I believe more conversations about technology across all sectors of society are needed, whether in the home, education system, mainstream media or points that exert influence on our views and opinions. It may feel like we are bombarded with too many messages already, but there is a dire need for conversations of a different sort - the philosophical and self-reflective rather than consumerist. The mainstream media and industry interest target all angles of our lives 24/7, making us the products, yet it seems unnoticeable to most, and only intrusive to the few. Because of the potential and power of technology we need to be more conscious of it, questioning it and ourselves, paradoxically counter to its aim to become invisible, seamless, integrated and taken for granted. The Retrowe Museum is not agnostic to political statements and values, a position most museums hold. Celebrating culture, diversity, invention, and preserving history is an important aspect of the museum, but also not shying away from the important issues, addressing problems of the world of which technology can be an enabler, and suggesting ways towards reducing them. There are not enough checks and balances in government, industry and our consumptive behaviours when control, profits and hedonism are the primary drivers of 21st century human behaviour. In an age, world and society defined by the height and pervasiveness of technology, the Retrowe Museum seeks a physical presence and to establish an organisation that focuses on the art and philosophic aspects of technology and also the more urgent issues surrounding technology in society that do not receive enough attention. Too many of the leading technologists of today rally the public around more vanity projects and ideas such as space exploration, quantum physics and AI singularities. The military industrial complex circumvents a positive use for technology to fuel the war engine, and global mega-monopolies are establishing vast libraries of patents and intellectual property. There are not enough technologists focusing on the closer to home issues of poverty, wealth distribution, peace and self-actualisation. All of the fractures we have created in modern society are not contingent on higher levels of technology than what already exist today, but just decisions to be made and responsibilities accepted.
Retrowe Museum
