Check Your TechnoPrivilege!
All humans experience technological change, but not all have an equal say in its direction. Today, more people have access to a mobile phone than a toilet. How did we get here and where do we go next?
What is TechnoPrivilege?
TechnoPrivilege means more than just access to technology. It’s the ability to reap unearned advantages and invisible power over others on a planet increasingly shaped by tech. It’s the privilege of moving freely through a hyper-connected world while others are left behind, watched, controlled, or silenced by systems they never chose—or could refuse. Put simply: it’s when technology isn’t weaponized against you—or the living world around you.
Five dimensions of TechnoPrivilege
TechnoPrivilege isn’t just about what gadgets you own. It’s about how technology distributes power—who gets ahead, and who’s left behind. From fire-starters to code-writers, the story is the same: those who shape the tools shape the world. This dynamic plays out across five dimensions: access, impact, control, ethics, and imagination.
Have a consult with Tekki
At the Next Nature Museum, you can have a consultation with chatbot Tekki from the comfort of an electric massage chair; prepare to be asked some tough questions about your relationship with technology! Towards the end of the consultation, Tekki calculates your Technology Privilege across the five dimensions, generates a personal profile and gives you some actionable advice on how you can use your Technology Privilege for good.
Download the TechnoPrivilege Checklist
Many of us benefit from technology without question—but how often do we consider how it shapes inequality, reinforces privilege, or is even weaponized against others?
The TechnoPrivilege Checklist is a tool for self-awareness. Through thought-provoking statements, it helps you explore how access, impact, control, ethics, and imagination influence your relationship to power in a tech-driven world. It invites you to ask: How do I benefit from technology and at what—or whose—cost?
Inspired by Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege Checklist (1986), this tool highlights the often invisible ways power moves through technology. It’s a call to reflect, take responsibility, and engage more consciously with the systems shaping our shared future.
Book a talk on this topic
Are you inspired to rethink technology’s role in shaping privilege, power, and inequality? Do you want to help your team or organization become more aware of technology’s impact on society and the environment? Book a talk with one of our speakers through the Next Nature Academy. Our engaging sessions provide critical insights into TechnoPrivilege, sparking meaningful discussions on access, ethics, and the future of technology.
Credits
Research, development and design: Hendrik-Jan Grievink
Creative direction: Koert van Mensvoort, Mieke Gerritzen
Project management installation: Klaas Tops
External advisors: Nishant Shah, Geert Lovink, Fran Meissner
Coding: Roland Witvoet, Tim Speetjens
Special thanks: Shruti Venkat