The Hope for Resonance Through Technology – A Tragic Mistake?

This article draws a parallel between hamartia, the constitutive element of tragedy as described by Aristotle mainly in his Poetics, and the resonance-enhancing hope generated by humans’ use of technology. It hypothesizes that modern humans, as tragic heroes, commit hamartia by placing resonance-enhancing hopes in technology. Through three case studies conducted in Japan, this study critically examines how artifactual technologies fail to fulfill their intended function of generating resonance and instead disrupt resonance on resonance axes as defined by Hartmut Rosa. For the material axis the analysis focuses on the case of teamLab Osaka Botanical Garden. For the self-axis it focuses on the case of AI for writing haikus, and for the social axis it refers to the case of AI companionship for hikikomori. Rather than serving as a conduit for resonance, technology turns up as a mediating barrier, hindering connections on the material, self, and social axes. The findings reveal a tragic miscalculation: technology-induced hamartia leads to deterioration rather than enhancement of resonance, resulting in alienation and exacerbating disturbances in human-world relations. By definition, tragedies do not have happy endings. This analysis raises the question of how a happy ending might still be achievable. A possible way out lies in opting out of the tragic situation and choosing non-technology as a viable alternative – a perspective often marginalized in contemporary discourse. This insight invites a reconsideration of technology’s role in human life and highlights the value of conscious disengagement.