate resources and attention very thoughtfully. Alternatively, incumbents may start with a pilot transformation project in a smaller market or subsidiary. Arguably, a major advantage is the opportunity to assure that customers are happy with the transformation results and everything is working out well before starting the large roll out in other markets. And it provides incumbents time to fine-tune their initiatives. For example, American medical company Alcon premiered their initial transformation efforts in Brazil before ramping up their rollout in 27 further countries.

6.2 Pace of digital transformation

The rapid pace of technological change is perhaps the most defining characteristic of digital transformation in distinction to previous IT-enabled transformations. Yet, as this topic is only addressed by four papers in our sample it is still to be studied in more depth. For example, there is consensus among the studies that the pace of change has accelerated significantly, however the parameters that define the pace of change remain yet to be defined. Further, we are informed that some industries like the newspaper business have been digitally transformed within a very short period of time (Karimi and Walter 2015 ), while other branches are still under transformation or are yet to be converted. We posit two exemplary research questions regarding the pace of digital transformation:

What are the parameters that define the pace of change? Our review reveals that the speed of product launches (Bharadwaj et al. 2013 ) and the time it takes to turn an idea into a business (Vey et al. 2017 ) are two potential indicators, but we certainly need to obtain a more comprehensive conceptualization at this point.

Why do industries adopt to digital transformation at a different speed? For example, consider front-runner industries like the media or publishing versus late-comers such as oil and gas. In this specific case, the easiness to dematerialize and digitize the product portfolio is certainly a main reason. However, other industries are less obvious, and we would like to invite future research to investigate upon these conditions. What are the parameters that define whether an industry is more or less transformative?

6.3 The role of middle management in digital transformation

We have learned from our review of the corporate entrepreneurship literature that middle managers are the locus of organizational transformation in incumbent firms (Floyd and Wooldridge 1999 ; Hornsby et al. 2002 , 2009 ; Shimizu 2012 ). While top management controls the level and rate of change, middle managers are in charge of execution (Burgelman 1983 ). Hence, one may conclude that middle managers are the kingpin of digital transformation. Yet, there is not a single paper in our sample that covers a middle management perspective in digital transformation. We believe that this subject has been highly neglected in research to this point and deserves far more attention in future. Several topics are particularly interesting:

How and why is digital transformation affecting the role, tasks and identity of middle managers? How and why do middle managers react to these changes? Based on our review, we expect a deep change in the nature of middle management’s role and influence in a ‘digitally transformed’ company ranging from administration to leadership aspects. Middle managers require a new attitude as they move from directing and controlling stable processes and people at the middle of hierarchy to managing resources and connecting people in the middle of networks. In addition, middle managers in the digital era must step up to their role of supporting, enabling, and coaching people to use the available digital tools. They are expected to facilitate the organization.

What kind of new responsibilities and functions in middle management hierarchy are required to accelerate digital transformation? The odds are that change fatigue might grow on employees and digital transformation may start faltering. For this purpose, horizontal functions such as business-process management layers or central administration platforms may be implemented (McKinsey & Company 2017 ). They could be shared across multiple initiatives within the organization and help to accelerate transformation.

Which mindset and digital literacy do middle managers need to be the driving force behind digital transformation? How, when, and why are middle managers motivated/not motivated to drive transformation? Research on corporate entrepreneurship emphasizes that middle managers are often the least likely to support change as they are inherently risk-averse, hardly entrepreneurial and very attached to their functional routines (Thornberry 2001 ). In addition, middle managers may easily get stressed about their ‘sandwich’ position in-between senior management and the operational level. So how can we expect middle managers to be the speedboat of digital transformation? Also, incumbents need to carefully evaluate the existing digital skills and literacy of their middle managers. How comfortable do they feel with digital tools, social media, the cloud and similar trends? They may not fulfill their coaching and leadership role if they heavily struggle with technology in the first place.

How and why is digital transformation affecting the interface of the top management team (TMT) and middle managers? The relationship between the TMT and middle managers is a very special and important relationship which significantly affects both strategy formulation and the quality of implementation. Middle managers are the organizational ‘linking pins’ between top and operational level and thus heavily rely on a good exchange with their superiors. To what extent and in which ways does digital transformation affect this special leader–follower relationship? How are digital technologies changing the speed and quality of information exchange? What is the impact on the inter-personal level?

What is the impact of digital transformation on the overall importance of the middle management layer? Since the 1950s, research indicates the decline of middle managers in terms of both numbers and influence (Dopson and Stewart 1993 ; Leavitt and Whisler 1958 ; Pinsonneault and Kraemer 1997 ). The shift in emphasis from planning and controlling to speed and flexibility is severely affecting the assumedly ‘slow’ middle. Are middle managers afraid that digital technologies will replace most of their traditional tasks and functions, e.g. communicating and monitoring strategy? Will digitalization naturally empower lower level operational managers at the bottom and consequently eliminate the middle layer?

6.4 A growing skills gap and threat of an employee divide

Given the complexity and explosive pace of digital technologies, there is a threat of a growing skills gap between pre-digitization workers and recently hired digitally savvy employees (Kohli and Johnsons 2011 ). A couple of topics are particularly interesting for future research:

How, when and why are incumbents able/unable to mitigate a growing skills gap and employee divide in the face of digital transformation? Given the increased complexity of digital technologies, traditional IT trainings may not be effective anymore. In a similar vein, how could different levels of knowledge and experience residing within different employees be integrated in the context of digital transformation? Future research might examine the mechanisms required for facilitating or hindering such an integration.

How and when are incumbents able/unable to incorporate ‘old’ and ‘new’ capabilities within their organization? On the one hand firms need to develop new capabilities to continuously transform their business, while on the other hand they must leverage their existing knowledge and skills in order to maintain their existing operations. Thus, for the time of transformation incumbents need to develop multiple, often inconsistent competencies simultaneously. In this context, how do firms ensure not to lose focus while mastering the challenge of ambidexterity in times of digital transformation?

Who in the company is managing the development and transformation of skills (e.g. HR, senior leadership, IT division, functional teams, employees etc .), and how and why does that impact outcomes of digital transformation ? This question is not addressed by current research at all. However, according to a survey (Capgemini Consulting 2013) this lack of alignment with digital strategy is rather worrisome. Responsibilities for skills transformation and development in times of digitization need to be clearly defined and allocated. Empirical academic research in this direction might be helpful to understand the status-quo in incumbent firms regarding this issue.

6.5 Cooperation with startups and pure tech companies to accelerate digital transformation

Corporate entrepreneurship proposes a closer cooperation and regular exchange between incumbents and start-ups in order to accelerate entrepreneurial transformation (Engel 2011 ; Kohler 2016 ). In fact, start-ups are often perceived as the forerunners of digital transformation. They are praised for faster innovation capabilities, higher levels of agility, a culture of risk-taking, and supremely digitized processes and workflows. In contrast, incumbents have more experience, access to capital, established brand trust and a huge customer base. Hence, a cooperation between start-ups and incumbents may be beneficial for both parties. In addition, non-tech incumbents may also consider cooperating with pure digital players which are beyond their start-up phase but are important knowledge carriers in digital matters. Two topics are particularly interesting:

Assuming that successful start - ups have a good digital culture — what are the constituent pillars of such a digital culture? And how could incumbents incorporate these “best practices” and “lessons learned”?

What are the benefits of employee exchange programs with technology companies or start - ups to scale - up digital skills? For example, in early 2008 consumer goods giant Procter and Gamble and Google have been swapping two dozen employees in an effort to foster creativity, exchange thoughts on online advertisement and strengthen their mutual relationship. This program worked very well for both sides.

7 Limitations and conclusion

Our review is not without limitations. First, the specific objectives and nature of our filtering process applied during the review naturally come with a certain selection bias. For example, data collection, analysis and interpretation remain influenced by the subjective assessments of the researchers. Also, despite being the common rule within systematic literature reviews, searching exclusively in peer-reviewed academic journals might have omitted some relevant research contained in books or dissertations. However, by means of a rigorous and transparent search process, an as complete as possible review sample was collected and analyzed subsequently. Second, using a high-level thematic map for such a complex multi-dimensional phenomenon like digital transformation highlights particular connections while it potentially fails to capture others. Specifically, critics may point to the lack of analytical depth within each second order theme. However, we believe that within the limited scope of a review our broad thematic description nevertheless adds value to the advancement of this field and should rather be seen as a holistic starting point for future research to dive deeper into the characteristics of sub-themes of digital transformation. Finally, we are aware that our focus on the organizational level of digital transformation within the private sector does not fully capture the implications of digital transformation for our society, as it also occurs at various other levels, such as the individual level or public sector. As such, future researchers may apply alternative approaches to review and synthesize the existing literature on digital transformation. For example, in contrast to our inductive method to code and analyze our sample, it may also be interesting to apply a more deductive and pre-structured method, in particular when focusing on a deeper understanding of the sub-themes emerging from our analysis. Accordingly, future research could benefit from adopting a phenomenon-based research strategy as proposed by von Krogh et al. ( 2012 ).

Concluding, our paper contributes to the extant discussion by consolidating, mapping and analyze the existing research on digital transformation, sharing important macro- and microlevel observations in the literature and proposing corresponding future research directions. Emerging from our review of 58 studies, we develop a thematic map which identifies technology and actor as the two aggregate dimensions of digital transformation and that elaborates on the predominant contextual concepts (second order themes) within these dimensions. From a macrolevel perspective, we observe that the status-quo of digital transformation literature is rather diverse, in a sense that papers discuss topics across various clusters and concepts. Further, we find some degree of diversity in the theoretical foundations drawn upon as well as confirm that the existing literature in general is scarce regarding quantitative empirical evidence. Another important contribution of our paper is bringing different lenses together by integrating knowledge from related disciplinary areas outside IS management, such as technological disruption and corporate entrepreneurship. With our review, we hope to provide a comprehensive and solid foundation for the on-going discussions on digital transformation and to stimulate future research on this exciting topic.

The development of clear and precise aims and objectives; pre-planned methods; a comprehensive search of all potentially relevant articles; the use of explicit, reproducible criteria in the selection of articles; an appraisal of the quality of the research and the strength of the findings; a synthesis of individual studies using an explicit analytic framework; and a balanced, impartial and comprehensible presentation of the results.

The search included Academy of Management Journal , Administrative Science Quarterly , Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , Journal of Management Studies , Strategic Management Journal .

The search included European Journal of Information Systems , Information Systems Journal , Information Systems Research , Journal of the Association for Information Systems , Journal of Information Technology , Journal of Management Information Systems , Journal of Strategic Information Systems , MIS Quarterly , MISQ Executive .

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Data structure for the technology-centric dimension of technological disruption

Data structure for the technology-centric dimension of corporate entrepreneurship

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Nadkarni, S., Prügl, R. Digital transformation: a review, synthesis and opportunities for future research. Manag Rev Q 71 , 233–341 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-020-00185-7

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100+ Top Technology Research Topics for Students

When pursuing their studies, learners are required to write papers and essays on technology research topics. This is a major academic task that influences the final grade that learners graduate with. But, the grades that students score are largely dependent on the technology topics that they opt to write about. Technology is generally a broad study field. As such, choosing research topics on technology is not always easy. If struggling to choose a good technology research topic for your academic paper or essay, here are some of the best ideas to consider.

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This category also includes some of the most controversial technology topics. Nevertheless, each topic should be researched extensively before writing a paper or an essay.

Interesting Information Technology Topics

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• How useful is unlimited data storage?
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This category has amazing topics on technology and science. Select an idea that you find interesting to research and write a paper or essay about.

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If you’re pursuing a program on computer technologies, you will find educational technology topics in this category very interesting. Here are some of the best topics for technology and computers to consider.

• How can you describe the Machine Learning future?
• Discuss computer science that will be the most important in the future
• Discuss how big data and bioinformatics change biology
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• How moving everything to the cloud affects human life?
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These are great technology essay topics to consider if pursuing a computer technology program in college or university. They can also be great technology debate topics. Nevertheless, extensive research is required when writing about any of these technology essay topics.

Controversial Topics in Technology for Research Papers and Essays

Are you looking for interesting technology topics that your audience will love to read about? If yes, consider one of these technology controversy topics to research and write about.

• Do law enforcement cameras invade privacy?
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• How does the use of IT by construction companies lead to under-spending and recession?
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If looking for hot topics in technology, consider some of the ideas in this category. Nevertheless, you can also find technology persuasive speech topics here. That’s because this category has some of the most debatable topics. If you still don’t find a great idea from this list, consider technology security topics or contact our thesis writers . Remember that extensive research is required to write a great paper or essay regardless of the topic that you opt to write about.

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237 Top Technology Research Topics for Academic Papers

College and university students have many technology research topics to pick from when writing academic papers. That’s because technology evolves as the world changes. While some technological changes benefit humans and the environment, some have negative impacts.

For this reason, learners across levels have many topics to research and write about during their academic careers. What’s more, educators assign learners research projects with varying instructions. For instance, a professor can ask learners to write about their preferred technology topics. In that case, learners have the freedom to select their project topics.

Nevertheless, learners should select technology related topics that affect humans and the environment the most. They should also pick issues they find interesting to enjoy the research and writing process. What’s more, educators award learners top grades for selecting interesting topics whose research introduces relevant information into the sector. Here are some of the best titles to consider for research papers in science and technology.

Top Technology Research Paper Topics

This list comprises topic ideas that incorporate different technical aspects and their effects on human life.

• How computers will advance in the next decade
• What are the long-term impacts of living in a world of technological advancement?
• How technology affects child growth in the current world
• Describe the essential technological advancement today and its promises
• Explain how social media can create or solve problems in the world
• Do the internet and mobile phones make the world smaller or bigger?
• How technology is changing how people use devices with frustrating problems and glitches
• Is genetically engineering children morally wrong?
• Is there parallelism to social interactions with humans and machines?
• Can humans use technology in new ways to impact the world positively?
• How digital learning is changing the education system and schools
• Should the government censor the internet?
• Should current and potential employees give their employers access to their social media accounts?
• Should work from home become a norm, considering the current status of information technologies and internet availability?
• How will technology affect travel in the future?
• The future of auto-driving vehicles- Their pros and cons
• Should parents disclose genetic information to their children?
• Should employers and healthcare companies have access to genetic testing information?
• Using sequence human genes to predict possible future health risks- What are the limitations and benefits of this testing?
• Can genetically modified organisms solve the current hunger issues?
• Genetically modified and organic food- Which is the best option?
• Differentiating human brains and computers
• Accessing technological advances- Why this should be everyone’s right
• Should the world use under-the-skin identity chips?
• How is technology likely to advance in the next two decades?
• To what extent can new technological developments damage the world?
• How digital tools can instigate productivity
• Investigating the emerging opportunities in robotics
• The latest developments in software engineering and programming languages
• How information technology has impacted natural language processing
• Evaluating biotechnology and molecular information systems roles
• How machine learning exposes learners to recent life opportunities
• How human-computer interactions affect innovations
• Managing data during the era of 5G technology
• Emerging study fields in computer data science
• Analyzing how computing contributes to the development
• The evolution of computer graphics, animation, and game science
• Limitations of computer architecture studies in colleges
• Synthetic and computational biology development in research
• How artificial intelligence affects tedious and complex tasks

Learners can pick and develop these research topics about technology through a careful study and analysis of relevant information.

Topics about Technology and Health

Health should be humans’ top priority. If interested in health technology topics, here are brilliant ideas to consider for your research paper.

• CDC Milestone Tracker and its application in medical fields
• How humans can make the organ donation process faster and more convenient
• How technology can help in determining whether a person is dead
• Human limbs regeneration- Will it be possible in this lifetime?
• Using technology to rehabilitate individuals with lost limbs
• Is using animal tissues in humans ethical?
• Is embryonic stem cell necessary with the current technological innovations?
• Does the National Institute of Health need more funding grants for practical research projects?
• What is morbid obesity’s treatment?
• Should the government factor medical costs into the rehabilitation and research budget during wars?
• How technology has led to the surging diabetes cases
• Using embelin to prevent cancer
• How pesticides can help with cancer diagnoses
• Biotechnology and high-throughput screening
• Eliminating heat-resistant organisms using ultraviolet
• Effects of food processing technologies on bacteria in Aspalathus Linearis
• Biotechnology in farming and self-sufficient protein supply
• Evapotranspiration versus evaporation
• A southern blot and DNA cloning
• Personalized drugs and pharmacogenetics
• Pharmacogenetics in cancer medicines
• Can humans control their genetics?
• Understanding genetic engineering and gene therapy
• How beneficial is genetic engineering?
• Opportunities and dangers of genetic engineering
• Using nanotechnology to treat HIV
• Biotechnology and allergenic potential
• Biotechnology and whole-genome sequencing
• An overview of heavy metal tolerance and genes
• Food-borne illnesses and food biotechnology

Any student that finds technology and health interesting can pick a topic in this category. However, select a technology topic in this list if ready to invest time and effort in research and writing.

Hot Topics in Technology

Perhaps, you want a topic about technology for research paper that the audience will find irresistible to read from the beginning to the end. In that case, consider these ideas.

• An overview of software security types
• How to improve technological innovations patent rights
• How to eliminate stalking
• Distinguishing human perception from virtual reality
• How computer science interventions are changing the world
• Evaluating high-dimensional data modeling effectiveness
• What are the limitations of the computer science field?
• Effects of ethical hacking
• Are universities and colleges producing skilled computer scientists?
• Why are specialized banking systems critical?
• The best security measure- Fingerprint or a serial code?
• Programming languages development
• Computational thinking impact on science
• ID chips in human brains- An upcoming reality or fiction?
• Is computer game addiction a severe problem?
• What are the potential advancements of artificial intelligence?
• AI in health and medicine- Is its implementation a good idea?
• The Safety of medical applications
• Is digital voting risky?
• Can artificial intelligence obtain self-awareness?
• How safe are self-driving vehicles?
• How modern technologies and the internet ease outsourcing
• Is cryptocurrency a critical financial systems change or a buzz?
• Healthcare and cloud technologies for data management
• Discuss the latest technological advancements in cybersecurity
• Social media and privacy rights
• Can gene editing prevent or solve hunger and health problems?
• The popularity of streaming services
• How VPN services keep their users anonymous
• Will technology make traveling better?
• Incorporating information technologies in policy management
• Using IT to improve service delivery
• How IT makes advertising more authentic and appealing to consumers
• Next Generation Innovation in education systems
• WIFi connectivities in the developed countries
• How advanced information technologies help with the preservation of classified documents
• How climate and weather affect internet connectivity and strength
• The essence of adopting E-Waste management systems
• Can humans develop functional intelligent vehicle transport systems?
• Why do developing countries have fewer IT universities and colleges?

Learners should pick these research topics on technology and develop them with extensive research to write winning papers.

Interesting Technology Topics

Maybe you want to write a research paper about a topic that will instantly capture your reader’s attention. If so, consider any of these exciting research paper topics on technology.

• Latest trends in content marketing and information technology
• Human resource and information management systems
• Analyzing object tracking with radial function systems
• The development of Bluetooth phone technology
• Ethical challenges and new media technologies
• Online enterprise planning- Is it effective?
• Computer development over the last two decades
• How social media enhances communication strategies
• Has new media rendered newspapers obsolete?
• Analyzing modern communication structures
• Using social media to create ads with ease
• How social media affects personal contact

This list has some of the best topics for research projects in the technology field. Nevertheless, take your time to research your idea to develop a winning essay.

Interesting Information Technology Topics

Do you want to write a research paper about an IT topic? If yes, this category has a sample title you’ll find interesting to explore.

• How effective is unlimited data storage?
• Does the human brain and computers have a blurred line between them?
• Ethical objection for DNA information storage
• Is entertainment technology good or bad?
• How Google affects young people’s attention lifespan
• How digital reading differs from print reading
• Are traditional research skills necessary in the current world?
• Should schools and parents encourage or discourage media use among children?
• Should the government regulate sites like Wikipedia because their information may not be credible?
• How books and blogs compare
• Does Google provide the best information by preferring its brand?
• How using the internet affects the human brain
• Are people losing the intelligence they develop via conventional reading and research in the current digital age?
• How important is teaching learners to use social media, iPads, and Smart Boards?
• Should teaching incorporate the latest technologies?
• How Google search has changed humans
• Using technology to gauge intelligence
• How online format encourages skimming instead of information digestion
• How technology affects how people read
• Is using the internet to find information terrible or good?

All these are exciting research proposal topics in information technology. If the educator approves your proposal to work on any of these topics, take your time to research it extensively to develop a brilliant paper.

Computer Science and Technology Topics

Computer science is a field with many research topics relating to technology. Here are exciting ideas to explore in this field.

• Are humans yet to invent more computer languages?
• How will humans react if computers start doing most of the things they do?
• How robots are changing the healthcare sector
• How to improve the internet
• What will happen to the internet next?
• How good or bad is virtual reality?
• How virtual reality will change the education sector
• Describe virtualization in computers and technology
• Explain how virtualization is changing entertainment
• Describe the industries that machine learning will affect the most
• Explain the importance of machine learning
• Describe machine learning
• Device protection when open-source is becoming popular in computer science
• Can robots become more intelligent and like humans after reinforcing learning?
• Effects of moving things to the cloud
• Hardware and software borderline in the field of computer learning
• What is machine learning’s future?
• How big data and bioinformatics will change biology
• Which is the essential computer science for the future?

Select a topic in this category if you love researching and writing about computer science as a field in technology.

Controversial Topics in Technology

Humans are developing something new almost every day. However, some technological developments are controversial due to their potential impact on human life and the world. Here are some of the controversial technology topics to consider for research papers and essays.

• How the revolution in communication technology affects people
• Can virtual reality replace actual reality?
• How cloud technologies have changed data storage
• How smartphones usage has reduced live communications
• How modern technologies will change teaching
• Analyzing construction recession and low spending by construction companies on IT
• Technologies that humans use to explore other planets
• How dangerous are cell phones?
• How media technology affects child development
• 3D printing technology application in complex building forms’ production
• How technology improves lesson planning
• How technology influences the educational system
• Green technologies application in engineering, construction, and architecture
• Intelligent technologies and materials in road building
• The technological age turns humans into zombies
• Analyzing the drawbacks and advantages of unmanned aerial vehicles’ usage on construction sites
• How media technologies affect teenagers’ physical development
• Should humans use technology to colonize other planets?
• Should developed countries care about technology accessibility worldwide?
• Does technology create more problems while solving others?
• Does technology oppose nature?
• How is technology changing people?
• Does technology make people dumber or more intelligent?
• Does technology make people dependent on it or lazier?
• Technology impact on human practice
• Is engineering a child genetically morally wrong?
• Describe the long-term effects of a technological world
• How are humans changing the world using technology?
• How are new technologies affecting the world negatively?
• How is technology likely to change humans in the next twenty years?
• How digital learning is changing education and schools
• Drone warfare- Is it a possibility?
• Are digital tools making humans less or more productive?
• Using technology to develop alternative energy forms
• Does the government invade privacy by using law enforcement cameras?
• Can humans use technology to improve their interactions with animals?

Select and write about a topic in this category if you love working on controversial ideas. Nevertheless, most issues require research to develop persuasive papers.

Technology Persuasive Speech Topics

Perhaps, you want to research and write a speech on a persuasive topic. In that case, consider these ideas.

• Communication masts locations should be away from people’s houses
• Programming courses should be mandatory in colleges
• Social networks should verify user’s identity
• Every social network should implement two-step verification
• Kids should not use social media
• Internet pop-up ads and spams are the same
• Smartphone addiction- Is it a disease?
• Self-driving cars are not suitable for humans on busy roads
• E-books should replace conventional books
• Kids should not play violent computer games
• Internet gambling requires strong regulations
• Humans should avoid overreliance on smartphones and computers
• Desktop computers are no longer fashionable
• Computer games are making kids stupid
• Governments should censor the internet
• Workers should use digital tools more often to boost workplace productivity
• The world needs more technological advancements
• Why governments should promote digital learning
• Technology research deserves more government funding
• Hybrid cars save energy
• Car manufacturers should consider the environment when designing vehicles
• All children should learn to use smartphones and computers
• Search engines are killing human brain libraries
• Humans should use drones for non-military and military purposes
• Smart notebooks are replacing papers

This category has trending topics in technology that you can explore in your project. Nevertheless, most of them are argumentative technology topics that require some convincing. That means you need time and skills to research and develop your topic.

Educational Technology Topics

Perhaps, you’re interested in a topic that touches on education and technology. In that case, consider these ideas for your research project.

• Incorporating computational thinking in education
• How technology is changing the classroom practice
• How technology changes learning outcomes
• Is there evidence to prove that educational technology adds value for money?
• What enabling factors support or inhibit educational technology integration?
• How educational technology programs can facilitate learning change
• Using mobile phones for teacher development videos and classroom audio
• How tablets and eReaders can support literacy in early developmental stages
• Do programs that use technology have better educational outcomes?
• Can change theory explain how technology will improve educational outcomes?
• What technologies can be more cost-effective in the educational sector?
• How appropriate is the current technology for technical training?
• Describe effective informal and formal technologies for providing peer support among teachers
• Technologies for engaging the school management, headteachers, and the entire school community
• Does educational program evaluation exceed technology access and output?

Whether you’re looking for educational or medical laboratory technology research topics, you have many ideas to consider. Each title in this list can serve as an example to inspire you to develop a unique topic for your paper.

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120 Technology Research Paper Topics

How to choose a topic for a technology research paper:, information technology research paper topics:.

• Artificial intelligence in cybersecurity
• The impact of blockchain technology on supply chain management
• Ethical considerations in the use of big data analytics
• The role of cloud computing in enhancing business productivity
• Internet of Things (IoT) and its implications for smart cities
• Cybersecurity challenges in the era of remote work
• The potential of virtual reality in healthcare applications
• The impact of social media on consumer behavior and marketing strategies
• Data privacy and protection in the age of digital surveillance
• The role of machine learning algorithms in predicting and preventing cyber attacks
• The use of biometric authentication systems for enhanced security
• The future of quantum computing and its potential applications
• The ethical implications of facial recognition technology
• The role of artificial intelligence in personalized medicine
• The impact of 5G technology on the Internet of Things

Technology Management Research Paper Topics:

• The impact of artificial intelligence on technology management
• Strategies for effective technology adoption and implementation in organizations
• The role of technology in enhancing supply chain management
• Exploring the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in businesses
• The influence of big data analytics on technology management decision-making
• The role of technology in improving project management practices
• Investigating the relationship between technology management and innovation
• The impact of cybersecurity on technology management in organizations
• Exploring the role of technology in enhancing customer relationship management
• The challenges and benefits of cloud computing in technology management
• The role of technology in improving knowledge management practices
• Investigating the impact of technology on organizational change management
• The role of technology in improving sustainability and environmental management
• Exploring the challenges and opportunities of mobile technology in management
• The influence of technology on talent management and human resources practices

Medical Technology Research Paper Topics:

• The impact of artificial intelligence in medical diagnostics
• The role of wearable devices in monitoring and managing chronic diseases
• Advancements in robotic surgery and its implications for patient outcomes
• The use of virtual reality in pain management and rehabilitation
• The potential of nanotechnology in targeted drug delivery systems
• The development of 3D printing in personalized medicine
• The ethical considerations of genetic engineering in medical technology
• The application of telemedicine in rural and underserved areas
• The role of big data analytics in improving healthcare delivery
• The use of blockchain technology in securing medical records and data
• The impact of mobile health applications on patient engagement and self-care
• The potential of gene editing technologies in treating genetic disorders
• The development of smart implants for real-time monitoring and treatment
• The use of bioinformatics in personalized medicine and precision healthcare
• The challenges and opportunities of implementing electronic health records (EHR) systems

Innovating Technology Research Paper Topics:

• The impact of artificial intelligence on job automation
• Blockchain technology and its potential applications in supply chain management
• The role of virtual reality in enhancing medical training and patient care
• The future of renewable energy: exploring advancements in solar panel technology
• The potential of 3D printing in revolutionizing manufacturing processes
• The ethical implications of gene editing technology in human embryos
• The use of drones in disaster management and emergency response
• Exploring the potential of quantum computing in solving complex problems
• The impact of Internet of Things (IoT) on smart cities and urban planning
• Augmented reality in education: enhancing learning experiences through interactive technology
• The development of self-driving cars and their potential impact on transportation systems
• The role of big data analytics in improving healthcare outcomes and patient care
• The future of cybersecurity: addressing emerging threats in a hyper-connected world
• Exploring the potential of nanotechnology in medicine and drug delivery systems
• The use of biometric technology in enhancing security and privacy measures

Computer Technology Research Paper Topics:

• Artificial intelligence and its impact on society
• Cybersecurity measures and challenges in the digital age
• Big data analytics and its role in decision-making processes
• Internet of Things (IoT) and its impact on everyday life
• Virtual reality and its applications in various industries
• The role of blockchain technology in securing digital transactions
• Cloud computing and its benefits for businesses and individuals
• Ethical considerations in the development and use of autonomous systems
• The impact of social media on personal privacy and data security
• Augmented reality and its potential in enhancing user experiences
• The challenges and opportunities of 5G technology implementation
• The impact of automation on the job market and workforce dynamics
• The future of wearable technology and its implications for healthcare and fitness

Technology Development Research Paper Topics:

• The role of blockchain technology in enhancing cybersecurity
• The future of virtual reality in education and training
• The potential of 5G technology in revolutionizing communication networks
• The ethical implications of gene editing technology
• The use of drones in disaster management and relief operations
• The development of renewable energy technologies for sustainable power generation
• The application of nanotechnology in medicine for targeted drug delivery
• The role of big data analytics in improving business decision-making processes
• The challenges and opportunities of implementing Internet of Things (IoT) in smart cities
• The development of autonomous vehicles and their impact on transportation systems
• The potential of quantum computing in solving complex computational problems
• The use of biometric technology for enhancing security and privacy
• The impact of social media on mental health and well-being
• The development of wearable technology for healthcare monitoring and management

Technology and Business Research Paper Topics:

• The impact of artificial intelligence on business operations
• The role of blockchain technology in supply chain management
• Cybersecurity challenges and solutions for small businesses
• The adoption of cloud computing in the healthcare industry
• The influence of social media on consumer behavior and marketing strategies
• The use of big data analytics for business decision-making
• The future of e-commerce: Trends and innovations
• The role of virtual reality in enhancing customer experiences
• The ethical implications of data privacy in the digital age
• The integration of Internet of Things (IoT) in smart cities
• The potential of 5G technology for transforming industries
• The impact of automation and robotics on job displacement and workforce dynamics
• The role of technology in sustainable business practices
• The challenges and opportunities of implementing digital transformation strategies
• The role of technology in enhancing supply chain resilience and agility

Data Technology Research Paper Topics:

• The impact of big data analytics on business decision-making
• Ethical considerations in data mining and data privacy
• Machine learning algorithms for anomaly detection in cybersecurity
• The role of data visualization in improving data-driven decision-making
• The application of artificial intelligence in healthcare data analysis
• Predictive modeling for customer churn in the telecommunications industry
• The use of blockchain technology for secure and transparent data sharing
• Data-driven approaches for personalized marketing and customer segmentation
• The challenges and opportunities of data integration in a multi-cloud environment
• The role of data analytics in optimizing supply chain management
• Exploring the potential of data-driven approaches in urban planning and smart cities
• Data-driven approaches for fraud detection and prevention in financial institutions
• The impact of data analytics on improving educational outcomes
• The role of data technology in enhancing cybersecurity measures
• The ethical implications of using data technology in criminal justice systems

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Education Technology: An Evidence-Based Review

In recent years, there has been widespread excitement around the potential for technology to transform learning. As investments in education technology continue to grow, students, parents, and teachers face a seemingly endless array of education technologies from which to choose—from digital personalized learning platforms to educational games to online courses. Amidst the excitement, it is important to step back and understand how technology can help—or in some cases hinder—how students learn. This review paper synthesizes and discusses experimental evidence on the effectiveness of technology-based approaches in education and outlines areas for future inquiry. In particular, we examine RCTs across the following categories of education technology: (1) access to technology, (2) computer-assisted learning, (3) technology-enabled behavioral interventions in education, and (4) online learning. While this review focuses on literature from developed countries, it also draws upon extensive research from developing countries. We hope this literature review will advance the knowledge base of how technology can be used to support education, outline key areas for new experimental research, and help drive improvements to the policies, programs, and structures that contribute to successful teaching and learning.

We are extremely grateful to Caitlin Anzelone, Rekha Balu, Peter Bergman, Brad Bernatek, Ben Castleman, Luke Crowley, Angela Duckworth, Jonathan Guryan, Alex Haslam, Andrew Ho, Ben Jones, Matthew Kraft, Kory Kroft, David Laibson, Susanna Loeb, Andrew Magliozzi, Ignacio Martinez, Susan Mayer, Steve Mintz, Piotr Mitros, Lindsay Page, Amanda Pallais, John Pane, Justin Reich, Jonah Rockoff, Sylvi Rzepka, Kirby Smith, and Oscar Sweeten-Lopez for providing helpful and detailed comments as we put together this review. We also thank Rachel Glennerster for detailed support throughout the project, Jessica Mardo and Sophie Shank for edits, and to the Spencer Foundation for financial support. Any errors or omissions are our own. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

MARC RIS BibTeΧ

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450+ Technology Research Topics & Ideas for Your Paper

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Technology is like a massive puzzle where each piece connects to form the big picture of our modern lives. Be it a classroom, office, or a hospital, technology has drastically changed the way we communicate and do business. But to truly understand its role, we need to explore different technology research topics.

And that's where this blog will be handy! Powered by solid experience, our professional term paper writers gathered multiple technology research paper topics in literally any direction. Whether you're a student looking for an intriguing subject for your project or just a tech enthusiast trying to broaden your understanding, we've got your back. Dive into this collection of tech topics and see how technological progress is shaping our world.

What Are Technology Topics?

Technology is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. It's the smartphone in your hand, the electric car on your street, and the spacecraft exploring Mars. It might also be the code that protects your online privacy and the microscope that uncovers mysteries of the human cell.

Technology permeates our lives, revolutionizing the way we communicate, learn, work, and play. But, beyond the gadgets and gizmos, there's a world of diverse technology research topics, ideas, concepts, and challenges.

Technology topics zoom in on these ideas, peeling back the layers of the tech universe. As a researcher, you might study how AI is changing healthcare, explore the ethical implications of robotics, or investigate the latest innovations in renewable energy. Your project should probe into the 'how,' the 'why,' and the 'what next' of the technology that is reshaping our world. So, whether you're dissecting the impact of EdTech on traditional learning or predicting the future of space exploration, research topics in technology are limitless.

Branches of Technology Research Paper Topics

Undoubtedly, the reach of technology is extensive. It's woven its way into almost every corner of our lives. Before we move to technological research topics, let’s first see just where technology has left its mark. So, here are some areas where technology is really shaking things up:

• Government services: E-governance, digital IDs, and digital voting are just a few examples of technology's application in government services.
• Finance: Fintech innovations include cryptocurrencies, mobile banking, robo-advising, and contactless payments.
• Education: Technology is used in a wide variety of educational contexts, from e-learning platforms and digital textbooks to educational games and virtual classrooms.
• Communication: Social media, video conferencing, instant messaging, and email are all examples of tech's role in communication.
• Healthcare: From electronic medical records and telemedicine to advanced imaging technology and robotic surgery, technology is surely transforming healthcare.
• Agriculture: Technological advancements are revolutionizing agriculture through precision farming, automated machinery, drones, and genetic engineering.
• Retail: It also influences retail through e-commerce, mobile payments, virtual fitting rooms, and personalized shopping experiences.
• Environment: Tech is used in climate modeling, conservation efforts, renewable energy, and pollution control.

These are far from all sectors where technology can be applied. But this list shows how diverse topics in technology can be.

How to Choose a Technology Research Topic?

Before you select any idea, it’s important to understand what a good technology research topic is. In a nutshell, a decent topic should be interesting, relevant, and feasible to research within your available resources and time. Make sure it’s specific enough, but not to narrow so you can find enough credible resources. 

Your technology topic sets the course of your research. It influences the type and amount of information you'll search for, the methods you'll use to find it, and the way you'll interpret it. Ultimately, the right topic can make your research process not only more manageable but also more meaningful. But how to get started, you may ask. Don’t worry! Below we are going to share valuable tips from our thesis writers on how to choose a worthy topic about technology.

• Make research Study the latest trends and explore relevant technology news. Your task is to come up with something unique that’s not been done before. Try to look for inspiration in existing literature, scientific articles, or in past projects.
• Recognize your interests Start with what you are genuinely curious about in the field of technology. Passion can be a great motivator during the research process.
• Consider the scope You want a topic that is neither too broad nor too narrow. It should provide enough material to explore without being overwhelming.
• Check availability of resources Ensure there are sufficient trustworthy resources available for your chosen topic.
• Evaluate the relevance Your technology research idea should be pertinent to your field of study and resonate with current trends. This can make your research more valuable and engaging for your audience.

Top List of Technology Research Topics

Are you looking for the best research topics about technology? Stop by! Here, we’ve carefully collected the topic ideas to ignite your curiosity and support your research. Each topic offers various data sources, allowing you to construct well-supported arguments. So, let's discover these fascinating subjects together!

• AI's influence on healthcare.
• Challenges of cybersecurity in a connected world.
• Role of drones in modern agriculture.
• Could renewable energy replace fossil fuels?
• Impact of virtual reality on education.
• Blockchain's potential beyond cryptocurrencies.
• Ethical considerations in biotechnology.
• Can smart cities enhance quality of life?
• Autonomous vehicles – opportunities and threats.
• Robotics in manufacturing.
• Is big data changing decision-making processes?
• E-waste : Challenges and solutions.
• Role of IoT in smart homes.
• Implications of 5G technology.
• EdTech: A revolution in learning?

Good Technology Research Topics

Ready for another batch of inspiration? Get ready to discover great technology topics for a research paper across various disciplines. These ideas are designed to stimulate your creativity and provide substantial information for your research. So, let's explore these exciting themes together!

• Impact of nanotechnology on medicine.
• Harnessing quantum computing potential.
• Augmented reality in tourism.
• Can bioinformatics revolutionize disease prediction?
• Sustainability in tech product design.
• Darknet : A hidden side of the internet.
• How does technology influence human behavior?
• Assistive technology in special education.
• Are smart textiles transforming the fashion industry?
• Role of GIS in urban planning.
• Space tourism: A reality or fantasy?
• Potential of digital twins in engineering.
• How is telemedicine shaping healthcare delivery?
• Green IT : Addressing environmental issues.
• Impact of machine learning on finance.

Interesting Technology Research Paper Topics

For those craving intriguing angles and fresh ideas, we present these interesting topics in technology. This collection is filled with thought-provoking subjects that cover the lesser-known areas of technology. Each topic is concise, clear, and ready to spark a fascinating research journey!

• Cyber-physical systems in industry 4.0.
• Social implications of deepfake technology.
• Can gamification enhance learning outcomes?
• Neuromorphic computing: Emulating the human brain.
• Li-Fi : Light-based communication technology.
• Health risks of prolonged screen time.
• Quantum cryptography and secure communication.
• Role of technology in sustainable agriculture.
• Can we predict earthquakes with AI?
• Virtual influencers: A new trend in marketing.
• Tech solutions for wildlife conservation.
• Role of 3D printing in organ transplantation.
• Impact of automation on the job market.
• Cloud gaming: A new era in the gaming industry.
• Genomic editing: Possibilities and ethical concerns.

New Technology Research Topics

Understanding the fast-paced world of technology requires us to keep up with the latest developments. Hence, we bring you burning  technology research paper topics. These ideas reflect the most recent trends and advances in technology, offering fresh perspectives for your research. Let's take a look at these compelling subjects!

• Potential of hyper automation in business processes.
• How is AI changing digital marketing?
• Brain-computer interfaces: The future of communication?
• Quantum supremacy : Fact or fiction?
• 5D data storage: Revolutionizing data preservation.
• Rise of voice technology in consumer applications.
• Using AI for mental health treatment.
• Implications of edge computing for IoT devices.
• Personalized learning with AI in education.
• Role of technology in reducing food waste.
• Digital twin technology in urban development.
• Impact of AI on patent law.
• Cybersecurity in the era of quantum computing.
• Role of VR in disaster management training.
• AI in talent recruitment: Pros and cons.

Unique Technology Research Topics

For those wanting to stand out with truly original research, we offer 100% authentic topics about technology. We understand that professors highly value unique perspectives. Below we've meticulously selected these technology paper topics to offer you something different. These are not your everyday technology subjects but rather unexpected gems ready to be explored.

• Digital ethics in AI application.
• Role of technology in countering climate change.
• Is there a digital divide in developing countries?
• Role of drones in disaster management.
• Quantum internet: Possibilities and challenges.
• Digital forensic techniques in cybersecurity.
• Impact of technology on traditional art forms.
• Biohacking: Can we really upgrade ourselves?
• Technology and privacy: An inevitable trade-off?
• Developing empathy through virtual reality.
• AI and creativity: Can machines be artists?
• Technology's impact on urban gardening.
• Role of technology in accessible tourism.
• Quantum biology: A frontier of science.
• Unmanned underwater vehicles: Opportunities and threats.

Informative Research Topics in Technology

If you are seeking comprehensive information on technologies, this selection will definitely provide you with insights. As you may know, every study should be backed up by credible sources. Technology topics for research papers below are very easy to investigate, so you will surely find a bunch of academic resources.

• Exploring  adaptive learning systems in online education.
• Role of technology in modern archaeology.
• Impact of immersive technology on journalism.
• The rise of telehealth services.
• Green data centers: A sustainable solution?
• Cybersecurity in mobile banking.
• 3D bioprinting : A revolution in healthcare?
• How technology affects sleep quality.
• AI in music production: A new era?
• Technology's role in preserving endangered languages.
• Smart grids for sustainable energy use.
• The future of privacy in a digital world.
• Can technology enhance sports performance?
• Role of AR in interior design.
• How technology is transforming public libraries.

Controversial Research Topics on Technology

Technological field touches upon areas where technology, ethics, and society intersect and often disagree. This has sparked debates and, sometimes, conspiracy theories, primarily because of the profound implications technologies have for our future. Take a look at these ideas, if you are up to a more controversial research topic about technology:

• Facial recognition technology: Invasion of privacy?
• Tech addiction: Myth or reality?
• The ethics of AI in warfare.
• Should social media platforms censor content?
• Are cryptocurrencies a boon or a bane?
• Is technology causing more harm than good to our health?
• The bias in machine learning algorithms.
• Genetic engineering: Playing God or advancing science?
• Will AI replace human jobs?
• Net neutrality: Freedom of internet or control?
• The risk of AI superintelligence.
• Tech companies' monopoly: Beneficial or detrimental?
• Are we heading towards a surveillance society?
• AI in law enforcement: Safeguard or threat?
• Do we rely too much on technology?

Easy Technology Research Paper Topics

Who ever thought the tech field was only for the tech-savvy? Well, it's time to dispel that myth. Here in our collection of simple technology research topics, we've curated subjects that break down complex tech concepts into manageable chunks. We believe that every student should get a chance to run a tech related project without any hurdles.

• Impact of social media on interpersonal communication.
• Smartphones: A boon or a bane?
• How technology improves accessibility for people with disabilities.
• E-learning versus traditional learning.
• Impact of technology on travel and tourism.
• Pros and cons of online shopping.
• How has technology changed entertainment?
• Technology's role in boosting productivity at work.
• Online safety: How to protect ourselves?
• Importance of digital literacy in today's world.
• How has technology influenced the music industry?
• E-books vs printed books: A tech revolution?
• Does technology promote loneliness?
• Role of technology in shaping modern communication.
• The impact of gaming on cognitive abilities.

Technology Research Topics Ideas for Students

As an experienced paper writing service online that helps students all the time, we understand that every learner has unique academic needs. With this in mind, the next section of our blog is designed to cater specifically to different academic levels. Whether you're a high school student just starting to explore technology or a doctoral candidate delving deep into a specialized topic, we've got different technology topics arranged by complexity.

Technology Research Topics for High School Students

High school students are expected to navigate complex topics, fostering critical thinking and promoting in-depth exploration. The proposed research paper topics on technology will help students understand how tech advancements shape various sectors of society and influence human life.

• How have smartphones changed our communication?
• Does virtual reality in museums enhance visitor experience?
• Understanding privacy issues in social media.
• How has technology changed the way we listen to music?
• Role of technology in promoting fitness and healthy lifestyle.
• Advantages and disadvantages of online learning.
• Does excessive screen time affect sleep quality?
• Do video games affect academic performance?
• How do GPS systems work?
• How has technology improved animation in films?
• Pros and cons of using smart home devices.
• Are self-driving cars safe?
• Technology's role in modernizing local libraries.
• Can technology help us lead more sustainable lifestyles?
• Can technology help improve road safety for teenagers?

Technology Research Topics for College Students

Think technology research topics for college are all about rocket science? Think again! Our compilation of college-level tech research topics brings you a bunch of intriguing, conversation-stirring, and head-scratching questions. They're designed to let you sink into the world of technology while also pushing your academic boundaries. Time to dive in, explore, question, and take your own unique stance on hot-button issues.

• Biometrics in identity verification: A privacy risk?
• Impact of 5G on mobile gaming.
• Are wearable fitness devices a true reflection of health?
• Can machine learning help predict climate change effects?
• Are digital currencies disrupting traditional finance?
• Use of drones in search and rescue operations.
• Impact of e-learning on academic performance.
• Does artificial intelligence have a place in home security?
• What are the ethical issues surrounding robotic surgery?
• Are e-wallets a safer option for online transactions?
• How has technology transformed news dissemination?
• AI in language translation: How accurate can it be?
• Personalized advertising: Boon or bane for online users?
• Are smart classes making learning more interactive?
• Influence of technology on homemade crafts and DIY culture.

Technology Research Topics for University Students

Are you browsing for university technology research ideas? We've got you covered. Whether you're about to dig deep into high-tech debates, or just taking your first steps, our list of technology research questions is your treasure chest.

• Blockchain applications in ensuring academic integrity.
• Impact of quantum computing on data security.
• Are brain-computer interfaces a future communication tool?
• Does digital currency pose a threat to the global economy?
• Use of AI in predicting and managing natural disasters.
• Can biometrics replace traditional identification systems?
• Role of nanotechnology in waste management.
• Machine learning's influence on climate change modeling.
• Edge computing: Revolutionizing data processing?
• Is virtual reality in psychological therapy a viable option?
• Potential of synthetic biology in medical research.
• Quantum cryptography: An uncrackable code?
• Is space tourism achievable with current technology?
• Ethical implications of gene editing technologies.
• Artificial intelligence in governance.

Technology Research Paper Topics in Different Areas

In the next section, we've arranged a collection of technology research questions related to different areas like computer science, biotechnology, and medicine. Find an area you are interested in and look through subject-focused ideas and topics for a research paper on technology.

Technology Research Topics on Computer Science

Computer science is a field that has rapidly developed over the past decades. It deals with questions of technology's influence on society, as well as applications of cutting-edge technologies in various industries and sectors. Here are some computer science research topics on technology to get started:

• Prospects of machine learning in malware detection.
• Influence of cloud computing on business operations.
• Quantum computing: potential impacts on cryptography.
• Role of big data in personalized marketing.
• Can AI models effectively simulate human decision-making?
• Future of mobile applications: Towards augmented reality?
• Pros and cons of open source software development.
• Role of computer science in advancing virtual reality.
• Natural language processing: Transforming human-computer interaction?
• Developing secure e-commerce platforms: Challenges and solutions.
• Green computing : solutions for reducing energy consumption.
• Data mining in healthcare: An untapped opportunity?
• Understanding cyber threats in the internet of things.
• Algorithmic bias: Implications for automated decision-making.
• Role of neural networks in image recognition.

Information Technology Research Topics

Information technology is a dynamic field that involves the use of computers and software to manage and process information. It's crucial in today's digital era, influencing a range of industries from healthcare to entertainment. Here are some captivating information technology related topics:

• Impact of cloud technology on data management.
• Role of information technology in disaster management.
• Can artificial intelligence help improve data accuracy?
• Cybersecurity measures for protecting personal information.
• Evolving role of IT in healthcare administration.
• Adaptive learning systems: A revolution in education?
• E-governance : Impact on public administration.
• Role of IT in modern supply chain management.
• Bioinformatics and its role in personalized medicine.
• Is data mining an invasion of privacy?
• Can virtual reality enhance training and development programs?
• Role of IT in facilitating remote work.
• Smart devices and data security: A potential risk?
• Harnessing IT for sustainable business practices.
• How can big data support decision-making processes?

Technology Research Topics on Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, or AI as we fondly call it, is all about creating machines that mimic human intelligence. It's shaping everything from how we drive our cars to how we manage our calendars. Want to understand the mind of a machine? Choose a topic about technology for a research paper from the list below:

• AI's role in detecting fake news.
• Chatbots in customer service: Are humans still needed?
• Algorithmic trading: AI's impact on financial markets.
• AI in agriculture: a step towards sustainable farming?
• Facial recognition systems: an AI revolution or privacy threat?
• Can AI outperform humans in creative tasks?
• Sentiment analysis in social media: how effective is AI?
• Siri, Alexa, and the future of AI.
• AI in autonomous vehicles: safety concern or necessity?
• How AI algorithms are transforming video games.
• AI's potential in predicting and mitigating natural disasters.
• Role of AI in combating cyber threats.
• Influence of AI on job recruitment and HR processes.
• Can AI help in advancing climate change research?
• Can machines make accurate diagnoses?

Technology Research Topics in Cybersecurity Command

Cybersecurity Command focuses on strengthening digital protection. Its goal is to identify vulnerabilities, and outsmart cyber threats. Ready to crack the code of the cybersecurity command? Check out these technology topics for research designed to take you through the tunnels of cyberspace:

• Cybersecurity strategies for a post-quantum world.
• Role of AI in identifying cyber threats.
• Is cybersecurity command in healthcare a matter of life and death?
• Is there any connection between cryptocurrency and cybercrime?
• Cyber warfare : The invisible battleground.
• Mitigating insider threats in cybersecurity command.
• Future of biometric authentication in cybersecurity.
• IoT security: command challenges and solutions.
• Cybersecurity and cloud technology: A secure match?
• Influence of blockchain on cybersecurity command.
• Machine learning's role in malware detection.
• Cybersecurity protocols for mobile devices.
• Ethics in cybersecurity: Hacking back and other dilemmas.
• What are some steps to recovery after a breach?
• Social engineering: Human factor in cybersecurity.

Technology Research Topics on Biotechnology

Biotechnology is an interdisciplinary field that has been gaining a lot of traction in the past few decades. It involves the application of biological principles to understand and solve various problems. The following research topic ideas for technology explore biotechnology's impact on medicine, environment, agriculture, and other sectors:

• Can GMOs solve global hunger issues?
• Understanding biotech's role in developing personalized medicine.
• Using biotech to fight antibiotic resistance.
• Pros and cons of genetically modified animals.
• Biofuels – are they really a sustainable energy solution?
• Ethical challenges in gene editing.
• Role of biotech in combating climate change.
• Can biotechnology help conserve biodiversity?
• Biotech in beauty: Revolutionizing cosmetics.
• Bioluminescence – a natural wonder or a biotech tool?
• Applications of microbial biotechnology in waste management.
• Human organ farming: Possibility or pipe dream?
• Biotech and its role in sustainable agriculture.
• Biotech advancements in creating allergy-free foods.
• Exploring the future of biotech in disease detection.

>> Read more: Biology Topics to Research

Technology Research Paper Topics on Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering is an area of science that involves the manipulation of genes to change or enhance biological characteristics. This field has raised tremendous ethical debates while offering promising solutions in medicine and agriculture. Here are some captivating topics for a technology research paper on genetic engineering:

• Future of gene editing: Breakthrough or ethical dilemma?
• Role of CRISPR technology in combating genetic diseases.
• Pros and cons of genetically modified crops.
• Impact of genetic engineering on biodiversity.
• Can gene therapy provide a cure for cancer?
• Genetic engineering and the quest for designer babies.
• Legal aspects of genetic engineering.
• Use of genetic engineering in organ transplantation.
• Genetic modifications: Impact on human lifespan.
• Genetically engineered pets: A step too far?
• The role of genetic engineering in biofuels production.
• Ethics of genetic data privacy.
• Genetic engineering and its impact on world hunger.
• Genetically modified insects: Solution for disease control?
• Genetic engineering: A tool for biological warfare?

Reproduction Technology Research Paper Topics

Reproduction technology is all about the science that aids human procreation. It's a field teeming with innovation, from IVF advancements to genetic screening. Yet, it also stirs up ethical debates and thought-provoking technology topics to write about:

• Advances in in Vitro Fertilization (IVF) technology .
• The rise of surrogacy: Technological advancements and implications.
• Ethical considerations in sperm and egg donation.
• Genetic screening of embryos: A step forward or an ethical minefield?
• Role of technology in understanding and improving fertility.
• Artificial Wombs: Progress and prospects.
• Ethical and legal aspects of posthumous reproduction.
• Impact of reproductive technology on the LGBTQ+ community.
• The promise and challenge of stem cells in reproduction.
• Technology's role in preventing genetic diseases in unborn babies.
• Social implications of childbearing technology.
• The concept of 'designer babies': Ethical issues and future possibilities.
• Reproductive cloning: Prospects and controversies.
• Technology and the future of contraception.
• Role of AI in predicting successful IVF treatment.

Medical Technology Topics for a Research Paper

The healthcare field is undergoing massive transformations thanks to cutting-edge medical technology. From revolutionary diagnostic tools to life-saving treatments, technology is reshaping medicine as we know it. To aid your exploration of this dynamic field, we've compiled medical technology research paper topics:

• Role of AI in early disease detection.
• Impact of telemedicine on rural healthcare.
• Nanotechnology in cancer treatment: Prospects and challenges.
• Can wearable technology improve patient outcomes?
• Ethical considerations in genome sequencing.
• Augmented reality in surgical procedures.
• The rise of personalized medicine: Role of technology.
• Mental health apps: Revolution or hype?
• Technology and the future of prosthetics.
• Role of Big Data in healthcare decision making.
• Virtual reality as a tool for pain management.
• Impact of machine learning on drug discovery.
• The promise of medical drones for emergency response.
• Technology's role in combating antimicrobial resistance.
• Electronic Health Records (EHRs): Blessing or curse?

>> More ideas: Med Research Topics

Health Technology Research Topics

Health technology is driving modern healthcare to new heights. From apps that monitor vital stats to robots assisting in surgeries, technology's touch is truly transformative. Take a look at these topics related to technology applied in healthcare:

• Role of mobile apps in managing diabetes.
• Impact of health technology on patient privacy.
• Wearable tech: Fad or future of personal health monitoring?
• How can AI help in battling mental health issues?
• Role of digital tools in promoting preventive healthcare.
• Smart homes for the elderly: Boon or bane?
• Technology and its impact on health insurance.
• The effectiveness of virtual therapy sessions.
• Can health chatbots replace human doctors?
• Technology's role in fighting the obesity epidemic.
• The use of blockchain in health data management.
• Impact of technology on sleep health.
• Social media and its effect on mental health.
• Prospects of 3D printing in creating medical equipment.
• Tele-rehabilitation: An effective solution for physical therapy?

>> View more: Public Health Topics to Research

Communication Technology Research Topics

With technology at the helm, our ways of communicating are changing at an unprecedented pace. From simple text messages to immersive virtual conferences, technology has rewritten the rules of engagement. So, without further ado, let's explore these communication research ideas for technology that capture the essence of this revolution.

• AI chatbots: Re-defining customer service.
• The impact of 5G on global communication.
• Augmented Reality: The future of digital marketing?
• Is 'digital divide' hindering global communication?
• Social media's role in shaping public opinion.
• Can holographic communication become a reality?
• Influence of emojis in digital communication.
• The cybersecurity challenges in modern communication.
• Future of journalism in the digital age.
• How technology is reshaping political communication.
• The influence of streaming platforms on viewing habits.
• Privacy concerns in the age of instant messaging.
• Can technology solve the issue of language barriers?
• The rise of podcasting: A digital renaissance.
• Role of virtual reality in remote communication.

Research Topics on Technology in Transportation

Technology is the driving force behind the dramatic changes in transportation, making journeys safer, more efficient, and eco-friendly. Whether it's autonomous vehicles or the concept of Hyperloop, there are many transportation technology topics for a research paper to choose from:

• Electric vehicles: A step towards sustainable travel.
• The role of AI in traffic management.
• Pros and cons of autonomous vehicles.
• Hyperloop: An ambitious vision of the future?
• Drones in goods delivery: Efficiency vs. privacy.
• Technology's role in reducing aviation accidents.
• Challenges in implementing smart highways.
• The implications of blockchain in logistics.
• Could vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles solve traffic problems?
• Impact of GPS technology on transportation.
• How has technology influenced public transit systems?
• Role of 5G in future transportation.
• Ethical concerns over self-driving cars.
• Technology in maritime safety: Progress and hurdles.
• The evolution of bicycle technology: From spokes to e-bikes.

Technology Research Paper Topics on Education

The intersection of technology and education is an exciting frontier with limitless possibilities. From online learning to interactive classrooms, you can explore various technology paper topics about education:

• How does e-learning affect student engagement?
• VR classrooms: A glimpse into the future?
• Can AI tutors revolutionize personalized learning?
• Digital textbooks versus traditional textbooks: A comparison.
• Gamification in education: Innovation or distraction?
• The impact of technology on special education.
• How are Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) reshaping higher education?
• The role of technology in inclusive education.
• Cybersecurity in schools: Measures and challenges.
• The potential of Augmented Reality (AR) in classroom learning.
• How is technology influencing homeschooling trends?
• Balancing technology and traditional methods in early childhood education.
• Risks and benefits of student data tracking.
• Can coding be the new literacy in the 21st century?
• The influence of social media on academic performance.

>> Learn more: Education Research Paper Topics

Relationships and Technology Research Topics

In the digital age, technology also impacts our relationships. It has become an integral part of how we communicate, meet people, and sustain our connections. Discover some thought-provoking angles with these research paper topics about technology:

• How do dating apps affect modern relationships?
• The influence of social media on interpersonal communication.
• Is technology enhancing or hindering long-distance relationships?
• The psychology behind online dating: A study.
• How do virtual reality environments impact social interaction?
• Social media friendships: Genuine or superficial?
• How does technology-mediated communication affect family dynamics?
• The impact of technology on work-life balance.
• The role of technology in sustaining long-term relationships.
• How does the 'always connected' culture influence personal boundaries?
• Cyberbullying and its effect on teenage relationships.
• Can technology predict compatibility in relationships?
• The effects of 'ghosting' in digital communication.
• How technology assists in maintaining relationships among elderly populations.
• Social media: A boon or bane for marital relationships?

Agriculture Technology Research Paper Topics

Modern agriculture is far from just tilling the soil and harvesting crops. Technology has made remarkable strides into the fields, innovating and improving agricultural processes. Take a glance at these technology research paper topic ideas:

• Can drone technology transform crop monitoring?
• Precision agriculture: Benefits and challenges.
• Aquaponics and the future of sustainable farming.
• How is artificial intelligence aiding in crop prediction?
• Impact of blockchain technology in food traceability.
• The role of IoT in smart farming.
• Vertical farming : Is it a sustainable solution for urban food supply?
• Innovations in irrigation technology for water conservation.
• Automated farming: A boon or a threat to employment in agriculture?
• How satellite imagery is improving crop disease detection.
• Biotechnology in crop improvement: Pros and cons.
• Nanotechnology in agriculture: Scope and limitations.
• Role of robotics in livestock management.
• Agricultural waste management through technology.
• Is hydroponics the future of farming?

Technological Research Topics on Environment

Our planet is facing numerous environmental challenges, and technology may hold the key to solving many of these. With innovations ranging from renewable energy sources to waste management systems, the realm of technology offers a plethora of research angles. So, if you're curious about the intersection of technology and environment, this list of research topics is for you:

• Innovations in waste management: A technology review.
• The role of AI in predicting climate change impacts.
• Renewable energy: Advancements in solar technology.
• The impact of electric vehicles on carbon emissions.
• Can smart agriculture help solve world hunger?
• Role of technology in water purification and conservation.
• The impact of IoT devices on energy consumption.
• Technology solutions for oil spills.
• Satellite technology in environmental monitoring.
• Technological advances in forest conservation.
• Green buildings: Sustainable construction technology.
• Bioengineering: A solution to soil erosion?
• Impact of nanotechnology on environmental conservation.
• Ocean clean-up initiatives: Evaluating existing technology.
• How can technology help in reducing air pollution?

>> View more: Environmental Science Research Topics

Energy & Power Technology Topics for Research Paper

Energy and power are two pivotal areas where technology is bringing unprecedented changes. You can investigate renewable energy sources or efficient power transmission. If you're excited about exploring the intricacies of energy and power advancements, here are some engaging technology topics for research papers:

• Assessing the efficiency of wind energy technologies.
• Power storage: Current and future technology.
• Solar panel technology: Recent advancements and future predictions.
• Can nuclear fusion be the answer to our energy crisis?
• Smart grid technology: A revolution in power distribution.
• Evaluating the impact of hydropower on ecosystems.
• The role of AI in optimizing power consumption.
• Biofuels vs. fossil fuels: A comparative study.
• Electric vehicle charging infrastructure: Technological challenges and solutions.
• Technology advancements in geothermal power.
• How is IoT technology helping in energy conservation?
• Harnessing wave and tidal energy: Technological possibilities.
• Role of nanotechnology in improving solar cell efficiency.
• Power transmission losses: Can technology provide a solution?
• Assessing the future of coal technology in the era of renewable energy.

Research Topics about Technology in Finance

The finance sector has seen drastic changes with the rise of technology, which has revolutionized the way financial transactions are conducted and services are offered. Consider these research topics in technology applied in the finance sector:

• Rise of cryptocurrency: An evaluation of Bitcoin's impact.
• Algorithmic trading: How does it reshape financial markets?
• Role of AI and machine learning in financial forecasting.
• Technological challenges in implementing digital banking.
• How is blockchain technology transforming financial services?
• Cybersecurity risks in online banking: Identifying solutions.
• FinTech startups: Disrupting traditional finance systems.
• Role of technology in financial inclusion.
• Assessing the impact of mobile wallets on the banking sector.
• Automation in finance: Opportunities and threats.
• Role of big data analytics in financial decision making.
• AI-based robo-advisors vs. human financial advisors.
• The future of insurance technology (InsurTech).
• Can technology solve the issue of financial fraud?
• Impact of regulatory technology (RegTech) in maintaining compliance.

>> More ideas: Finance Research Topics

War Technology Research Paper Topics

The nature of warfare has transformed significantly with the evolution of technology, shifting the battlegrounds from land, sea, and air to the realms of cyber and space. This transition opens up a range of topics to explore. Here are some research topics in the realm of war technology:

• Drones in warfare: Ethical implications.
• Cyber warfare: Assessing threats and defense strategies.
• Autonomous weapons: A boon or a curse?
• Implications of artificial intelligence in modern warfare.
• Role of technology in intelligence gathering.
• Satellite technology and its role in modern warfare.
• The future of naval warfare: Autonomous ships and submarines.
• Hypersonic weapons: Changing the dynamics of war.
• Impact of nuclear technology in warfare.
• Technology and warfare: Exploring the relationship.
• Information warfare: The role of social media.
• Space warfare: Future possibilities and implications.
• Bio-warfare: Understanding technology's role in development and prevention.
• Impact of virtual reality on military training.
• War technology and international law: A critical examination.

Food Technology Topics for Research Papers

Food technology is a field that deals with the study of food production, preservation, and safety. It involves understanding how various techniques can be applied to increase shelf life and improve nutrition value of foods. Check out our collection of food technology research paper topic ideas:

• Lab-grown meats: Sustainable solution or a mere hype?
• How AI is enhancing food safety and quality?
• Precision agriculture: Revolutionizing farming practices.
• GMOs: Assessing benefits and potential risks.
• Role of robotics in food manufacturing and packaging.
• Smart kitchens: Streamlining cooking through technology.
• Nanofood: Tiny technology, big impact.
• Sustainable food systems: Role of technology.
• Food traceability: Ensuring transparency and accountability.
• Food delivery apps: Changing the face of dining out.
• The rise of plant-based alternatives and their production technologies.
• Virtual and augmented reality in culinary experiences.
• Technology in mitigating food waste.
• Innovations in food packaging: Impact on freshness and sustainability.
• IoT in smart farming: Improving yield and reducing waste.

Entertainment Technology Topics

Entertainment technology is reinventing the ways we experience amusement. This industry is always presenting new angles for research and discussion, be it the rise of virtual reality in movies or the influence of streaming platforms on the music industry. Here's a list of unique research topics related to entertainment technology:

• Impact of virtual reality on the movie industry.
• Streaming platforms vs traditional media: A comparative study.
• Technology in music: Evolution and future prospects.
• eSports: Rise of a new form of entertainment.
• Augmented reality in theme parks.
• The transformation of theater with digital technology.
• AI and film editing: Redefining the art.
• The role of technology in the rise of independent cinema.
• Podcasts: Revolutionizing radio with technology.
• Immersive technologies in art exhibitions.
• The influence of technology on fashion shows and design.
• Livestreaming concerts: A new norm in the music industry?
• Drones in entertainment: Applications and ethics.
• Social media as an entertainment platform.
• The transformation of journalism in the era of digital entertainment.

Technology Research Questions

As we navigate the ever-changing landscape of technology, numerous intriguing questions arise. Below, we present new research questions about technology that can fuel your intellectual pursuit.

• What potential does quantum computing hold for resolving complex problems?
• How will advancements in AI impact job security across different sectors?
• In what ways can blockchain technology reform the existing financial systems?
• How is nanotechnology revolutionizing the field of medicine?
• What are the ethical implications surrounding the use of facial recognition technology?
• How will the introduction of 6G change our communication patterns?
• In what ways is green technology contributing to sustainable development?
• Can virtual reality transform the way we approach education?
• How are biometrics enhancing the security measures in today's digital world?
• How is space technology influencing our understanding of the universe?
• What role can technology play in solving the global water crisis?
• How can technology be leveraged to combat climate change effectively?
• How is technology transforming the landscape of modern agriculture?
• Can technological advancements lead to a fully renewable energy-dependent world?
• How does technology influence the dynamics of modern warfare?

Bottom Line on Research Topics in Technology

Technology is a rapidly evolving field, and there's always something new to explore. Whether you're writing for the computer sciences, information technology or food technology realm, there are endless ideas that you can research on. Pick one of these technology research paper topics and jumpstart your project.

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Politics and privacy, private-sector influence and big tech, state competition and conflict, author biography, how is technology changing the world, and how should the world change technology.

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Josephine Wolff; How Is Technology Changing the World, and How Should the World Change Technology?. Global Perspectives 1 February 2021; 2 (1): 27353. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/gp.2021.27353

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Technologies are becoming increasingly complicated and increasingly interconnected. Cars, airplanes, medical devices, financial transactions, and electricity systems all rely on more computer software than they ever have before, making them seem both harder to understand and, in some cases, harder to control. Government and corporate surveillance of individuals and information processing relies largely on digital technologies and artificial intelligence, and therefore involves less human-to-human contact than ever before and more opportunities for biases to be embedded and codified in our technological systems in ways we may not even be able to identify or recognize. Bioengineering advances are opening up new terrain for challenging philosophical, political, and economic questions regarding human-natural relations. Additionally, the management of these large and small devices and systems is increasingly done through the cloud, so that control over them is both very remote and removed from direct human or social control. The study of how to make technologies like artificial intelligence or the Internet of Things “explainable” has become its own area of research because it is so difficult to understand how they work or what is at fault when something goes wrong (Gunning and Aha 2019) .

This growing complexity makes it more difficult than ever—and more imperative than ever—for scholars to probe how technological advancements are altering life around the world in both positive and negative ways and what social, political, and legal tools are needed to help shape the development and design of technology in beneficial directions. This can seem like an impossible task in light of the rapid pace of technological change and the sense that its continued advancement is inevitable, but many countries around the world are only just beginning to take significant steps toward regulating computer technologies and are still in the process of radically rethinking the rules governing global data flows and exchange of technology across borders.

These are exciting times not just for technological development but also for technology policy—our technologies may be more advanced and complicated than ever but so, too, are our understandings of how they can best be leveraged, protected, and even constrained. The structures of technological systems as determined largely by government and institutional policies and those structures have tremendous implications for social organization and agency, ranging from open source, open systems that are highly distributed and decentralized, to those that are tightly controlled and closed, structured according to stricter and more hierarchical models. And just as our understanding of the governance of technology is developing in new and interesting ways, so, too, is our understanding of the social, cultural, environmental, and political dimensions of emerging technologies. We are realizing both the challenges and the importance of mapping out the full range of ways that technology is changing our society, what we want those changes to look like, and what tools we have to try to influence and guide those shifts.

Technology can be a source of tremendous optimism. It can help overcome some of the greatest challenges our society faces, including climate change, famine, and disease. For those who believe in the power of innovation and the promise of creative destruction to advance economic development and lead to better quality of life, technology is a vital economic driver (Schumpeter 1942) . But it can also be a tool of tremendous fear and oppression, embedding biases in automated decision-making processes and information-processing algorithms, exacerbating economic and social inequalities within and between countries to a staggering degree, or creating new weapons and avenues for attack unlike any we have had to face in the past. Scholars have even contended that the emergence of the term technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries marked a shift from viewing individual pieces of machinery as a means to achieving political and social progress to the more dangerous, or hazardous, view that larger-scale, more complex technological systems were a semiautonomous form of progress in and of themselves (Marx 2010) . More recently, technologists have sharply criticized what they view as a wave of new Luddites, people intent on slowing the development of technology and turning back the clock on innovation as a means of mitigating the societal impacts of technological change (Marlowe 1970) .

At the heart of fights over new technologies and their resulting global changes are often two conflicting visions of technology: a fundamentally optimistic one that believes humans use it as a tool to achieve greater goals, and a fundamentally pessimistic one that holds that technological systems have reached a point beyond our control. Technology philosophers have argued that neither of these views is wholly accurate and that a purely optimistic or pessimistic view of technology is insufficient to capture the nuances and complexity of our relationship to technology (Oberdiek and Tiles 1995) . Understanding technology and how we can make better decisions about designing, deploying, and refining it requires capturing that nuance and complexity through in-depth analysis of the impacts of different technological advancements and the ways they have played out in all their complicated and controversial messiness across the world.

These impacts are often unpredictable as technologies are adopted in new contexts and come to be used in ways that sometimes diverge significantly from the use cases envisioned by their designers. The internet, designed to help transmit information between computer networks, became a crucial vehicle for commerce, introducing unexpected avenues for crime and financial fraud. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, designed to connect friends and families through sharing photographs and life updates, became focal points of election controversies and political influence. Cryptocurrencies, originally intended as a means of decentralized digital cash, have become a significant environmental hazard as more and more computing resources are devoted to mining these forms of virtual money. One of the crucial challenges in this area is therefore recognizing, documenting, and even anticipating some of these unexpected consequences and providing mechanisms to technologists for how to think through the impacts of their work, as well as possible other paths to different outcomes (Verbeek 2006) . And just as technological innovations can cause unexpected harm, they can also bring about extraordinary benefits—new vaccines and medicines to address global pandemics and save thousands of lives, new sources of energy that can drastically reduce emissions and help combat climate change, new modes of education that can reach people who would otherwise have no access to schooling. Regulating technology therefore requires a careful balance of mitigating risks without overly restricting potentially beneficial innovations.

Nations around the world have taken very different approaches to governing emerging technologies and have adopted a range of different technologies themselves in pursuit of more modern governance structures and processes (Braman 2009) . In Europe, the precautionary principle has guided much more anticipatory regulation aimed at addressing the risks presented by technologies even before they are fully realized. For instance, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation focuses on the responsibilities of data controllers and processors to provide individuals with access to their data and information about how that data is being used not just as a means of addressing existing security and privacy threats, such as data breaches, but also to protect against future developments and uses of that data for artificial intelligence and automated decision-making purposes. In Germany, Technische Überwachungsvereine, or TÜVs, perform regular tests and inspections of technological systems to assess and minimize risks over time, as the tech landscape evolves. In the United States, by contrast, there is much greater reliance on litigation and liability regimes to address safety and security failings after-the-fact. These different approaches reflect not just the different legal and regulatory mechanisms and philosophies of different nations but also the different ways those nations prioritize rapid development of the technology industry versus safety, security, and individual control. Typically, governance innovations move much more slowly than technological innovations, and regulations can lag years, or even decades, behind the technologies they aim to govern.

In addition to this varied set of national regulatory approaches, a variety of international and nongovernmental organizations also contribute to the process of developing standards, rules, and norms for new technologies, including the International Organization for Standardization­ and the International Telecommunication Union. These multilateral and NGO actors play an especially important role in trying to define appropriate boundaries for the use of new technologies by governments as instruments of control for the state.

At the same time that policymakers are under scrutiny both for their decisions about how to regulate technology as well as their decisions about how and when to adopt technologies like facial recognition themselves, technology firms and designers have also come under increasing criticism. Growing recognition that the design of technologies can have far-reaching social and political implications means that there is more pressure on technologists to take into consideration the consequences of their decisions early on in the design process (Vincenti 1993; Winner 1980) . The question of how technologists should incorporate these social dimensions into their design and development processes is an old one, and debate on these issues dates back to the 1970s, but it remains an urgent and often overlooked part of the puzzle because so many of the supposedly systematic mechanisms for assessing the impacts of new technologies in both the private and public sectors are primarily bureaucratic, symbolic processes rather than carrying any real weight or influence.

Technologists are often ill-equipped or unwilling to respond to the sorts of social problems that their creations have—often unwittingly—exacerbated, and instead point to governments and lawmakers to address those problems (Zuckerberg 2019) . But governments often have few incentives to engage in this area. This is because setting clear standards and rules for an ever-evolving technological landscape can be extremely challenging, because enforcement of those rules can be a significant undertaking requiring considerable expertise, and because the tech sector is a major source of jobs and revenue for many countries that may fear losing those benefits if they constrain companies too much. This indicates not just a need for clearer incentives and better policies for both private- and public-sector entities but also a need for new mechanisms whereby the technology development and design process can be influenced and assessed by people with a wider range of experiences and expertise. If we want technologies to be designed with an eye to their impacts, who is responsible for predicting, measuring, and mitigating those impacts throughout the design process? Involving policymakers in that process in a more meaningful way will also require training them to have the analytic and technical capacity to more fully engage with technologists and understand more fully the implications of their decisions.

At the same time that tech companies seem unwilling or unable to rein in their creations, many also fear they wield too much power, in some cases all but replacing governments and international organizations in their ability to make decisions that affect millions of people worldwide and control access to information, platforms, and audiences (Kilovaty 2020) . Regulators around the world have begun considering whether some of these companies have become so powerful that they violate the tenets of antitrust laws, but it can be difficult for governments to identify exactly what those violations are, especially in the context of an industry where the largest players often provide their customers with free services. And the platforms and services developed by tech companies are often wielded most powerfully and dangerously not directly by their private-sector creators and operators but instead by states themselves for widespread misinformation campaigns that serve political purposes (Nye 2018) .

Since the largest private entities in the tech sector operate in many countries, they are often better poised to implement global changes to the technological ecosystem than individual states or regulatory bodies, creating new challenges to existing governance structures and hierarchies. Just as it can be challenging to provide oversight for government use of technologies, so, too, oversight of the biggest tech companies, which have more resources, reach, and power than many nations, can prove to be a daunting task. The rise of network forms of organization and the growing gig economy have added to these challenges, making it even harder for regulators to fully address the breadth of these companies’ operations (Powell 1990) . The private-public partnerships that have emerged around energy, transportation, medical, and cyber technologies further complicate this picture, blurring the line between the public and private sectors and raising critical questions about the role of each in providing critical infrastructure, health care, and security. How can and should private tech companies operating in these different sectors be governed, and what types of influence do they exert over regulators? How feasible are different policy proposals aimed at technological innovation, and what potential unintended consequences might they have?

Conflict between countries has also spilled over significantly into the private sector in recent years, most notably in the case of tensions between the United States and China over which technologies developed in each country will be permitted by the other and which will be purchased by other customers, outside those two countries. Countries competing to develop the best technology is not a new phenomenon, but the current conflicts have major international ramifications and will influence the infrastructure that is installed and used around the world for years to come. Untangling the different factors that feed into these tussles as well as whom they benefit and whom they leave at a disadvantage is crucial for understanding how governments can most effectively foster technological innovation and invention domestically as well as the global consequences of those efforts. As much of the world is forced to choose between buying technology from the United States or from China, how should we understand the long-term impacts of those choices and the options available to people in countries without robust domestic tech industries? Does the global spread of technologies help fuel further innovation in countries with smaller tech markets, or does it reinforce the dominance of the states that are already most prominent in this sector? How can research universities maintain global collaborations and research communities in light of these national competitions, and what role does government research and development spending play in fostering innovation within its own borders and worldwide? How should intellectual property protections evolve to meet the demands of the technology industry, and how can those protections be enforced globally?

These conflicts between countries sometimes appear to challenge the feasibility of truly global technologies and networks that operate across all countries through standardized protocols and design features. Organizations like the International Organization for Standardization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and many others have tried to harmonize these policies and protocols across different countries for years, but have met with limited success when it comes to resolving the issues of greatest tension and disagreement among nations. For technology to operate in a global environment, there is a need for a much greater degree of coordination among countries and the development of common standards and norms, but governments continue to struggle to agree not just on those norms themselves but even the appropriate venue and processes for developing them. Without greater global cooperation, is it possible to maintain a global network like the internet or to promote the spread of new technologies around the world to address challenges of sustainability? What might help incentivize that cooperation moving forward, and what could new structures and process for governance of global technologies look like? Why has the tech industry’s self-regulation culture persisted? Do the same traditional drivers for public policy, such as politics of harmonization and path dependency in policy-making, still sufficiently explain policy outcomes in this space? As new technologies and their applications spread across the globe in uneven ways, how and when do they create forces of change from unexpected places?

These are some of the questions that we hope to address in the Technology and Global Change section through articles that tackle new dimensions of the global landscape of designing, developing, deploying, and assessing new technologies to address major challenges the world faces. Understanding these processes requires synthesizing knowledge from a range of different fields, including sociology, political science, economics, and history, as well as technical fields such as engineering, climate science, and computer science. A crucial part of understanding how technology has created global change and, in turn, how global changes have influenced the development of new technologies is understanding the technologies themselves in all their richness and complexity—how they work, the limits of what they can do, what they were designed to do, how they are actually used. Just as technologies themselves are becoming more complicated, so are their embeddings and relationships to the larger social, political, and legal contexts in which they exist. Scholars across all disciplines are encouraged to join us in untangling those complexities.

Josephine Wolff is an associate professor of cybersecurity policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Her book You’ll See This Message When It Is Too Late: The Legal and Economic Aftermath of Cybersecurity Breaches was published by MIT Press in 2018.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 113 great research paper topics.

General Education

One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

In addition to the list of good research topics, we've included advice on what makes a good research paper topic and how you can use your topic to start writing a great paper.

What Makes a Good Research Paper Topic?

Not all research paper topics are created equal, and you want to make sure you choose a great topic before you start writing. Below are the three most important factors to consider to make sure you choose the best research paper topics.

#1: It's Something You're Interested In

A paper is always easier to write if you're interested in the topic, and you'll be more motivated to do in-depth research and write a paper that really covers the entire subject. Even if a certain research paper topic is getting a lot of buzz right now or other people seem interested in writing about it, don't feel tempted to make it your topic unless you genuinely have some sort of interest in it as well.

#2: There's Enough Information to Write a Paper

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so excited to write about it, you won't be able to produce a good paper if there isn't enough research about the topic. This can happen for very specific or specialized topics, as well as topics that are too new to have enough research done on them at the moment. Easy research paper topics will always be topics with enough information to write a full-length paper.

Trying to write a research paper on a topic that doesn't have much research on it is incredibly hard, so before you decide on a topic, do a bit of preliminary searching and make sure you'll have all the information you need to write your paper.

#3: It Fits Your Teacher's Guidelines

Don't get so carried away looking at lists of research paper topics that you forget any requirements or restrictions your teacher may have put on research topic ideas. If you're writing a research paper on a health-related topic, deciding to write about the impact of rap on the music scene probably won't be allowed, but there may be some sort of leeway. For example, if you're really interested in current events but your teacher wants you to write a research paper on a history topic, you may be able to choose a topic that fits both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US and North Korea. No matter what, always get your research paper topic approved by your teacher first before you begin writing.

113 Good Research Paper Topics

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper. We've organized them into ten categories to make it easier to find the type of research paper topics you're looking for.

Arts/Culture

• Discuss the main differences in art from the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance .
• Analyze the impact a famous artist had on the world.
• How is sexism portrayed in different types of media (music, film, video games, etc.)? Has the amount/type of sexism changed over the years?
• How has the music of slaves brought over from Africa shaped modern American music?
• How has rap music evolved in the past decade?
• How has the portrayal of minorities in the media changed?

Current Events

• What have been the impacts of China's one child policy?
• How have the goals of feminists changed over the decades?
• How has the Trump presidency changed international relations?
• Analyze the history of the relationship between the United States and North Korea.
• What factors contributed to the current decline in the rate of unemployment?
• What have been the impacts of states which have increased their minimum wage?
• How do US immigration laws compare to immigration laws of other countries?
• How have the US's immigration laws changed in the past few years/decades?
• How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected discussions and view about racism in the US?
• What impact has the Affordable Care Act had on healthcare in the US?
• What factors contributed to the UK deciding to leave the EU (Brexit)?
• What factors contributed to China becoming an economic power?
• Discuss the history of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies  (some of which tokenize the S&P 500 Index on the blockchain) .
• Do students in schools that eliminate grades do better in college and their careers?
• Do students from wealthier backgrounds score higher on standardized tests?
• Do students who receive free meals at school get higher grades compared to when they weren't receiving a free meal?
• Do students who attend charter schools score higher on standardized tests than students in public schools?
• Do students learn better in same-sex classrooms?
• How does giving each student access to an iPad or laptop affect their studies?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Montessori Method ?
• Do children who attend preschool do better in school later on?
• What was the impact of the No Child Left Behind act?
• How does the US education system compare to education systems in other countries?
• What impact does mandatory physical education classes have on students' health?
• Which methods are most effective at reducing bullying in schools?
• Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who attended traditional schools?
• Does offering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
• How does college debt affect future life choices of students?
• Should graduate students be able to form unions?

• What are different ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?
• How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
• Is affirmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
• Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
• How has stem cell research impacted the medical field?
• How can human trafficking be reduced in the United States/world?
• Should people be able to donate organs in exchange for money?
• Which types of juvenile punishment have proven most effective at preventing future crimes?
• Has the increase in US airport security made passengers safer?
• Analyze the immigration policies of certain countries and how they are similar and different from one another.
• Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and negative impacts have they experienced as a result?
• Do tariffs increase the number of domestic jobs?
• Which prison reforms have proven most effective?
• Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?
• Which methods/programs have been most effective at reducing teen pregnancy?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
• How effective are different exercise regimes for losing weight and maintaining weight loss?
• How do the healthcare plans of various countries differ from each other?
• What are the most effective ways to treat depression ?
• What are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods?
• Which methods are most effective for improving memory?
• What can be done to lower healthcare costs in the US?
• What factors contributed to the current opioid crisis?
• Analyze the history and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic .
• Are low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets more effective for weight loss?
• How much exercise should the average adult be getting each week?
• Which methods are most effective to get parents to vaccinate their children?
• What are the pros and cons of clean needle programs?
• How does stress affect the body?
• Discuss the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
• What were the causes and effects of the Salem Witch Trials?
• Who was responsible for the Iran-Contra situation?
• How has New Orleans and the government's response to natural disasters changed since Hurricane Katrina?
• What events led to the fall of the Roman Empire?
• What were the impacts of British rule in India ?
• Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?
• What were the successes and failures of the women's suffrage movement in the United States?
• What were the causes of the Civil War?
• How did Abraham Lincoln's assassination impact the country and reconstruction after the Civil War?
• Which factors contributed to the colonies winning the American Revolution?
• What caused Hitler's rise to power?
• Discuss how a specific invention impacted history.
• What led to Cleopatra's fall as ruler of Egypt?
• How has Japan changed and evolved over the centuries?
• What were the causes of the Rwandan genocide ?

• Why did Martin Luther decide to split with the Catholic Church?
• Analyze the history and impact of a well-known cult (Jonestown, Manson family, etc.)
• How did the sexual abuse scandal impact how people view the Catholic Church?
• How has the Catholic church's power changed over the past decades/centuries?
• What are the causes behind the rise in atheism/ agnosticism in the United States?
• What were the influences in Siddhartha's life resulted in him becoming the Buddha?
• How has media portrayal of Islam/Muslims changed since September 11th?

Science/Environment

• How has the earth's climate changed in the past few decades?
• How has the use and elimination of DDT affected bird populations in the US?
• Analyze how the number and severity of natural disasters have increased in the past few decades.
• Analyze deforestation rates in a certain area or globally over a period of time.
• How have past oil spills changed regulations and cleanup methods?
• How has the Flint water crisis changed water regulation safety?
• What are the pros and cons of fracking?
• What impact has the Paris Climate Agreement had so far?
• What have NASA's biggest successes and failures been?
• How can we improve access to clean water around the world?
• Does ecotourism actually have a positive impact on the environment?
• Should the US rely on nuclear energy more?
• What can be done to save amphibian species currently at risk of extinction?
• What impact has climate change had on coral reefs?
• How are black holes created?
• Are teens who spend more time on social media more likely to suffer anxiety and/or depression?
• How will the loss of net neutrality affect internet users?
• Analyze the history and progress of self-driving vehicles.
• How has the use of drones changed surveillance and warfare methods?
• Has social media made people more or less connected?
• What progress has currently been made with artificial intelligence ?
• Do smartphones increase or decrease workplace productivity?
• What are the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom?
• How is Google search affecting our intelligence?
• When is the best age for a child to begin owning a smartphone?
• Has frequent texting reduced teen literacy rates?

How to Write a Great Research Paper

Even great research paper topics won't give you a great research paper if you don't hone your topic before and during the writing process. Follow these three tips to turn good research paper topics into great papers.

#1: Figure Out Your Thesis Early

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you first need to know what your thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show in your paper. Every sentence in your research paper will relate back to your thesis, so you don't want to start writing without it!

As some examples, if you're writing a research paper on if students learn better in same-sex classrooms, your thesis might be "Research has shown that elementary-age students in same-sex classrooms score higher on standardized tests and report feeling more comfortable in the classroom."

If you're writing a paper on the causes of the Civil War, your thesis might be "While the dispute between the North and South over slavery is the most well-known cause of the Civil War, other key causes include differences in the economies of the North and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

#2: Back Every Statement Up With Research

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of research to make your points. Every statement you give must be backed up with research, properly cited the way your teacher requested. You're allowed to include opinions of your own, but they must also be supported by the research you give.

#3: Do Your Research Before You Begin Writing

You don't want to start writing your research paper and then learn that there isn't enough research to back up the points you're making, or, even worse, that the research contradicts the points you're trying to make!

Get most of your research on your good research topics done before you begin writing. Then use the research you've collected to create a rough outline of what your paper will cover and the key points you're going to make. This will help keep your paper clear and organized, and it'll ensure you have enough research to produce a strong paper.

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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Engaging in the good with technology: a framework for examining positive technology use

The focus on the negative side of technology has become a prominent factor in the understanding of the interactions between humans and technology. However, there is a positive side to technology use that has been less investigated in scientific research. Well-being researchers have determined that it is not just the absence of negative emotions or experiences, but rather the presence and frequency of positive ones that matter most. Therefore, despite the scarcity of research on the positive side of technology, the present conceptual paper focuses on how technology may be used for the good to produce psychological benefits (e.g., greater happiness, lower loneliness, higher peer endorsement). Based on existing literature, we posit at least three directions for good interactions with technology: (1) “seeing good” by focusing on positive visual cues through technology use; (2) “feeling good” by focusing on good feelings that arise from technology use; and (3) “doing good” by focusing on positive actions that can be enacted via technology use. Based on the synthesis of these three components, we propose a framework for technology laden engagement in the good, dubbed as, the Engagement in the Good with Technology (EGT) Framework . Through this framework, we explain how these three distinct aspects of seeing, feeling, and doing good can co-occur and be interrelated, and in turn potentially lead to upward spirals of positive outcomes.

Introduction

Most research into technology has focused on the negative aspects of technology use. Although much research finds detrimental impacts of technology use on people’s psychological well-being, other studies show mixed findings. Less research has been conducted on how technology is used in a positive way that can in turn lead to positive outcomes for the person and their health and well-being. Similar to almost any other tool, there are positive and negative ways one can experience technology that can be beneficial or detrimental to them. Digital technology has experienced rapid adoption across several generational cohorts and the effects of this usage are still not fully understood. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic alone has shifted perspectives on technology use. While younger adults are the predominant users of technology, research conducted by the AARP has demonstrated that older adults (44%) view technology positively and as a primary means of connection ( Kakulla, 2021 ). Additionally, over 80% of adults 50 and over depend on technology to connect with family and friends through texting, emailing, video chatting, and social media. Overall, a considerable proportion of young adults and older adults’ time is spent online where they are constantly engaging with streams of information, images, sensations, and experiences that may influence their mental health, development, and well-being.

Even though technology use is becoming pervasive and more research studies are focusing on the effects of technology, there still remains a plethora of questions around the benefits that technology use might have. For instance, how can technology be used to elicit positive emotions such as joy, awe, self-transcendence, love, and/or positive values? Even less research has been conducted on understanding the mechanisms of technology that support collaborative behavior between people across different backgrounds and beliefs. How can positive actions be enacted through technology in manners that support resource building, positive discussions, or prosocial behaviors, which in turn strengthen connections and increase positive engagement? While social media presents some positive outcomes as it relates to maintaining relationships, there is a lack of concrete research into the positive uses of technology that can reduce loneliness, depression, anger, substance abuse, radicalization, hate, or anxiety. This gap requires a broader understanding of how positive mechanisms may lead to positive outcomes by engaging in the good with technology.

The complicated nature of technology use has invited scholars from disciplines such as philosophy to better understand how societies can understand the good sides of technology or, as Coeckelbergh refers to “the good society with technology” (2018). In fact, philosophers focusing on technology and its use have explored the nature of technology and determined that humans shape the tools they use. Humans decide how these tools are utilized and in turn, determine if it is used for the good or the bad—this may depend on the community and social influence on the perceptions of values toward technology ( Coeckelbergh, 2018 ). In this dynamic relationship between humans and technology, fostering ethical considerations and promoting critical engagement with technological advancements becomes paramount. By actively recognizing and embracing our role as shapers of technology, we can collectively strive toward harnessing its potential for positive impact and shaping a future where technology serves the greater good.

Based on existing literature, there are at least three directions where good interactions with technology have been individually examined: Seeing good, Feeling Good, and Doing Good . One line of research has focused on the interactions and effects of positive visual cues through technology [i.e., seeing good ( Janicke-Bowles et al., 2018 ); moral elevation ( Haidt, 2000 ); memes ( Myrick et al., 2022 )]. Another line of research has focused on good feelings as a result of interacting with technology [i.e., “feeling good” via increases in positive affect ( Diener, 1984 ); broaden and build theory ( Fredrickson and Joiner, 2002 ); prosocial media ( Greitemeyer, 2009 ); social media ( Sherman et al., 2016 )]. Lastly, a line of research focuses on positive actions through technology [i.e., “doing good” via acts of kindness, good deeds, etc. ( Keltner, 2009 ; Gray, 2011a , b ); prosocial spending/donations ( Aknin et al., 2013 ; Dai and Zhang, 2019 )]. This paper provides a review of existing research and presents a coherent framework that illustrates ways technology can be used for the “good.” We then discuss how this framework can be used as a basis for future research in an understanding of positive usage of technology, the interplay between these factors, and psychological outcomes of these positive engagements with technology.

Engaging with technology

Overall, technology use has expanded significantly over the past decade alone. Social media accounts for a significant portion of technology use. The numbers themselves provide some details about what is occurring. For example, we know who is using social media (e.g., 63% of users on TikTok in the United States are adults; Statista, 2022a ). However, we do not know how these members are using technology and the granularity of what the effects of these engagements are on the individuals. Most of the recent research on technology has demonstrated several negative outcomes from extensive technology use, such as dependency, loneliness, issues involving privacy, social comparison, hate speech, anxiety, body dysmorphia, depression, and abuse ( Thomée et al., 2010 ; Assimakopoulos et al., 2017 ; Laaksonen et al., 2020 ; Kakulla, 2021 ; Sutrisna et al., 2021 ; Danvers, 2022 ; Minadeo and Pope, 2022 ), but engaging with technology in the real world involves a complex system of simultaneous interactions that are less understood.

Within the United States, over 95% of young adults use social media ( Auxier and Anderson, 2021 ). On average, Americans spend over 2 h using social media per day with over 81% of adults engaging in platforms such as YouTube ( Suciu, 2021 ), which is more time than they spend sharing meals with others ( Melore, 2021 ). Social networks such as TikTok have over 800 million global active users per month with over 37 million users belonging to Generation Z in the United States alone, and those numbers are estimated to increase to 48.8 million Gen Z users by 2025 ( Statista, 2022b ). Globally, more than 60% of young adults are able to access the Internet ( Cerniglia et al., 2017 ; Sutrisna et al., 2021 ). Additionally, over 59% of Instagram users check the app daily and young adults spend, on average, over three hours per day on social networking platforms ( Henderson, 2020 ).

The rapid rate of technology adoption and usage coupled with the advancement of technology has provided significant concerns for researchers, educators, and policymakers; these concerns span from what the nature of technology is to the fact that we lack sufficient understanding of how technology is used and how it impacts people’s lives in the short and long term ( Pleasants et al., 2019 ; Krutka et al., 2022 ). Along with these concerns, more researchers have been focusing on understanding technology better, however, most have been focused on the negative consequences of technology use. This focus on negative outcomes may be because the strength of bad experiences is more powerful than the intensity of good ones ( Baumeister et al., 2001 ). This occurs because the negative potency of bad experiences is much more salient than good events and heavily influences how individuals process bad experiences ( Rozin and Royzman, 2001 ). This is especially true when individuals are using technology. The negative effects of technology are readily apparent when looking through research. For example, studies have shown negative outcomes of persuasive technology from algorithms that prioritize engagement at any cost (anger, anxiety, suicidal ideation, depression; body image negativity; Rhodes et al., 2020 ; 60 Minutes, 2021 ; Center for Humane Technology, 2021 ; Minadeo and Pope, 2022 ). The potency of negative engagement has devastating consequences on individuals across every age group (social comparison, distortions in self-perception, disconnection; addiction, social isolation/rejection, radicalization and distrust; Baumeister et al., 2001 ; Eisenberger et al., 2003 ; Kross et al., 2013 ; Fredrickson and Joiner, 2018 ; Costello et al., 2022 ; Wilson, 2022 ).

Previous research has demonstrated that when individuals endure negative experiences and emotions, the effects of these experiences in turn reflect a series of negative downstream consequences (e.g., anger, depression, fear, fight, or flight; Fredrickson and Joiner, 2002 , 2018 ). Immediately, the effects of these negative emotions lead to a narrowing of action repertoires (anger, fear, hate, detachment) and an inability to connect with others. It also leads to internal manifestations of negative consequences such as anxiety, depression, withdrawal from others, susceptibility to disinformation and radicalization, and an inability to build long term resources that support the organism’s well-being ( Fredrickson, 2003 ; Center for Humane Technology, 2021 ; Bor and Petersen, 2022 ; Regehr, 2022 ).

Algorithms used in social media, in an attempt to maintain the attention of end users, provide a constant barrage of sensations, images, videos, and other forms of outputs that effectively activate regions of the brain and influence cognitive attention and behaviors ( Fogg, 2003 ; Godinho et al., 2017 ; Cohen, 2018 ). The regions that become highly activated and dysregulated are typically involved in responses such as addiction (ventral tegmentum), information processing (Prefrontal Cortex), or fight or flight response (limbic system) of the users who engage with these cues ( Fogg, 2003 ; Seo et al., 2020 ; Center for Humane Technology, 2021 ). These negative experiences, elicited through highly adaptable artificial intelligence using machine learning, strategically target the neurocognitive systems and hijack the autonomic nervous system. Experts in technology refer to this advanced process as a “race to the bottom of the brainstem” [ The Rubin Report (Director), 2017 ]. This engagement can lead to pervasive unintended consequences such as fear, anger, disgust, radicalization, hate, online bullying, alienation, and more. It is important to note that some studies have shown complex nuances, small effects, or mixed results in relation to social media use and well-being ( Orben and Przybylski, 2019 ; Kross et al., 2020 ; McFarland et al., 2023 ). However, many investigations and reports have come to light which demonstrate how negative engagement with technology can lead to adverse consequences such as increased suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, problematic social media use, violence, hate speech, and other consequences, including negative mental health effects in groups such as teenagers ( Kavanagh et al., 2019 ; 60 Minutes, 2021 ; Castaño-Pulgarín et al., 2021 ; Huang, 2022 ; Shannon et al., 2022 ).

Other consequences of negative engagement with technology can include addiction, cyber bullying, and other misuses of devices that are harmful to people’s health such as extensive blue light exposure, sleep dysregulation, and aggressive behaviors from exposure to disinformation, angry provocative content and messages through networks, podcasts, and fear inducing viral videos ( Neumann, 2013 ; Erreygers et al., 2019 ; Kırcaburun et al., 2019 ). These negative experiences are not just limited to social media. Human interactions with technology are leading to severe polarization and isolation in many individuals who are not adequately prepared to interact with technology in healthy ways. What if, however, there was an approach to supporting healthy engagement with technology and using it for the good? In order to answer this question, we need to first clarify what we mean by “the good” and engagement in the good through technology.

Engaging with the good

Research on the good has expanded researchers’ understanding of how humans interact and shape their daily lives across developmental standards and expectations. The field of Psychology has yet to define the term good , but researchers studying positive psychology have demonstrated that good feelings are an essential component to well-being ( Fredrickson, 2003 ; Seligman, 2011 ). For example, experiences that elicit positive affect broaden the scope of attention which in turn lead to the building of future resources which then provide numerous positive benefits that shape positive experiences and broadening repertoires ( Fredrickson and Joiner, 2002 , 2018 ; Lyubomirsky, 2010 ). Other researchers have demonstrated that good actions are also an essential component to well-being ( Keltner, 2009 ). For example, directed acts of compassion or kindness, and active cooperation with others rewards a region of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens which is densely populated with dopamine receptors, and in turn enhances positive experiences.

Therefore, in order to understand what is meant when we use the term good , it is important to provide an operational definition of the word that is used to describe these positive terms. The etymology of the word good is derived from Germanic Origin gudą, and from old English gōd, implying virtuous or morally uplifting context. Oxford dictionary defines good as “useful, advantageous or beneficial in effect, possessing or displaying moral virtue, showing kindness, giving pleasure; (something that is) enjoyable or satisfying” ( Oxford English Dictionary, 2022 ). Aristotle refers to the “supreme” good as an activity of the rational soul as it relates to virtue. Virtue, for the Greeks, is equivalent to excellence ( Aristotle Bartlett and Collins, 2011 ). Within the beliefs of Mohism, Mohists advocate a consequentialist criterion for evaluating good actions ( Mo and Fraser, 2020 ). What is benevolent or right is what provides good consequences—specifically, it benefits people. Among benefits, doing good for others, such as donating, volunteering, caring for, or feeding others takes priority over simple hedonic enjoyment. Mohists prize the virtue of benevolence, which they regard as committing us to furthering the benefit of all the world (including ourselves).

Venot and Veldwisch (2017) present a higher-level overview of what is good , stating, “ Connections and associations are made to something that is Good in the abstract sense, or to values assumed to be universal (though they reflect a narrow vision of progress, mostly Western and male dominated), such as equity, progress, development, and modernity” (2017). These unique interpretations and presentations of what is good provide context around the term, however in order to understand what is good from a psychological perspective it must be understood within the context of how it is being used. Therefore, for the purposes of this paper we define good as a mechanism or association between positive interactions with authentic beneficial effects that contribute to positive outcomes. The relationship that humans share with technology is complicated and while there are some shared associations with experiences that elicit positive outcomes, there is an essential need to understand how humans are engaging in the good with technology. Based on previous research, engaging with the good can be categorized into three classifications: seeing the good, feeling good, and doing good.

Seeing good

Seeing good is one way for people to engage in the good. Throughout the day, people are exposed to visual cues (events, actions and other behaviors, communication/information) that are meaningfully assessed through an intricate cognitive appraisal process. This is especially true when using technology. Operationally, seeing good involves a positive visual-cognitive top-down process where visual stimuli influence attention, personal expectations, and perceptual information ( Gilbert and Li, 2013 ). When an individual perceives a positive visual cue, this, in turn, influences positive affective experiences and meaningful cognitive judgments ( Diener, 1984 ; Eid and Larsen 2008 ; Hanson, 2013 ). Research demonstrates that the downstream consequences of seeing good leads to increased motivation and the development of strategies for secure social interactions, behaviors, and relationships ( Sprafkin et al., 1975 ; Sanders et al., 2000 ; Janicke-Bowles et al., 2018 ; Gilbert and Basran, 2019 ). This is further evidenced through an evolutionary lens of human adaptation, where seeing the good relates to the capacity for positive experiences through cooperation and joy ( Smith, 2010 ; Hanson, 2013 ; Gilbert and Basran, 2019 ). It has also been associated with other perceptions, such as experiences in novelty or perceptual vastness (awe; Rudd et al., 2012 ) and altruistic joy (the happiness from witnessing the good fortune of others; Hanson, 2013 ).

Some examples of seeing good include social or prosocial perceptions or seeing good in the lives of others ( Smith, 2010 ). Other examples include inspirational visual cues ( Haidt, 2000 ; Janicke-Bowles et al., 2018 ), imagining good facts ( Hanson, 2013 ), having access to information that contributes to positive outcomes ( Graham and Nikolova, 2012 ; Siegel and Thomson, 2017 ) and other visual experiences that increase accessibility/agency or positive emotions such as happiness, gratitude, awe, positive perceptions, or positive orientations (the general tendency to care about the needs of others; Thomson and Siegel, 2013 ; Thornton et al., 2019 ). Some researchers associate seeing good as a process of “taking in” visual and cognitive experiences as a means of coping and fostering well-being in their lives and the lives of others ( Hanson, 2013 ). Essentially, seeing good is the access to visual information that contributes to positive outcomes. This visual process is associated with early evolutionary capacities for connections and interactions through positive non-verbal cues, such as smiling ( Mukherjee et al., 2018 ).

Recently, research into visual stimuli within digital environments have reflected similar cognitive processes through digital visual cues. Positive cues from inspirational media can lead to the broadening of attention and perception ( Haidt, 2003 ; Janicke-Bowles et al., 2018 ; Mukherjee et al., 2018 ), and prosocial outcomes ( Greitemeyer, 2009 ). They are associated with increased motivation, positive emotions and inference of meaning ( Gilbert and Li, 2013 ; Myrick et al., 2022 ). Positive visual cues during technology use include, but are not limited to, “good” things, such as funny videos, creative visual narratives, loving scenarios, prosocial video games, awe provoking content, fun experiences, and watching people do good things for each other ( Sanders et al., 2000 ; Salimkhan et al., 2010 ; Thornton et al., 2019 ; Myrick et al., 2022 ). Essentially, seeing good is the access to information that contributes to positive outcomes.

Feeling good

Feeling good is another way people engage in the good. Operationally, feeling good is associated with the presence of higher positive affective states. Positive affective states are defined as pleasant feelings that contribute to positive levels of hedonic well-being (more positive affect than negative affect; Diener and Diener, 1996 ; Diener and Seligman, 2002 ). Hedonic well-being is often defined as the process of seeking pleasure and maximizing good feelings ( Waterman, 2008 ). A feeling is a subjective, evaluative process whose appraisal determines whether the feeling is pleasant or unpleasant ( APA Dictionary of Psychology, 2022 ).

The appraisal process occurs through a biopsychological cascade of energy and interactivity across cognitive structures within the limbic system and prefrontal cortex ( Rolls, 2005 ). The cognitive system integrates (subjective) information and in turn elicits good responses ( Fredrickson, 2003 ). Feeling good increases hedonic levels and motivates humans to engage with their environments, build resources, connect emotionally, and engage with others in positive ways (i.e., approach behaviors; Diener and Diener, 1996 ; Belonging; Siegel, 2022 ). There are other mechanisms that contribute to experiences of good feelings. For example, a eudaimonic perspective (the actualization of one’s potential), emphasizes that positive feelings arise through the fulfillment and engagement in meaningful activities ( Ryan and Deci, 2000 ).

Examples of activities that often elicit good feelings include but are not limited to, spending time with friends, relaxing, meditating ( Diener and Seligman, 2002 ; Huebner et al., 2014 ), or engaging in stimulating activities ( Holstein et al., 1990 ). Stimulating activities can include engagement with music, concerts and other events (through dancing, listening, singing, etc.; Dunbar et al., 2012 ), or playing games ( Hunter et al., 2019 ; Gkogkidis and Dacre, 2020 ). With the convenience of technology today, people are able to relax or engage in stimulating activities from the comfort of anywhere and at any time around the world with devices. Other engaging activities with technology that contribute to good feelings, include viewing and receiving “likes” on social networking posts ( Sherman et al., 2016 ; Ellis et al., 2020 ) and playing video games ( Guegan et al., 2020 ). The benefits from positive or good feelings contribute to one’s quality and satisfaction with life and are correlated with an increase in people’s sense of “oneness” with others ( Diener, 1984 , 1994 ; Edinger-Schons, 2020 ; West et al., 2021 ), the building of trust with acquaintances ( Dunn and Schweitzer, 2005 ), increased resilience ( Fredrickson, 2003 ), and other mechanisms that increase positive resources. Given that technology has become a vessel for young adults to experience biopsychosocial cascades of good feelings through digital experiences (i.e., social media, video games, blogs, podcasts, etc.; Magis-Weinberg et al., 2021 ; Myrick et al., 2022 ), provide a pivotal role in providing additional opportunities for positive outcomes ( Kushlev et al., 2021 ). The downstream effects from feeling good during positive technology use provide increased perception of peer support ( Magis-Weinberg et al., 2021 ), inspiration ( Meier and Schafer, 2018 ), motivation ( Janicke-Bowles et al., 2018 ), prosocial behavior ( Kushlev et al., 2021 ) and can even improve how people visually perceive the world and how they behave offline ( Jolij and Meurs, 2011 ). Feeling good during technology use, therefore, represents another domain within the trichotomy of engaging in the good with technology, and may play a significant role in positive technology use.

Doing good is viewed as any action seeking to promote perceived positive outcomes. Actions involving directed compassion and kindness, or affiliative behaviors, are most often associated with the construct of doing good ( George and Brief, 1992 ; Tappin and Capraro, 2018 ). Affiliative behavior is an important component of doing good and is defined as a positively interpreted action that facilitates peaceful and friendly interactions ( Depue and Morrone-Strupinsky, 2005 ). Doing good is often accompanied by the concept of doing good deeds ( Gray, 2011a , b ). Good deeds are correlated with proactive agency, that is, a sense that an individual is motivated to construct, contribute, or influence circumstances through their choices and actions ( Ryan and Deci, 2000 ; Bandura, 2006 ; Gray, 2011a , b ; Pettengill, 2020 ). Within this study, “doing good” is viewed as any action seeking to promote positive outcomes. There is a reciprocal relationship between doing good and positive experiences, thoughts and behaviors, particularly when humans are able to cognitively assess their perceived impact. That perceived impact is a judgment that one’s actions have consequences for the welfare of others ( Grant, 2007 ). As people do good, the impact of their actions influences their thought patterns and perceptions ( Bower, 1975 ; Neisser, 1976 ; Bandura, 1989 ; George, 1991 ; Gray, 2011a , b ), which reinforces the actualization of good behaviors.

Examples of doing good include but are not limited to, acts of kindness, donating, volunteering, promoting and posting positive content or comments on digital platforms ( Pettengill, 2020 ), sharing authentic information or experiences, preparing for timely responses to crises and supporting people in need ( Palen et al., 2007 ; Schueller et al., 2019 ; Hunsaker et al., 2020 ; Schueller and Torous, 2021 ; Tygielski et al., 2021 ), or sharing positive computer-mediated communication ( Riva, 2002 ; Al-Zoubi and Shamma, 2021 ; Cavalheiro et al., 2022 ; Walsh et al., 2022 ).

Doing good leads to further perceptions of one’s agency and the impact of those actions, because perceptions of actions are the means by which people make sense of experience ( Smith and Ellsworth, 1985 ; Gray, 2011a , b ; Pettengill, 2020 ). Through the use of technology, people are able to participate more easily in topics they are passionate about and, in some cases acting as agentic influencers, by sharing and having access to authentic information and knowledge ( Goldman et al., 2008 ; Dahal et al., 2020 ). These factors increase perceptions of agency and increase quality of life as opportunities to express feedback about social interests and other areas of concern positively influence motivation and other perceptions such as satisfaction with life ( George, 1991 ; Ryan and Deci, 2000 , 2001 ; Wessels, 2013 ).

Other benefits of doing good include individual and larger social advantages, including increases in positive affect, optimism, gratitude, life satisfaction, and joviality ( Alden and Trew, 2013 ; Pressman et al., 2015 ). When accounting for the recipients of good deeds, research demonstrates that there are increases in positive mood and nonverbal cues such as smiling, which enhances the supporting nature of connections with groups ( Gray, 2011a , b ; Pressman et al., 2015 ). Doing good also influences the perceived impact of good behaviors and facilitates perceptions of self-efficacy, which in turn influences human agency and further actions ( Depue and Morrone-Strupinsky, 2005 ; Bandura, 2006 ; Grant, 2007 ; Hawkley et al., 2007 ). Doing good for others fosters positive perceptions by others, which also contributes to feelings of agency, and positively influences human capabilities ( Gray, 2011a , b ). Additionally, good deeds create secure social interactions and supportive relationships, in addition to providing experiences of personal fulfillment ( Ryan and Deci, 2001 ; Gray, 2011a , b ; Siegel, 2022 ). Studies on individuals suffering from high social anxiety have demonstrated that doing good consistently over time also decreases social anxiety, increases relationship satisfaction, and significantly boosts positive affect ( Alden and Trew, 2013 ). All of these benefits increase opportunities for positive experiences for “doers” and “receivers” demonstrating several positive outcomes.

Engaging in the good with technology: a conceptual framework

Modern Technology provides opportunities for individuals to engage in the good . Based on the three directions of research taken on the investigation of engagement in the good (seeing good, feeling good, doing good) we propose a novel conceptual framework that situates these domains of engagement in the good within the context of technology use. Figure 1 reflects our Engagement in the Good with Technology (EGT) framework as a triadic model. Placed at each corner of this triangle is one of the three domains of engagement with good. We discuss these three domains in the context of technology use as reflected centrally in the model. As seen in Figure 1 , all domains of engagement in the good with technology are connected with lines, depicting the interrelated nature of these domains. The underlying premise of this model is that the elements of engagement in the good with technology are dynamic–they change across time and at times co-occur–and create a system. Namely, we deem this model as a dynamic network in which all elements of the network are interrelated and change as a system: Changes in one can be highly related to changes in other elements in the network of EGT and these relationships are proposed to be bidirectional.

Engagement in the Good with Technology (EGT) Framework. The EGT framework reflected in this figure demonstrates three domains for engaging in the good. At each corner is a node that is influenced by positive experiences that may occur during technology use. Each domain is activated through engagement with technology as represented in the center of the figure. Depending on the type of engagement, each node can become highly activated or less activated depending on what is occurring. These changes are dynamic. Increases in one node may influence the others, inversely, decreases in one may show decreases in others and they may be bidirectional.

In graph theory ( Barnes and Harary, 1983 ) networks demonstrate the connectivity among “actors” that can be objects, people, items or any other groups of elements that form a system ( Wasserman and Faust, 1994 ). Networks are made of elements that are denoted as “nodes” connected via lines, dubbed as “edges.” Edges represent the relationships among the nodes and illustrate the strength of the relationships among the nodes; these relationships can be directional or non-directional. Through a network perspective, we can examine relationships among all nodes of a network at the same time and explore changes in the configuration of a network over time and as a result of perturbations. Network analytics also provides the possibility of assessing the importance or “centrality” of each node in a network. For example, we can identify which node in the network is more strongly connected to all other nodes in the network (i.e., strength centrality) or acts as a connector among all the nodes of the network (i.e., betweenness centrality).

Approaching the EGT model as a network, the three facets of engagement in the good with technology are considered as nodes and the lines connecting them are the edges quantifying the relationship among them. Through this, we can explore the interconnectivity as well as the importance of the nodes within the network. Moreover, we can explore the EGT model in terms of the different configurations the network can take and how changes in one node of the network in different contexts can change the configurations of the network in different ways. Figure 2 demonstrates examples of the different configurations the EGT network can take.

Example configurations of the EGT network model. Four different possibilities in network configurations are presented in this figure. Model A shows when Seeing Good and Feeling Good are increasing but Doing Good is not activated. Model B reflects when Doing Good is increasing and Seeing Good and Feeling Good are not activated. Model C demonstrates when Feeling Good is increasing but Seeing Good and Doing Good are not activated, Model D illustrates when Doing Good and Feeling Good are increasing, but Seeing Good is not activated.

Figure 2A demonstrates an example configuration of the EGT network where, for example, someone is seeing good by watching an act of kindness video on their smartphone. While seeing good is increasing in this triadic network, feeling good is also increasing because the video is making them feel happy. Thus, in this model, the two seeing and feeling good nodes are activated (depicted via their increase in size) but doing good is less relevant and therefore, smaller in size. While the act of seeing good has the potential to increase people’s motivation to do good ( Janicke-Bowles et al., 2018 ), in this specific example, doing good has not yet been activated.

Figure 2B on the other hand, demonstrates an example of the EGT network configuration where someone engages in doing good, for example by donating funds to charity for war refugees on their computer (increase in doing good). While doing that, the individual may encounter war images of violence occurring in the war, leading to negative feelings (decrease in feeling good). Seeing good in this case is also small and less activated due to the imagery that they are witnessing in this context.

Figure 2C depicts a third possible configuration of the EGT network. In this case, an individual could be listening to music and their favorite song comes up. They feel good and begin dancing. In this case, the individual’s feeling good is heightened while their levels of Seeing good and doing good may remain the same.

Figure 2D represents another configuration where doing good and feeling good is elevated but seeing good is inactive. An example of this can be when someone uses social media to message a friend who is going through a tough time. While supporting their friend, the person feels good about being a source of support. In this case, this person has low exposure to seeing something good using their technology.

Network configurations for the EGT model are not limited to the ones presented in Figure 2 , rather they represent examples of ways that this model can be adopted to quantify various scenarios of engagement with the good through technology in terms of the three domains in different life contexts. Quantifications of these configurations through network analysis can then be examined in relation to psychological outcomes of interest, further elaborated in the next section.

Applications of the EGT framework

There has been a request from researchers, educators, and policymakers to help people flourish with technology ( Kushlev and Leitao, 2020 ; 60 Minutes, 2021 ; Kamenetz, 2021 ; Minadeo and Pope, 2022 ). Yet, there needs to be more research on how people engage in the good with technology. Beyond the theoretical and evidentiary support, the EGT framework provides a conceptual and theoretical grounding across three domains that can be used to explore positive technology experiences. Specifically, this model provides a dynamic and systems-level structure for understanding engagement in the good with technology. We take a network perspective toward this model where the different domains of engagement with the good via technology are assumed to be interconnected and should be examined as a whole instead of the sum of its parts.

Using the EGT Framework, future research can examine the dynamical changes in the EGT network in relation to various psychological and health outcomes. In fact, through the network perspective, we can bypass examining the individual impact of each of the domains of good technology use with mental health outcomes but rather explore the different configurations of the EGT network as a whole with outcomes of interest (see, e.g., Heshmati et al., 2021 ). For example, frequent use of technology to see good throughout the day (seeing good) may also stimulate good feelings in the person (feeling good) and ultimately lead to altruistic inclinations and prosocial motivation (doing good). This makes a “closed” triadic network where all three edges of the network are present ( Robins, 2015 ); this is as opposed to an open triadic network that has at least one edge missing from the network (i.e., no connectivity or association between two nodes of the network). With this, we can examine whether a closed triadic EGT network (all three aspects of engaging in the good are adopted simultaneously and increased together) is predictive of a person’s satisfaction with life as opposed to an open triadic network (only one or two aspects of engaging with the good is being adopted).

Moreover, taking a network approach toward domains of positive technology use can be helpful in informing future interventions targeted at increasing technology use for the good. Through measures of network centrality (e.g., strength, betweenness, closeness) we can quantify the importance of each of the three different domains of good in the EGT network. In other words, we can identify which node (domain of the good) in the network is most strongly connected to the rest of the network—namely, increases in that node will make it highly likely that other nodes in the network would increase as well. This particular node can then be the point of influence in this network for interventions since it is the most central and highly connected to other nodes. This would make the intervention more economical such that with increases in one part of the network, other aspects are also likely to increase.

EGT as a research tool

This Model can serve as a resource in both research and design landscapes. From a research standpoint, this model can be used to empirically test theoretical assertions relevant to positive technology use. For example, in emotion research, a ratio of positive events to negative events has been proposed as a means of overcoming the effects of negative experiences ( Fredrickson, 2009 ; Lyubomirsky, 2010 ; Rusu and Colomeischi, 2020 ). Even though a debate exists around the value of the ratio ( Gottman and Gottman, 2015 ; Friedman and Brown, 2018 ), research continues to support the notion that it is important for humans to experience more positive experiences than negative experiences in order to flourish ( Lyubomirsky, 2010 ; Rusu and Colomeischi, 2020 ). As a Research tool, people can use the EGT framework to examine the amount of positive engagement with technology in relation to negative engagement. This model could serve as a means of understanding the degree to which people are engaging in positive experiences and weighing them against negative ones. This tool could be constructive in advancing the development of measures that assess positive technology use. By providing tangible representations of technological interactions, they also serve as cornerstones for future studies, enabling a deeper exploration into the essence of technology use.

Moreover, investigative inquiries using this framework could be tailored to discern the antecedents of positive technology use, thereby shedding light on key variables that influence user interactions and outcomes. This model could also be used to develop interventions that support positive outcomes by dialing up the degree or frequencies of positive engagements and then measuring how these may impact individual responses to them. This framework can also be used to research technology users across generational cohorts. For example, we know technology use is pervasive in young adults (18–35). Therefore, it could be beneficial to know how much they use technology for good, what modes they use, and how positive technology use is related to their well-being.

Other areas that could be explored include whether these cohorts use technology for the good through seeing, feeling, and doing good. If so, how often are they engaging in seeing, feeling, and doing good in their daily lives? What modes are they using to engage in these behaviors (e.g., messaging, virtual reality, gaming, social media, sharing)? Other questions that could be explored include whether people who engage in the good with technology frequently report higher subjective well-being. Or is engaging in the good through seeing, feeling, and doing via technology related to higher levels of trait altruism and prosocial behavior? These are just some of the questions that would be interesting to explore in further research using the EGT framework.

EGT as a design tool

Many researchers have urged technology designers (Technologists) to take decisive action. For example, some researchers are requesting strategies for improving positive engagement (e.g., body positivity; authentic information) with technology among populations who find it challenging to deal with exposure to sensitive content on social media platforms ( Minadeo and Pope, 2022 ). Integrating these components into applications spanning diverse platforms and virtual experiences may yield advantageous results for end users of these platforms. Considering that one of the primary goals of technology companies is to enhance user engagement and increase corporate investments, the EGT Model offers a unique avenue for technologists. It allows them to establish protective mechanisms or procedures with algorithms that might positively affect users by boosting positive emotions, resonance, and engagement.

Take, for instance, a situation where a social media algorithm persistently recommends potentially harmful content. With the EGT Framework, it could establish safeguards where, through machine learning, the algorithm could start proposing content that typically promotes beneficial or affiliative behaviors. This might encompass exposure to uplifting videos, options to contribute to virtuous causes, and subsequently reflecting those advantageous outcomes to the user. Consider a donation scenario that also provides insights into the favorable repercussions of such an act. Should individuals integrate a direct beneficial outcome into their cognitive processes, they are enabled to not only Do Good and See Good but also to Feel Good.

Another potential function of the EGT Network lies in its capacity to foster positive engagement through the promotion of enriching learning environments. Given the overwhelming volume of information readily available today, it can be challenging for individuals to discern and comprehend genuinely helpful and authentic information. The EGT Network can counter this issue by creating positive spaces or illuminating pertinent and healthy information. This approach promotes beneficial outcomes through productive communication, such as reframing and reliance on fact-based sources. Additionally, by supporting healthy behaviors, the EGT Network could enhance users’ learning abilities. For instance, when end-users seek information about healthy exercise or diet suggestions, resources designed with an EGT Framework can be particularly beneficial. Such resources can guide users to authentic information from professionals, connect them with positive and healthy support groups or mentorship opportunities, and even allow them to support others on similar journeys. Consequently, this enables users to make well-informed decisions.

Given that the frequency of interactions and the amount of time that people engage with devices is increasing exponentially, future research could benefit from a framework that reflects the dynamics of positivity-focused technology strategies across different technological landscapes such as Extended Reality (XR; Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality), gaming, metaverse environments, or more. Understanding how the EGT Network can function across interactions is an important element in supporting future applications. As evidenced, incorporating elements across different platforms could promote positive behaviors such as cooperation and mutual support or create positive learning environments for all ages.

Technology, as always has been the case, is only going to become further integrated into the human experience. Research has demonstrated that at times, how we use technology can reduce perceptions of agency, narrow our perceptual scope of attention, and disconnect us from one another. As we have demonstrated in this article, how we choose to use technology is ultimately the main predictor of how it impacts us. However, currently, we lack the tools required to measure and understand how we may consciously choose to engage with our technology, positively. Therefore, measuring and having instruments at our disposal that supports adaptation to technology can empower how people engage with technology in positive ways and promote human flourishing.

By considering the broad scope of how good is enacted with technology we can provide more information about the positive influences and directions of positive technology use. In view of the fact that negative technology experiences are a common occurrence for everyone, having a coherent reference point for how positive engagement occurs, may bolster support for those who need it most. Whether people are text messaging, exploring metaverses, using apps, video conferencing, using social media, or more, technology plays a vital role as an extension of the human experience. The triadic model for engaging in the good with technology (i.e., EGT framework) provides a coherent framework and important context for interactions and encourages further exploration of positive experiences with technology use. This framework further supports the exploration of research questions that have not been answered before. Examining positive interactions of technology provides an opportunity for researchers, educators, and practitioners to understand how to support and enhance well-being in populations, and determine successful methods for people to engage with technology in positive ways. This model can be used and adopted by researchers, organizations, companies, institutions as a means of understanding how to enhance positive upward spirals in people’s mental health through good technology use.

Author contributions

AV was an overall majority of this paper, developed the theory, conceptual framework, researched, wrote the literature review of research, and proposals. SH was a valuable resource involved in discussing the framework, reviewing the work, editing and reviewing the paper, contributed expertise in her knowledge of Social Network Analysis to help inform the supporting analyses, and proposed applications. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

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Acknowledgments

This paper and the research behind it would not have been possible without the exceptional work and support of several people and Institutions who have built the foundations of our understanding and propelled us forward. These include the researchers, educators, individuals, and advocates, many of whom are referenced in this article, but some who are not, but whose efforts have contributed to the wide body of knowledge we currently have today about human behavior. Additionally, to the institutions that play a pivotal role to support and plant the seeds of our curiosity and understanding so that we may help others. The Garrison Institute and the Garrison Institute Fellowship, has been an incredible pillar of support for my work and I would not have been able to balance my responsibilities without the support of the Institute and my colleagues there. I would also like to thank the following individuals for their expertise, support, and contributions, Julio Caesar Quiceno, was instrumental in catalyzing this journey and inspired everyone who knew him to recognize that- through hardship are the positive resources we have, can realize, and share so that we can help each other flourish. Julio Villamil has helped demonstrate, the meaning of Eudaimonic Well-Being and what “doing good” entails. Saida Heshmati, my advisor, whom I have spent several hours discussing these ideas, research, and methods with to bring this work to light. Lisa Walsh whose knowledge, expertise and most importantly support have challenged and inspired my work. Jeanne Nakamura, whose expertise, curious mind, and approach to shaping my understanding of the foundations, contributions, and trajectory of positive psychology have supported this work. Daniel J. Siegel who sparked my curiosity and agency, and has encouraged me to explore the edges of what it means to be a mindful researcher. And of course, my parents Julio and Helen Villamil that have supported me during this entire process.

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Top 100 technology research topics.

July 8, 2020

The choice of technology research topics can influence the quality of the final papers submitted by students. It can also impact the experience of students when writing their papers. These are some of the reasons why students should be careful when choosing technology topics to research and write about.

Nevertheless, students that have difficulties in choosing topics about technology have many options to consider. What’s more, topics on technology can be classified into different categories. Here are some of the research topics about technology that learners can research and write about. If you decide to get professional writing help, just contact our academic writers .

Latest Technology Research Topics

If you want to write about the latest technological inventions, consider technology research paper topics in this category. Here are some of them.

• 3D algorithms – Discuss their use in computer programming languages and the game video games’ development
• Explain the inefficient use of 3D printers in today’s society
• Ad Server – Explain technology use in advertising
• Explain the evolution of artificial intelligence
• Explain the concept of auto text summarization
• Explain the process of building energy conservation designs
• Compare and contrast online learning and face-to-face learning
• Explain how cloud computing has changed how data is processed and stored in servers
• How do cell phones make humans depend on one another?
• Can the use of cell phones lead to brain cancer?
• Can genetic food modification technology be used to solve the world hunger problem?
• Discuss the undefined guidelines or rules that are followed in business technology
• Discuss the computer-aided control technology
• Discuss the computer-aided manufacture and design
• Explain how social media technology is helping in the creation of new families
• Explain the use of data mining technology in detecting technical theft and fraud
• Explain the effectiveness of the use of electronic surveillance to protect properties from possible dangers
• Explain how phishing can be stopped completely
• Explain how imaginaire has changed how people relate
• Why is the use of cell phones when driving risky?

These are just some of the latest technology-related topics. However, students should choose topics they find interesting and then conduct extensive research to find adequate and relevant data.

Amazing Technology Debate Topics

Are you looking for debatable technology essay topics? If yes, here are examples of such topics to consider.

• Explain how smart clothes or technology-compatible fashions have become a future wave
• Explain how voting fraud is a major problem because voting machines are easy to compromise
• How are tech companies overshadowing technology security
• Apple versus Samsung – Which company is the technology giant?
• Are Apple products designed and built to last?
• Android versus Apple – Who makes better devices?
• Are plasma televisions on their way out?
• How better can robots be in comparison to humans?
• Are entrepreneurs spending too much on tech start-ups?
• Can this time in history be described as the Age of Hacks?
• Why should you prefer Apple products?
• Do you like the autoplay feature for Facebook videos?
• Are you worried that your email account could be hacked?
• Are Firefox and Yahoo going against Google when it comes to diminishing its influence and growth?
• Are you worried about having your USB device hacked?
• Can you trust anti-surveillance software?
• Can books be replaced by technology?
• Can cell phones be used as educational tools?
• How important is a website for a modern company?
• Will consoles every reach the level of personal computers?

Interesting Technology Topics

If looking for hot topics in technology, consider some of the ideas in this category. Here are some of the most interesting research topics on technology that you should consider.

• Are medical apps reliable?
• How has the internet made outsourcing easier?
• Is Bitcoin safe and reliable?
• How can technology be used to manage healthcare in the cloud?
• Will self-driving cars be safe?
• How effective are video surveillance and smart homes?
• Are digital voting machines encouraging voter fraud or paving way for the future?
• Are children spending excessive time on the internet?
• Is gene editing ethical?
• What are the Blockchain technology basics?
• Why is virtual gaming and reality so popular?
• How addictive are video games?
• Why are teenagers avoiding some social media platforms?
• Are VPN sketchy or safe?
• What does a transition from 4G to 5G means?
• What is the future of video streaming?
• How have technology advances changed IT support?
• Explain what companies are doing to beat hackers?
• Explain the concept of online shopping and augmented reality
• Explain GGI advancements in videogames and movies

These are some of the best computer technology topics to consider if you want to research and write about something interesting. Nevertheless, you should be ready to research extensively to find relevant and factual data to support your argument.

Controversial Technology Topics

Learners have many controversial topics in technology to consider. These are engaging and relatable topics that many people find controversial. Here are examples of such topics:

• How dangerous are cell phones?
• What are the emerging alternative energy forms?
• Are digital tools making humans less or more productive?
• How different is the world in which kids under the age of 12 are growing compared to those in colleges?
• Is the world having a throw-away society?
• Explain the drone warfare
• How can technology be used to prevent pregnancy among teens?
• Should the internet be censored or controlled?
• Digital learning is changing education and schools- Explain
• Explain the use of filthy language on the internet
• Explain how technology is influencing the education system
• Is technology turning humans into zombies?
• How can technology be used to regulate the human diet?
• Should technological developments be accessed by people across the world equally?
• Should identity chips be implanted under the human skin?
• How is technology influencing behavior among children?
• How have human lives changed because of technology?
• How is digital learning changing education and classrooms
• Are Smartphones reducing live communication?
• What are the negative effects of new technologies?

This category has some of the best educational technology topics. Some of them are also great technology presentation topics. However, students should research them extensively and use reliable sources to find quality data to support their arguments.

Technology Argumentative Essay Topics

Perhaps, you’re looking for technology essays topics that allow you to take a stance. In that case, you should choose the topics in this category. Here are examples of the best topics in this category.

• Cell phones are too harmful
• Video games are too violent for children
• How good are mobile apps for learning
• Are the existing technologies making people lonely?
• Modern people are technological zombies
• Young people are too dependent on Smartphones and computers
• Modern teens are over depending on information technologies
• Is texting an effective way to communicate?
• Spy applications are an invasion of mobile phones privacy
• Explain how cyber-bullying can be blocked effectively
• Explain how Google has affected society
• How people have become anti-social because of technology
• Explain the pros and cons of using mobile phones
• Explain how technology makes people feel lonely
• Some computer games are partly the cause of mass murder

These can also be great technology speech topics. Nevertheless, they also require extensive research to come up with great papers.

Information Technology Topics

In addition to science and technology topics, students can also write on different information technology research topics. Examples of such topics include:

• How information technologies will change human life in 20 years
• Explain what governments are doing to regulate how people use the internet
• Explain the long-term effects of information technology
• Does the use of the internet to communicate bring humans closer together?
• Compare the human brain function and how computers work

Information technology research paper topics are very common in high schools and colleges. They are also common in social science studies. That’s because they enable learners to evaluate the impact of modern technologies on human behaviors. You can also check our computer science topics .

In addition to these categories, learners can also choose topics in business technology, science and technology topics, as well as, technology security topics. The most important thing is to select a topic you can comfortably research and write about.

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Technology Research Paper

This sample technology research paper features: 8300 words (approx. 27 pages), an outline, and a bibliography with 48 sources. Browse other research paper examples for more inspiration. If you need a thorough research paper written according to all the academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help. This is how your paper can get an A! Feel free to contact our writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments for reasonable rates.

Introduction

Man’s relation to technology: a brief history, technology and biological anthropology, the sts approach, classical philosophical anthropology, philosophy of technology, the continental approach to the philosophy of technology, the analytic approach to the philosophy of technology, recent developments: bridging the gap, conclusion and future directions.

• Bibliography

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The term technology is derived from the Greek word techné. The Greek word refers to all forms of skillful, rule-based mastery in any field of human praxis, originally encompassing both arts (like painting, sculpture, writing, and the like) and craftsmanship (like carpentry, shipbuilding, architecture, and the like). The Roman culture uses the Latin word arts for these domains. Accordingly the medieval terminology distinguishes between the seven free arts (grammar, rhetoric, logic, geometry, arithmetic, music, astronomy) and the mechanical arts (e.g., agriculture, architecture, tailoring), thus prefiguring the later distinction between arts (as linked to the study of humans and the humanities) and technology (as linked to engineering and the study and science of nature).

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The modern word technology finally refers either to procedures and skillful application of sciences for the production of industrial or manual products or to the products of these processes themselves. In this sense, technology nowadays encompasses only a part of the original Greek definition. The place of technology as being on the one hand a product of humans (being thus rooted in human anthropology and human tool usage), and being on the other hand based on a solid scientific understanding of the laws of nature (modern technology), can be seen as the two key features of contemporary and recent approaches to analyze and understand technology. Technology is then in one respect as old as humankind: Many approaches in anthropology thus refer to the general structure of technology in all of human history and relate it to the biological condition of humans. But recent anthropological thinking also reflects on the specific details of modern technology. It has often been argued that there is a structural difference between modern, science-based technology and older forms of craftsmanship of ancient or medieval types of technology. Therefore, a central question for modern anthropology is to analyze the consequences modern technology has for our picture of humankind: how to define man in the age of technology.

Reflection about the anthropological function of technology is probably as old as human self-reflection itself, since the ability to use tools and create cultural products has always been seen as a unique human feature, distinguishing humankind from most other animals (see also the next section on biological anthropology). But an analysis of technology was not at the center of political, social, anthropological, or philosophical thoughts before the development of the modern natural sciences and their counterpart, modern technology. Following Carl Mitcham (1994) one can roughly distinguish three approaches to technology before the 20th century, encompassing many topics that later became essential parts of contemporary discussions about technology (p. 275). The three approaches are as follows:

• In the ancient world, technology is looked at with certain skepticism. The use of tools is seen as necessary for survival, but also regarded as dangerous, since it might lead to human hubris and might raise the envy and anger of the gods. In this sense, mythological thinking envisions technology as, for example, stolen from the gods (the myth of Prometheus), and thus not properly belonging to humans. The extensive use of technology is often seen as leading to megalomaniac fantasies or unjustified overstepping of religious and ethical boundaries (e.g., myth of the Tower of Babel, myth of Icarus). Philosophical reflection, however, acknowledges the value of technology for an otherwise defenseless human being. Already Plato anticipates a central thought of modern anthropology: Human beings are poorly equipped for survival in nature. They need to compensate for this lack by developing skills of rational thinking and the usage of tools (this idea later becomes a central thesis of the famous anthropology of Arnold Gehlen [1988]). But the emphasis in ancient philosophical anthropology lies not so much on man’s capacities to invent technology, but on man’s moral character (exemplified by ancient wisdom or medieval religiosity). The usage of technical knowledge should thus be kept within strict ethical boundaries.
• In the hierarchy of knowledge, ethical wisdom is regarded in principle as higher than and superior to technological skills. Socrates points to the question that we should not only seek knowledge about how to do certain things (technical knowledge), but rather about whether we should perform certain actions (ethical knowledge); this idea can also be found in the medieval distinction between the (superior form of a) life in contemplation ( vita contemplativa ) and the (lower) life in active involvement ( vita activa ). Ancient and medieval technology is thus embedded in an anthropological vision, in which human virtues play an important role. Different forms of virtues are combined in the original crafts, as opposed to the later, modern differentiation of these virtues: In craftmanship one can find a union of economical virtues (e.g., efficient usage of limited resources), technical virtues (creating new entities that did not exist before), and often also aesthetic virtues (a sense of beauty that adds an aesthetic component to these newly created entities going beyond the modern idea that “form follows function”). In the Greek world, these three skills are combined in the realm of poiesis, while in modernity they are separated in the three domains of economy, technology, and art—each relatively independent of the others (Hösle, 2004, p. 366).
• A profound change in the evaluation of technology emerges with modernity, a position that Mitcham (1994) summarizes as Enlightenment optimism. Already in the writings of Francis Bacon (1620), the new science of nature and its application to experimental and technological research is highly welcomed. Progress in technology is seen as very beneficial to humankind, as it may lead to the cure of diseases, mastery over nature, and a constant progress toward a more human society. Many utopian writings mark the beginning of early modern thoughts in which technology is seen as essential in leading to a brighter future for humankind (e.g., Thomas More’s Utopia [1516], J. V. Andreae’s Christianopolis [1619], F. Bacon’s New Atlantis [1627]). In a similar line of thought, Enlightenment thinkers defend science and modern technology against attacks from religious conservatism, pointing at the beneficial consequences of technological and scientific progress.
• A countermovement to the Enlightenment is Romanticism, which accordingly has a different view on technology, referred to by Mitcham (1994) as Romantic uneasiness. Again, the central thought is an anthropological perspective in which man is seen as being good by nature, while it is civilization that poses the danger of alienating man from nature and from his fellow man, focusing only on his rational capacities and suppressing his emotional and social skills. Already Vico (1709) opposed Cartesian rationalism and feared that the new interest in science would lead to a neglect of traditional humanistic education. Rousseau’s critique of modern societies then became influential, seeing an advancement of knowledge and science, but a decay of virtues and immediacy ( Discourse on the Arts and Sciences; Rousseau, 1750). With the age of industrialism, the negative social consequences of modern labor work become the scope of interest of social theorists, leading up to Marx’s famous analysis of modern societies (see subsequent section on cultural and sociological anthropology). In opposition to the positive utopias centered on technology in early modernity, the 20th century then sees the literary success of pessimistic dystopias, in which often technological means of suppression or control play an important role (e.g., already in M. W. Schelley’s Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus [1818] and later in H. G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau [1896], A. Huxley’s Brave New World [1932], George Orwell’s 1984 [1948], and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 [1953]).

The tension between approaches praising the benefits of technology (in the spirit of the Enlightenment) and approaches focusing on negative consequences (in the spirit of Romanticism) still forms the background of most of the contemporary philosophical and anthropological debate; this debate circles around an understanding of modern technology, often rooted in the different “cultures” of the humanities and the sciences. It can be regarded as being a particularly vivid opposition at the beginning of the 20th century, that only later gave room for more detailed and balanced accounts of technology (some classics of the debate being Snow, 1959; McDermott, 1969).

Recent contributions toward a deeper understanding of the usage and development of technology stem from such different disciplines as biology, sociology, philosophical anthropology, metaphysics, ethics, theory of science, and religious worldviews. This research paper aims at a brief overview of important topics in the debate over technology during the 20th century to the present time. Three anthropological perspectives will be distinguished, depending on the main focus of anthropological interest. This will start with a brief summary of the biological anthropological perspective on technology, move on to those theories which focus more on social or cultural aspects, and conclude with more general philosophical anthropologies. This research paper is thus not chronologically organized, but tries to identify common themes of the debate, even though sometimes the topics might overlap (e.g., the case of Gehlen, a philosophical anthropologist who starts from a biological perspective and then moves on toward a more social view on technology).

In contemporary anthropology, technology becomes a central issue for at least two different reasons:

• From a biological perspective the usage of tools is regarded (next to the development of language and a cognitive rational apparatus) as one of the key features of humanization. Biological anthropology thus initially focuses on the differences and similarities of tool usage in humans and animals, trying to understand the role technology plays in general for an understanding of humans’ biological and social nature. With the focus on human evolution, attention is often drawn to the question of which role technology played at the beginning of humankind.
• While in this way always being a part of human culture, technology becomes arguably one of the single most influential key features of society only in modernity. According to Max Weber, science, technology, and economy form the “superstructure” of modernity, while they all share a common “rationality” (mainly of means-ends reasoning in economy and technology). The experience of the powers and dangers of modern technology (as in industrialized labor work, medical progress, nuclear energy and weapon technology, environmental problems due to pollution, and extensive usage of resources, etc.) has triggered many social, political, and philosophical reflections that—in opposition to biological anthropology—aim primarily at understanding the specifics of modern

Let us look at these two tendencies in turn, starting with the biological perspective, before moving to the social or cultural anthropology of technology.

Biological anthropologists are interested in the role technology played during humanization, and they attempt to give evolutionary accounts of the development of tool usage and technology and compare tool usage in man with tool usage in other animals. The development of technology has often been regarded as an evolutionarily necessary form of adaption or compensation. Since most of man’s organs are less developed than those of other species, he needed to compensate for this disadvantage in the evolutionary struggle for life (see Gehlen, 1980). Initially the usage of tools was considered a unique human feature, distinguishing the genus Homo from other animals (Oakley, 1957), but research on tool usage in different animals, especially chimpanzees, led to a more or less complete revision of this thesis (Schaik, Deaner, & Merrill, 1999).

Nowadays, many examples of tool usage in the animal kingdom are known (Beck, 1980). For example, chimpanzees use sticks to fish for termites, and elephants have been described as having a remarkable capacity for tool usage. Even though tool usage must thus be regarded as more common among animals, attention still needs to be drawn to the specifics of man’s tool usage, which arguably in scope and quality goes beyond what is known from the animal kingdom. It has been pointed out that our biological anatomy offers us several advantages for an extended usage of tools: walking erectly frees the two hands, which can then be used for other purposes. Furthermore, the position of the human thumb and short straight finger are of great benefit, especially in making and using stone tools (Ambrose, 2001). Still debated, however, is whether social and technological developments go hand in hand or whether one of the two factors is prior.

Even though many anthropologists tended to see social behaviors and cultural revolutions mostly as a consequence of a change in tool usage or a development of new technologies, it has also occasionally been argued that the development of social skills precedes the development of technical skills (e.g., in joint group hunting). It has additionally been acknowledged that chimpanzees also pass over some of their technical knowledge through the mechanism of learning and establishing cultural “traditions” that resemble, to some extent, human traditions (Wrangham, 1994; Laland, 2009). But there seems to be a specific difference in human and primate learning, namely in the fact that human children learn tool usage mainly via imitation and by simply copying a shown behavior, even if it is not the most efficient solution to a given problem. Opposed to this, chimpanzees seem to learn through a process called emulation, which implies that they diverge from the paradigmatic solution that has been “taught” to them. It has been argued that learning through imitation has been selected in humans, even though it is a less flexible strategy, because it is a more social strategy of learning (Tomasello, 1999, p. 28). In this way, biological anthropology mirrors a debate in social anthropology about the role of technology; this can be seen either as a driving force born out of necessity that calls for social changes (technical determinism), or as highly mediated or even constructed by culture (social constructivism).

Technology and Social/Cultural Anthropology

As already mentioned, technology was identified early on as a key feature of modern society (Misa, Brey, & Feenberg, 2004). Many studies have been written about the impact of modern technology on society, focusing mainly on the industrial revolution (e.g., Haferkamp, 1992; Pressnell, 1960; Smelser, 1969) or on the more recent revolution of the information society (e.g., Castells, 1999; Nora, 1980), as well as on the impact of technological change on traditional societies.

The analyses of Karl Marx and the Frankfurt School are influential, not only in trying to grasp the role of modern technology in society, but also in hinting on potential anthropological roots of technology and their essential interrelation with social aspects of the human condition. Marx insisted that the study of technology holds the highest relevance for human sciences, since it reveals the way humans deal with nature and sustain life (Marx, 1938). An essential feature of man’s nature is that he has to work in order to sustain his life, that he is the “toolmaking animal” or—as he has later been called—the Homo faber. Marx analyzes the role of technology in Chapter 13 of his first volume of Das Kapital. He argues that the division of labor becomes fostered through machines, which at the same time replace more and more traditional manpower and can furthermore be operated by less skilled employees, thus leading to very bad labor conditions for the working class. Technology in general is, however, still greeted as an option to make humans’ lives easier; it is mainly the social distribution of the possession of the means of production that Marx regards as problematic. (Also later thinkers, inspired by Marxian thought, tend to see technology as an important means toward establishing a better future.) On the other hand, at the same time, technology is seen as rooted in man’s will to dominate nature.

Following this later insight in particular, Theodor Adorno argues that Western civilization has developed powerful tools to ensure its self-preservation against nature. Technical rationality is regarded as the exercise of strategic power to dominate (external) nature, but it is at the same time also leading to a suppression of the inner nature of man (Adorno, 1979). The main strategy of this rationality is quantification, which lies at the heart of the mathematical-scientific interpretation of nature and the development of modern technology. At the same time it brings forth a type of rationality, which leads to a selfmutilation. The will to exercise power becomes the main feature of modern rationality, thus leading to a dialectic that turns the noble aims of the Age of Enlightenment into a morality of humankind that is its very opposite: A new barbaric system of oppression and dictatorship arises, using technology for totalitarian purposes.

While Adorno seeks redemption mainly in the arts (Adorno, 1999), seeming to promise the possibility of a completely different kind of subjectivity, Jürgen Habermas (1971) tries to propose an antidote; this does not lie outside of modern-Enlightenment rationality, but rather returns to its original intention. Habermas argues with Marx and Adorno, asserting that technological knowledge has its anthropological roots in the will to dominate nature and therefore serves a strategic interest of man. With this, man is not only Homo faber but also a social animal. Besides the strategic means-end rationality he also possesses a communicative rationality, aimed at defining common moral values and engaging in discourse over ethically acceptable principles of actions. In thus distinguishing two types of rationality, Habermas tries to incorporate much of the German tradition of cognitivistic ethics into his approach. It is important for Habermas that technology be brought under the control of democratic decision-making processes; his discourse ethics has thus helped to inspire ideas of participatory technology assessment.

Outside the Frankfurt School, technology has not been at the center of social and cultural anthropology, as has been often complained (Pfaffenberger, 1988, 1992). Langdon Winner (1986) coined the term technological somnambulism to refer to those theories that neglect the social dimension of technology. According to this dominant tradition, the human-technology relation is “too obvious” to merit serious reflection. Technology is seen as an independent factor of the material and social world, one that forms a relatively autonomous realm of ethically neutral tools to acquire human ends. But already Winner argues that technology is essentially social and is shaped by cultural conditions and underlying value decisions. He claims in a famous article (Winner, 1980) that Long Island’s low bridges were intentionally built in a way that would keep buses away, making it more difficult for the poor, and mainly the black population, to reach the island. Even though this particular claim has been challenged, Winner seems to be correct in pointing out that value decisions play a role in creating technology, and that the social value system leaves its trace in technological artifacts.

In line with this renewed interest in social issues, a new field of studies related to technology emerged in the 1980s, focusing explicitly on this neglected relation between society and technology: the so-called STS approach. Having been labeled the “turn to technology” (Woolgar, 1991), science and technology studies (STS) analyzes society’s impact on science and technology, and science and technology’s impact on society. Several writers draw attention to the social shaping of technology. An influential author is Bruno Latour, who contributed to both the initial appeal to social constructivism (that he later gave up) and the development of the actor-network theory; both are at the center of the debate about the theoretical underpinnings of STS.

Social Constructivism

Woolgar and Latour employ a social-constructivist perspective in their early case study on the production of scientific results, in which they analyze scientists’ attempt to establish and accumulate recognition and credibility of their research through the “cycle of credibility” (Latour, 1979). The main idea of social constructivism is the attempt to interpret alleged objective “facts” in the social world as being socially constructed, so that knowledge of the world and its interpretation depends on social mechanisms and cannot be traced back to objective facts (Berger & Luckmann, 1966). In this sense technology is also not an objective, independent given, but shaped by social ideas and societal interpretations.

Actor-Network Theory

In the 1980s and 1990s, Latour became one of the main proponents of the actor-network theory (Latour, 2005); this is also attractive to scholars who reject social constructivism, since it can be combined with the idea that not all of technology is socially constructed. The social-constructive interpretation of this theory aims to develop a framework in which society and nature, or society and technology, are not separated. The idea of technology as a sociotechnical system implies that agent and tool form a unity, which cannot be explained completely by referring to one of the two elements in isolation. According to this idea, technological artifacts dispose over some form of agency and can be—to some extent—regarded as actants. This ascription of intentionality and agency to technical systems is, however, highly debated. The debate between realism and social constructivism has thus not been settled.

Philosophical Anthropology and the Philosophy of Technology

Research in philosophical anthropology peaked in early 20th-century Germany, discussed in the next section. But outside of anthropological discussions, the topic of technology became an important issue for philosophy, so in this brief overview, important contributions and themes of the continental and analytic tradition will be discussed next. Finally, more recent developments and topics in the philosophy of technology will be sketched that do not try to revitalize a philosophical anthropology, but that nevertheless do touch in one way or another on anthropological perspectives on technology.

Classical philosophical anthropology was mainly interested in understanding the essence of human nature and often draws specific attention to the role of technology. Important contributions came from Gehlen, Plessner, and Scheler during the first half of the 20th century. The attempt to link technology to a biological interpretation of man in Gehlen’s early works especially deserves attention. Given his biological constitution, man must be seen as deficient by nature ( Mängelwesen ), since he is not endowed with instinctive routines and is not adapted well to a specific natural environment, but rather is open to the world ( weltoffen ). He compensates for this deficiency with the help of his mental capacities and tool usage. Gehlen interprets human language and human institutions as relief mechanisms ( Entlastungen ) that help him to interpret and organize the plentitude of impressions (the sensory overload, Reizüberflutung ) that he is exposed to. Most technologies can thus be regarded to be either organ-amplification ( Organverstärkung ) or organ-replacement ( Organersatz ) (Gehlen, 1988). In Man in the Age of Technology (1980), Gehlen focuses more on sociological perspectives of technology. He identifies two essential cultural breaks marking principle changes in humans’ world interpretation and social organization, both of which are linked to technological developments: (1) the neolithic revolution of sedentism, marking the passage from a hunter’s culture to a society of agriculture and cattle breeding, and (2) the industrial revolution in modernity (Gehlen, 1980).

Scheler also analyzes man’s rational capacities from a biological perspective, but he concludes that a purely naturalistic approach does not render justice to our selfunderstanding. The human ways of sustaining life are from an often inefficient biological perspective. Therefore, it must be pointed out that the main function of human knowledge is not only to strategically ensure humans’ own survival, but also to be directed toward the discovery of moral values and toward the process of self-education ( Bildung ). Humans not only live in an environment, but also reflect on their place in the world—a capacity that marks a fundamental difference between humans and animals (Scheler, 1961).

This type of philosophical anthropology came to a certain end when the main interest of philosophers shifted from understanding “man” to understanding “society” during the 1960s. With the recent developments of sociobiology, philosophers have taken a renewed interest in the linkage between biological and cultural interpretations of man. Let us look at some tendencies of later research in the philosophy of technology.

If we look at a philosophical interpretation of technology, we find the first origins of a discipline of the philosophy of technology by the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century (see Kapp, 1877, and Dessauer, 1933). During the first half of the 20th century, the philosophical analysis of technology can, roughly speaking, be divided into two main schools of thought: the continental, often skeptical approach, and the analytical, often optimistic approach . As with all such very generic typologies, this distinction likewise does not claim to be more than an approximation, while the general tendency of recent research seems precisely to be to overcome this gap and to aim for a convergence or crossfertilization of these two approaches. Therefore, what follows is an ideal-type distinction that tries to make some of the basic ideas of these two approaches more visible and aims at understanding their more general features.

The continental approach originally focused on a humanities-centered perspective on technology, its (mainly negative) consequences for society, and its rootedness in a problematic feature of human anthropology (the will to power), and finally tried to understand technology as such (its “essence”). The analytic approach, on the other hand, originally focused on a more science-based understanding of technology, its (mostly beneficial) potential for the progress of societies, and its rootedness in a rational (scientific) way to approach nature, and it finally tried to look not at technology as such but at specific problems or specific types of technologies.

In the continental philosophy of technology, technology is often interpreted as closely linked to a certain form of consciousness, a form of approaching nature (and also human interaction) from a perspective that is rooted in a scientific understanding of the world, which itself is rooted in the will to dominate nature. This approach is seen to replace or at least to endanger a value-based approach to reality. In this sense, Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology regards science and technology as a mere abstraction from the fullfledged real experience of the world we live in. In this way, the sphere of technical knowledge is limited and needs to be guided by value decisions, which do not have their basis in scientific or technical knowledge, but stem from our ethical knowledge of our life-world.

While technology is not at the center of Husserl’s interest, José Ortega y Gasset (1914/1961) was one of the first philosophers who aimed at a deeper understanding of the relation between human nature and technology. Rejecting Husserl’s later emphasis on the transcendental subject, he insists that human nature can only be understood by the formula “I am I plus my circumstances.” Philosophy can thus neither start from the isolated subject (as in idealism), nor can it interpret everything from the perspective of the material conditions (as in materialism). Rather, it must find a middle ground. The essence of humans is for Ortega not determined by nature; this distinguishes humans from plants or animals or from physical objects—all having a defined, specific given nature. Man must determine his own nature by himself by way of the creative imagination. Technology is interpreted as the material realization of this self-image; it is a projection of an inner invention into nature. According to Ortega, technology evolved in three phases: It started as a collection of accidental findings of means toward ends by pure chance. In a later state, these findings became traditions and skills that were passed on to the next generation. Modern technology marks a radical difference, since it is based on a systematic scientific approach, which forms the third phase. This approach, however, tends to become the dominant mode of thinking, so that man’s creative capacity for imagination (which is at the heart of man’s very essence) is in danger of being replaced or losing its importance (Ortega y Gasset, 1914/1961).

Martin Heidegger’s (1977) analysis of technology in his essay “The Question Concerning Technology” is also very influential. His philosophy aims at understanding the notion of being, which—so claims Heidegger—has been misinterpreted or neglected by traditional European philosophy. Since man is the only known being that can ask for the meaning of being, Heidegger’s analysis in Sein und Zeit starts from an interpretation of the existence of such a being ( Da-sein ). Even though his book is meant to be an exercise in philosophical (fundamental) ontology, it offers many anthropological insights about the specific human form of existence, in which the knowledge and the denial of one’s own mortality form essential human features.

In his later work, Heidegger (1977) understands technology as a specific form of disclosing reality. Asked for the essence of technology, people usually refer to it as a means to achieve an end (instrumental definition), or they define technology as an essential human activity (anthropological definition). Even though Heidegger admits that these definitions are “correct,” they do not disclose the essential truth about technology for two reasons. Essentially, (1) technology is not a tool for achieving an end, but rather the perspective under which everything that exists is seen only as a potential resource to achieve an (external) end. Furthermore, (2) this disclosure of reality is not a human-directed practice: Humans are driven objects rather than being themselves the active subjects. According to these conclusions, the instrumental and the anthropological definitions of technology do not capture the whole truth of technology. Let us look at these two points in turn, as follows:

• The essence of technology lies, according to Heidegger, in its capacity to disclose reality ( entbergen ) under a very specific, limited perspective. This perspective reduces everything to a potential object for manipulation, a resource ( Bestand ) for further activity. Technology is thus a way to disclose something hidden. Following his analysis of the Greek word for truth ( aletheia ) as referring to something undisclosed, he sees thus a “truth” at work, under which reality presents itself as a mere collection of resources for external purposes, rid of all inner logic and teleology that was so prominent in traditional understandings of nature. Heidegger points at the different ways in which a river is seen by a poet in an artwork ( Kunst werk), on the one hand, and, on the other hand, in which the same river is seen by an engineer as a potential resource for energy generation in a power plant ( Kraft werk).
• Heidegger then goes on to claim that opposed to the image of man being in control of technology and using it for his purposes, he should rather be seen as being provoked ( herausgefordert ) by this coming to pass. Heidegger clearly wants to reject the optimistic idea of “man being in control” through the help of modern technology and, rather, revert it to its opposite: man being driven by a force greater than himself. He calls this driving force the essence of technology, the en-framing ( Ge-stell ) that prompts humans to look at nature under the idea of its usability. In doing so, man is in highest danger, but not because of potential hazards or specific negative consequence of modern technology. The danger is, rather, that he loses sight of understanding nature in a different way and that he might finally end up understanding also himself and other humans only as potential “resources” or potential material for manipulation and instrumentalization. Heidegger suspects that art might be a potential antidote to this development: In Greek, techne originally encompassed also the production of beautiful objects in art. Thus, a deeper understanding of technology might reveal its relation to art and might point to the fact that art offers a potential answer to the challenge that modern technology poses to human self-understanding.

Certainly, Heidegger’s contribution to the modern philosophy of technology lies more in highlighting this essential dimension of technology as a threat, rather than in elaborating strategies to counter these inherent dangers. Heidegger’s article is arguably the single most influential essay written in the philosophy of technology, although his mannered, often dark language allows for different interpretations and often lacks the clarity of philosophical contributions from the analytical school. But the idea that “technology” and technological rationality is a limited form of looking at reality—one that is in strong need of a countervision, and that might further lead to a deformation of intersubjective human relations and that finally affects human self-understanding—has ever since been a prominent topic in different thinkers from Adorno and Marcuse to Jürgen Habermas, as illustrated earlier. This idea has often been linked with an ethical concern: Modern technology calls for new ethical guidelines, and despite some beneficial consequence, poses a potential threat to human existence. Much of this ethical debate about modern technology was triggered by its potential to radically destroy human life, be it through nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons or by consequences of environmental pollution and climate change.

Heidegger’s pupil Hans Jonas (1984) was one of the first philosophers to emphasize the need for a specific “ethics for the age of technology,” feeling that modern technology urges us to radically reconsider our ethical intuitions in order to meet the new challenges. Nevertheless, based on humans’ anthropological need to seek protection against nature, classical technology never fully reached this aim. Nature remained always more powerful than men, and the consequences of human actions were mostly not far-reaching. Traditional ethics could therefore focus on the “near and dear.” Modern technology, however, radically changes the picture: Its scope is unknown in premodern times; its consequences and potential dangers could be fatal, far-reaching, and irreversible. Focusing on the environmental problems of modern societies with, as the darkest perspective, the possible extinction of humankind, Jonas suggests broadening the scope of our ethical obligations: If our actions are more far-reaching than ever before in the history of humankind, we need to acquire a new ethical countervision. Jonas finds this remedy in the anthropological feature of our feelings of responsibility. Responsibility often expresses an asymmetrical relation, as in parents who feel responsible to care for their children. The old ethical intuition to derive obligations from the rights of free and conscious individuals, able to participate in argumentation and democratic decisions, seems to be too narrow to account for most environmental problems: Future generations are not yet born, animals and nature cannot in the same sense be regarded as having rights, as has been established in previous ethical approaches to the idea of universal human rights. But obligations may also stem from the idea of responsibility, from the idea that something has been given into our care.

Analytic philosophy is rooted in the quest for clear conceptualization, sound argumentation, and scientific precision. For early analytical philosophy in the Vienna Circle, the mathematical nature of scientific knowledge could serve as a role model for knowledge as such: hence, the need for and the extended usage of logical formalization within analytic philosophy. Skeptical of the quest to address the essence of things like “the technology” in general, analytic philosophers very often focus on concrete problems linked to very specific technologies. Even though many thinkers in the line of logical positivism thus greeted scientific knowledge as the highest form of knowledge, this did not always lead to an unbalanced embrace of technology. In Bertrand Russell (1951), we find a skeptical attitude toward the social benefits of technology, especially if it is linked with totalitarian ideology. Thus, he stresses the importance of democratic education; if placed in a democratic context and applied in well-defined careful steps, technology is, however, beneficial for progress in a way in which Karl Popper (1957) typically advertises as piecemeal social engineering. Important early contributions to an analytic philosophy of technology stem further from Mario Bunge (1979), whose ideas closely link to the program of logical empiricism and oppose the “romantic wailings about the alleged evils of technology” (p. 68).

Even though this distinction between humanities’ philosophy of technology and engineering’s philosophy of technology (Mitcham, 1994) marks the background of the philosophical discussion on technology in the early 20th century, the debate soon moved beyond this opposition. Three tendencies seem to be of importance.

First, continental philosophy was moving away from the attempt to come up with metaphysical, religious, or anthropological answers to the big questions. With the emergence of postmodernism, the alleged end of the “big stories” was proclaimed, thus making a metaphysical approach less fashionable. Appealing to ontology (as in Heidegger), to metaphysics, or to religious ideals (as in Jonas) seemed less promising. Even though early continental philosophy was very critical with regard to strategic rationality and technology, it has been criticized by postmodernism as not moving radically beyond the central modernistic Western ideal of a rational philosophical synthesis or universal world interpretation.

Second, the focus within the philosophy of technology moved toward a renewed interest in looking at concrete technologies and the challenges they pose for analytical and ethical reflection, a movement that has been called the empirical turn in the philosophy of technology (Kroes, 2001).

Third, different attempts were soon made to bridge the gap between the two camps. In post-world-war Germany, the Society of German Engineers (VDI) established a dialogue about the responsibilities of scientists and engineers, addressing topics and worries of the humanities. The experience of the massive and systematic use of technology for organized mass murder during the holocaust and the development of technology for modern warfare, including the development of the nuclear bomb, raised issues about the responsibilities of engineers. The debate of the VDI meetings resulted in a series of important publications on the philosophy of technology (Rapp, 1981); these must be recognized as an important attempt to synthesize different strands of philosophical thinking, even though it can be asked how far the VDI school was really successful in transcending its engineering-philosophical origins (Mitcham, 1994, p. 71).

Along a similar line, authors have tried to combine the phenomenological approach with American pragmatism, thus bridging insights of a more continental and a more analytical tradition. Common to phenomenology and pragmatism is the idea of the priority of praxis over theory and thus the tendency not to see technology as applied science but, rather, science as a purified or abstract form of (technological) praxis. Following the works of John Dewey, thinkers like Paul T. Durbin (1992), Larry Hickman (1990), and Don Ihde (1979) have tried to establish a pragmatist phenomenological approach to technology. The insights of Don Ihde that each technology either extends human bodily experience (e.g., the microscope) or calls for human interpretations (e.g., the thermometer) are of particular anthropological interest. If technology amplifies our experience, then it always does so at the cost of a reduction: In highlighting or amplifying certain aspects of reality, it makes invisible other aspects of this very same reality (as in an ultrasonic picture) (Ihde, 1979). The way technology thus “mediates” our interpretation of the world, and our actions within it, has been a further object of extended research (e.g., Verbeek, 2005).

A further attempt to bridge humanist and engineering tradition has been made by Carl Mitcham (1994), who nevertheless tries to defend the priority of the humanist perspective, but at the same time develops an analytic framework that should serve for further investigation within the philosophy of technology. He distinguishes among technology as object (tools), as type of knowledge, as activity, and as volition (expression of man’s intention or will). The 1980s and 1990s saw an increased interest, especially in the analyses of the first three aspects of this distinction.

With regard to the fourth aspect, ethical issues have been a central topic for many philosophers of technology, ranging from debates about the responsibility of scientists and engineers, medical and bioethics, business ethics, technology assessment, risk assessment and decision under uncertainty, to environmental ethics. Two of these fields are of particular interest from an anthropological perspective: In environmental ethics, those theories might shed light on anthropological questions seeking to interpret the environmental crisis as essentially rooted in human nature. It has been argued that it is a human tendency to value short-term (individual) interests more highly than long-term (collective) interests, thus putting a pessimistic neo-Hobbesian anthropology in the middle of the debate. According to Garrett Hardin (1968), it is this very human tendency (together with a mismatch in the growth of the human population that exceeds the growth of the supply of the food or other resources) that leads to the “tragedy of the commons.” Research in game theory and environmental sociobiology indicates the possibility of holding a more optimistic view of the development of cooperative strategies in humans (Axelrod, 1984), though the issue is still debated and there is room for a more pessimistic perspective, as has been defended early on by some sociobiologists (Dawkins, 1978) or recently by some philosophers (Gardiner, 2001).

In the ethical debate on transhumanism, finally, many links can be found to classical anthropological questions about the essence of man (e.g., Baillie, 2005; Fukuyama, 2004). The central debated question is whether it is morally allowed, forbidden, or even demanded from us to enhance our human capacities through new technologies, ranging from short-term nonevasive ways (like taking performanceenhancing drugs) to fundamental irreversible changes (like genetic engineering). While bioconservativists argue against an extended usage of enhancement technologies, transhumanists point to the potential benefits of these new options. It is reasonable to assume that these issues will be with us as technology advances and opens new possibilities to alter the human condition. This opens a radical new challenge to anthropology, which until recently dedicated itself to understanding the given human nature, while it now has to face the normative question of which we should choose as our future nature, once technology offers radical new options of changing human nature (e.g., as by slowing down or even stopping the process of aging). It seems that the anthropology of the future must take into consideration, more and more, normative claims and it must reach out to incorporate ethics to prepare itself for the challenges modern technology poses.

Looking at recent tendencies in research, it can be argued that the initial focus on linking technology with a universal, philosophical anthropological vision, also rooted in biological knowledge, was one of the key achievements of early philosophical anthropology in the works of Gehlen and others. What made these anthropologies remarkable was their attempt to bring together the different traditions of anthropological thought, ranging from philosophy to sociology and biology. A turn toward a more social perspective was established first by Gehlen himself, the Frankfurt school, and later STS studies, sometimes leading away from or even lacking both an underlying philosophical vision and an interest in our biological nature. Very recently, however, sociologists and philosophers have shown an increased interest in biology (as is visible in the ever-growing numbers of publications in sociobiology and the philosophy of biology). This increased attention has not yet led to a revival of an interest in the links between anthropology and technology. But in order to understand man—both in his evolutionary origins and (maybe even more) in his current historical situation—it seems to demand attention to man’s amazing capacity to develop technology.

It can reasonably be argued that what is thus needed is a new vision of how to synthesize the different fields of biological, social, and cultural anthropology. It seems that after the empirical turn to gather extended details over the biological and social aspects of technology, there is now a call for a new philosophical turn, seeking a new discourse synthesis. Many classical questions of anthropology will tend to remain unanswered, if academic research remains focused only on disciplinary perspectives, which always look at only a part of the whole picture. It is certainly true that man is a social animal, that he has biological roots and that he can ask ethical and philosophical questions about the good and about his place in this universe. The disciplinary separations in biology, sociology, and philosophy (to name just a few) tend, however, to distract from the fact that man in reality is a unity, meaning that a true answer to the most fundamental question of anthropology (What is man?) calls for a plausible combination of these approaches. To synthesize the different aspects of our knowledge about our own human nature is certainly far from being an easy task, but it seems more needed than ever.

But if this is not yet a big enough challenge, there is even a second aspect that makes the quest for a synthesis even more challenging. It seems that a new anthropological vision of humankind must answer a question that classical anthropology has not been dealing with: If technology soon allows us to alter our very nature, then we must know not only what the human condition is, but also what the human condition should be.

Ethics might again enter anthropological reflection, as has been hinted at already by early thinkers such as Scheler and Jonas. Recent attempts to place man in the middle of both a normative vision of ideals, on the one side, and against a profound overview of our descriptive knowledge about our essence, on the other side (as in the voluminous attempt at a synthesis in Hösle, 2004), deserve attention, as they might be the first steps toward a renewed synthetic anthropology that tries to bridge the gaps among the different disciplines. A deepened understanding of technology must be a central part of these efforts, since the way we use tools and produce artifacts is one of the remarkable features of humankind—a feature in much need of guidance by descriptive knowledge and ethical wisdom, especially in our age in which technology (of which humans have been the subject) is about to discover the condition humana as its potential object in a way more radical than ever before.

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April 2, 2024

Eclipse Psychology: When the Sun and Moon Align, So Do We

How a total solar eclipse creates connection, unity and caring among the people watching

By Katie Weeman

Students observing a partial solar eclipse on June 21, 2020, in Lhokseumawe, Aceh Province, Indonesia.

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This article is part of a special report on the total solar eclipse that will be visible from parts of the U.S., Mexico and Canada on April 8, 2024.

It was 11:45 A.M. on August 21, 2017. I was in a grassy field in Glendo, Wyo., where I was surrounded by strangers turned friends, more than I could count—and far more people than had ever flocked to this town, population 210 or so. Golden sunlight blanketed thousands of cars parked in haphazard rows all over the rolling hills. The shadows were quickly growing longer, the air was still, and all of our faces pointed to the sky. As the moon progressively covered the sun, the light melted away, the sky blackened, and the temperature dropped. At the moment of totality, when the moon completely covered the sun , some people around me suddenly gasped. Some cheered; some cried; others laughed in disbelief.

Exactly 53 minutes later, in a downtown park in Greenville, S.C., the person who edited this story and the many individuals around him reacted in exactly the same ways.

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When a total solar eclipse descends—as one will across Mexico, the U.S. and Canada on April 8—everyone and everything in the path of totality are engulfed by deep shadow. Unlike the New Year’s Eve countdown that lurches across the globe one blocky time zone after another, the shadow of totality is a dark spot on Earth that measures about 100 miles wide and cruises steadily along a path, covering several thousand miles in four to five hours. The human experiences along that path are not isolated events any more than individual dominoes are isolated pillars in a formation. Once that first domino is tipped, we are all linked into something bigger—and unstoppable. We all experience the momentum and the awe together.

When this phenomenon progresses from Mexico through Texas, the Great Lakes and Canada on April 8, many observers will describe the event as life-changing, well beyond expectations. “You feel a sense of wrongness in those moments before totality , when your surroundings change so rapidly,” says Kate Russo, an author, psychologist and eclipse chaser. “Our initial response is to ask ourselves, ‘Is this an opportunity or a threat?’ When the light changes and the temperature drops, that triggers primal fear. When we have that threat response, our whole body is tuned in to taking in as much information as possible.”

Russo, who has witnessed 13 total eclipses and counting, has interviewed eclipse viewers from around the world. She continues to notice the same emotions felt by all. They begin with that sense of wrongness and primal fear as totality approaches. When totality starts, we feel powerful awe and connection to the world around us. A sense of euphoria develops as we continue watching, and when it’s over, we have a strong desire to seek out the next eclipse.

“The awe we feel during a total eclipse makes us think outside our sense of self. It makes you more attuned to things outside of you,” says Sean Goldy, a postdoctoral fellow at the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University.

Goldy and his team analyzed Twitter data from nearly 2.9 million people during the 2017 total solar eclipse. They found that people within the path of totality were more likely to use not only language that expressed awe but also language that conveyed being unified and affiliated with others. That meant using more “we” words (“us” instead of “me”) and more humble words (“maybe” instead of “always”).

“During an eclipse, people have a broader, more collective focus,” Goldy says. “We also found that the more people expressed awe, the more likely they were to use those ‘we’ words, indicating that people who experience this emotion feel more connected with others.”

This connectivity ties into a sociological concept known as “collective effervescence,” Russo and Goldy say. When groups of humans come together over a shared experience, the energy is greater than the sum of its parts. If you’ve ever been to a large concert or sporting event, you’ve felt the electricity generated by a hive of humans. It magnifies our emotions.

I felt exactly that unified feeling in the open field in Glendo, as if thousands of us were breathing as one. But that’s not the only way people can experience a total eclipse.

During the 2008 total eclipse in Mongolia “I was up on a peak,” Russo recounts. “I was with only my husband and a close friend. We had left the rest of our 25-person tour group at the bottom of the hill. From that vantage point, when the shadow came sweeping in, there was not one man-made thing I could see: no power lines, no buildings or structures. Nothing tethered me to time: It could have been thousands of years ago or long into the future. In that moment, it was as if time didn’t exist.”

Giving us the ability to unhitch ourselves from time—to stop dwelling on time is a unique superpower of a total eclipse. In Russo’s work as a clinical psychologist, she notices patterns in our modern-day mentality. “People with anxiety tend to spend a lot of time in the future. And people with depression spend a lot of time in the past,” she says. An eclipse, time and time again, has the ability to snap us back into the present, at least for a few minutes. “And when you’re less anxious and worried, it opens you up to be more attuned to other people, feel more connected, care for others and be more compassionate,” Goldy says.

Russo, who founded Being in the Shadow , an organization that provides information about total solar eclipses and organizes eclipse events around the world, has experienced this firsthand. Venue managers regularly tell her that eclipse crowds are among the most polite and humble: they follow the rules; they pick up their garbage—they care.

Eclipses remind us that we are part of something bigger, that we are connected with something vast. In the hours before and after totality you have to wear protective glasses to look at the sun, to prevent damage to your eyes. But during the brief time when the moon blocks the last of the sun’s rays, you can finally lower your glasses and look directly at the eclipse. It’s like making eye contact with the universe.

“In my practice, usually if someone says, ‘I feel insignificant,’ that’s a negative thing. But the meaning shifts during an eclipse,” Russo says. To feel insignificant in the moon’s shadow instead means that your sense of self shrinks, that your ego shrinks, she says.

The scale of our “big picture” often changes after witnessing the awe of totality, too. “When you zoom out—really zoom out—it blows away our differences,” Goldy says. When you sit in the shadow of a celestial rock blocking the light of a star 400 times its size that burns at 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit on its surface, suddenly that argument with your partner, that bill sitting on your counter or even the differences among people’s beliefs, origins or politics feel insignificant. When we shift our perspective, connection becomes boundless.

You don’t need to wait for the next eclipse to feel this way. As we travel through life, we lose our relationship with everyday awe. Remember what that feels like? It’s the way a dog looks at a treat or the way my toddler points to the “blue sky!” outside his car window in the middle of rush hour traffic. To find awe, we have to surrender our full attention to the beauty around us. During an eclipse, that comes easily. In everyday life, we may need to be more intentional.

“Totality kick-starts our ability to experience wonder,” Russo says. And with that kick start, maybe we can all use our wonderment faculties more—whether that means pausing for a moment during a morning walk, a hug or a random sunset on a Tuesday. In the continental U.S., we won’t experience another total eclipse until 2044. Let’s not wait until then to seek awe and connection.