# Can Technology Make Humans More Human Rather Than Machine Components by Howard Rheingold > “Given what we know now about the origins, history, and impacts of technology, is it possible to design, deploy, and use technologies in ways that help humans be more human, instead of more like components in a machine?” > **— Howard Rheingold**, *1998, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT QUESTIONS ARE YOU ASKING YOURSELF?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Founder of Electric Minds, a webzine; author of Tools For Thought; Virtual Communities.](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11695) — Edge published this exact, continuous passage in its 1998 Annual Question collection, *WHAT QUESTIONS ARE YOU ASKING YOURSELF?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 1998 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 1998 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|Valley Roots]] - **Article:** [[articles/Modern Artificial Intelligence in the 1970s|AI in the 1970s]] - **Article:** [[articles/Cyber-Physical Lessons from Imperial Beekeeping|Cyber-Physical Beekeeping]] - **Article:** [[articles/STEVE|STEVE Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Cybernetics|Cybernetics]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Cybernetics|Cybernetics]] - [[wiki/Human-Machine Symbiosis|Human-Machine Symbiosis]] - [[wiki/Technological Evolution|Technological Evolution]] - [[wiki/Cybernetic Control|Cybernetic Control]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Given what we know now about the origins, history, and impacts of technology, is it possible to design, deploy, and use technologies in ways that help humans be more human, instead of more like components in a machine?” — Howard Rheingold, 1998, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT QUESTIONS ARE YOU ASKING YOURSELF?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-howard-rheingold-technology-make-humans-human-rather-machine ```