THE ARCHITECTURE OF FEAR: A SOCIO-POLITICAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING HOW VALUES SHAPE THE FEAR OF TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical framework to explain why rapid technological changes often generate deep and polarizing social fear. The author argues that public reactions to innovations such as artificial intelligence, 5G, mRNA vaccines, or biotechnologies are not manifestations of ignorance or irrationality, but rather the predictable result of a conflict between new technologies and deeply entrenched fundamental value systems. The paper postulates that key ideologies—particularly conservatism, which values stability, tradition, and hierarchy, and progressivism, which favors reform, innovation, and equality—act as perceptual and moral filters. These filters determine which aspects of a technology individuals focus on (e.g., the risk of social disruption versus the opportunity to solve problems) and imbue them with emotional and moral significance. Through specific case studies, the article demonstrates how individual anxieties are socially amplified and transformed into a culture of fear, shifting the debate from the technical characteristics of the innovation to a broader conflict over competing visions of society. Ultimately, the paper builds a holistic model that challenges the deficit model, offering a socio-political perspective in which the fear of technology is understood as a logical, albeit emotionally charged, reaction to perceived threats to identity, security, and moral values.