Technology and Tools

Sub-pillar of the Wheel of Matter. See also: Stewardship, Wheel of Harmony.

The Diagnosis: Tools as Masters

For most people, technology has inverted its role. Tools should extend human capacity; instead, they have become masters that demand compliance. A person wakes to a phone notification, compulsively checks social media throughout the day, attends meetings on video conference where presence is half-present, and ends the day doomscrolling before sleep. The technology was supposed to save time; instead, it colonizes attention. The devices were supposed to serve the user; instead, the user serves the devices.

This is not accidental. Modern technology platforms are deliberately engineered for compulsion: infinite scroll, notification badges, metrics of social validation, algorithmic feeds designed to trigger emotional response. The business model is clear: you are not the customer; you are the product. Your attention is harvested and sold to advertisers. Your data is mined and commodified.

The result is a relationship with technology characterized by loss of agency, fragmentation of attention, and subtle but profound erosion of sovereignty. A person cannot easily delete a social media account (the friction is intentional). They cannot see the algorithms determining what they see. They cannot access their own data. They cannot port their identity to a different platform without loss. They are not users; they are serfs in someone else’s digital plantation.

The hardware is only slightly better. Devices are designed with planned obsolescence: software updates that slow older devices, components that are difficult to repair, closed ecosystems that prevent self-maintenance. A smartphone that should last a decade is rendered obsolete in three years. A computer that could be upgraded is designed as a sealed unit. The environmental and financial cost of this intentional obsolescence is staggering.

Harmonism Framework: Technology as Servant

Harmonist position is unambiguous: technology serves; it does not rule. A tool is called a tool because it remains within your control. When a tool starts controlling you, it has ceased to be a tool.

This does not mean rejecting technology. Technology is tremendously useful. A well-chosen tool amplifies capacity: a word processor amplifies writing, a search engine amplifies research, a spreadsheet amplifies calculation. The problem is not technology itself but the inversion of relationship. The solution is Digital Sovereignty: the deliberate practice of choosing, controlling, and maintaining technology in service of your own agency rather than subordinating your agency to what the technology demands.

The ontological placement of technology in the Wheel of Matter (not in Learning) is significant. The physical device — the computer, phone, server, GPU — is Matter. The skill of using technology — prompt engineering, software design, digital workflows — belongs to Learning. This distinction matters. You can own the hardware while being incompetent with the software (a computer you do not understand controls you). You can be skilled with software while being trapped in someone else’s proprietary ecosystem (Google Workspace is powerful but you do not own it or control it). True digital sovereignty requires both: hardware you control and software that serves you.

The Five Dimensions of Digital Sovereignty

Hardware Autonomy: You should own the devices you use daily. This does not mean you built them (few people need to), but it means you purchased them, you own them outright (not rented or subject to a service plan contract), and you can modify or dispose of them as you choose. Your primary computer should be a device where you can replace the hard drive, upgrade the RAM, install any operating system you choose. Your phone, ideally, should run an open-source operating system (not iOS or Android, which are proprietary despite being “free”).

In practice, this is difficult. Phones with open-source operating systems are limited. The consumer computer market is dominated by closed or semi-closed devices. For most people, the practical compromise is: choose a device from a vendor with a history of supporting repair (right-to-repair), purchase it outright without a service contract, maintain it as long as possible, and be intentional about upgrades.

For critical infrastructure (your main computer, your backup devices), consider Mac Mini (which can be owner-modified) or Linux-based computers (which are fully open). These allow you to maintain the devices yourself, to control what software runs, and to resist obsolescence mandates.

Open-Source Software: Open-source software — code that is publicly available and modifiable — gives you transparency and autonomy. You can see what the software does, who has modified it, and who is maintaining it. You can contribute improvements. You are not trapped in a proprietary ecosystem.

Where feasible, use open-source alternatives: Linux (operating system), Firefox (browser), LibreOffice (document editing), Mastodon (social media), Nextcloud (cloud storage). These applications are maintained by communities rather than corporations, have no business model of extracting your data, and can be self-hosted (running on your own server rather than corporate servers).

The learning curve is real — open-source tools often have worse user interfaces and less hand-holding than corporate alternatives. But they work well, they are free, and they put you in control.

Privacy and Encryption: Your data should remain yours. Use end-to-end encryption for communications (signal, not WhatsApp or iMessage, which are proprietary and potentially compromised). Use encrypted storage for sensitive files. Use VPN (virtual private network) when on untrusted networks. Use password managers that encrypt locally (not cloud-based password services that could be breached).

This is not paranoia. Your communications and your data have value. Corporations sell this data. Governments surveil this data. Encryption is the practice of ensuring that only intended recipients can read your messages and only you can access your files.

Search and Information: Google Search dominates because it is free and convenient, but it is also sophisticated surveillance. Every search is logged and associated with your identity. Use privacy-respecting alternatives (DuckDuckGo, Searx, Kagi). These are slightly less convenient but do not track you and return high-quality results.

For research and deep information, avoid relying entirely on search engines. Use direct sources: academic databases, original documents, library resources. Algorithmic feeds (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram) are designed to be addictive and to distort your understanding of reality. Discipline yourself to use them sparingly or not at all.

Intentional Upgrade and Maintenance: Technology should be upgraded deliberately, not compulsively. When your device is functioning well, there is no reason to replace it. When it is genuinely failing or no longer receives security updates, then upgrade. Do not follow marketing cycles. Do not assume newer is better.

Maintenance is critical. Keep software updated (security patches), back up your data regularly (to local and ideally offline storage), and maintain a device inventory (you should know what you own and why). When devices die, recycle them responsibly (e-waste recycling, parts salvage) rather than landfill them.

Artificial Intelligence and Dharma

Artificial intelligence — large language models, diffusion models, computer vision systems — represents the most powerful material tool in human history. It is Matter organized by Intelligence, and it must be stewarded according to Dharma.

Harmonism is neither utopian about AI nor fearful. AI is a tool. It can amplify human capacity: writing, research, code generation, image creation, analysis, learning. It can also be misused: surveillance, manipulation, warfare, mass deception. The technology is not inherently good or bad; the use matters.

The framework is straightforward: You should use AI in service of your dharma and the dharma of those affected. A person using an AI writing assistant to articulate ideas more clearly is using it well. A person using AI to generate fake testimonials or to manipulate others is using it harmfully. A company deploying AI to improve customer service is aligned; a company deploying AI to surveil workers is not.

The placement of AI in the Matter pillar is ontological. AI systems are material infrastructure — servers, GPUs, electrical systems, networks — and they must be stewarded at that level. The business model of AI companies matters: Do they train on your data without consent? Do they require you to feed your proprietary information into their systems to use their tools? Do they lock you into proprietary ecosystems? These are stewardship questions.

For personal use: Learn to use AI tools as extensions of your capacity. Use them for your work. But do not outsource your thinking entirely. Do not let AI systems substitute for your own discernment, creativity, or judgment. Do not feed confidential information into systems you do not control. Use open-source and local AI models where feasible (they now work well and keep your data private). Understand the limitations and the training data that shaped them.

As AI and robotics converge with renewable energy, the ownership question intensifies: autonomous productive systems — robots that garden, build, maintain, and compute, powered by solar and running local intelligence — represent the most consequential material technology on the horizon. Whether they liberate or enslave depends entirely on the ownership model. See The New Acre for the full analysis of autonomous productive assets as stores of value, and the warning against subscription-model serfdom.

EMF and Electromagnetic Hygiene

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) from power lines, wireless networks, and cell phones produce subtle but measurable biological effects: changes in neural activity, disruption of sleep, effects on cellular repair. The evidence is not universally accepted by mainstream medicine but is robust in the peer-reviewed literature.

Practical hygiene: Position your bedroom away from electrical panels, high-voltage lines, and cell towers if possible. Use hardwired internet (ethernet cable from modem to computer) rather than Wi-Fi for intensive computer work. At night, turn off Wi-Fi or use a timer to disable it during sleep. Use an RF (radiofrequency) meter to identify hotspots in your home. Distance is your friend — the further from a source, the lower the exposure. If you work with technology all day, take frequent breaks away from devices and away from wireless networks.

Tools and Craft

Beyond computers and networks, physical tools — the instruments of your work — deserve stewardship attention. A craftsperson with quality tools and knowledge of how to maintain them can produce work that a person with cheap, poorly-maintained tools cannot. The difference is not just productivity but the quality of presence: using a good tool is a pleasure, while using a bad tool creates friction and frustration.

Invest in quality tools for work that matters to you. A good knife, if you cook. Good brushes, if you paint. Good hand tools, if you work with wood or metal. Quality tools last decades and improve with age. Cheap tools wear out and create frustration. The adage is true: “Buy once, cry once” beats “Buy cheap, replace many times.”

The Practical Dimension: Digital Hygiene

For most people, complete digital sovereignty is not immediately feasible (the infrastructure is captured). Incremental improvements compound:

  1. Reduce surface area: Delete social media apps if you do not need them. Use email filters to reduce notification noise. Turn off notifications on your phone. Disable auto-play. Reduce the number of accounts you maintain.

  2. Consolidate devices: Do not own a smartphone, tablet, laptop, and desktop. Choose the minimum set of devices that serves your work and maintain them well.

  3. Backup strategy: Establish a backup routine (at minimum, weekly backups to an external drive; ideally, a 3-2-1 strategy: 3 copies of data, 2 different media types, 1 off-site).

  4. Upgrade deliberately: When your device is functioning, keep it. When it fails or is no longer supported, replace it with the best quality you can afford and intend to keep it for 5-10 years.

  5. Learn one tool well: Rather than dabbling with many applications, choose the primary tools for your work and invest in mastery. Master one text editor, one file system, one productivity application. This reduces friction and increases effectiveness.

Technology and Presence

The ultimate question is whether your technology amplifies or diminishes your presence. A device that interrupts you constantly, that you feel compelled to check, that fragments your attention is a burden. A device that serves specific work and otherwise remains silent is a tool.

The metric is simple: at the end of the day, do you feel more or less present in your life because of the technology you use? If your answer is “less,” you need to change your relationship with technology. Sovereignty begins with recognizing that the tools you own can be controlled by you rather than the reverse.

See also: Wheel of Matter, Stewardship, Digital Arts, Wheel of Learning, Dharma.