THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

What's a Luddite? An expert on technology and society explains Some Luddites simply want to press ‘pause’ on the uninhibited march of technological progress. Stan Eales/iStock via Getty Images The term “Luddite” emerged in early 1800s England . At the time there was a thriving textile industry that depended on manual knitting frames and a skilled workforce to create cloth and garments out of cotton and wool. But as the Industrial Revolution gathered momentum, steam-powered mills threatened the livelihood of thousands of artisanal textile workers. Faced with an industrialized future that threatened their jobs and their professional identity, a growing number of textile workers turned to direct action. Galvanized by their leader, Ned Ludd, they began to smash the machines that they saw as robbing them of their source of income. It’s not clear whether Ned Ludd was a real person , or simply a figment of folklore invented during a period of upheaval. But his name became synonymous with rejecting disruptive new technologies – an association that lasts to this day. Questioning doesn’t mean rejecting Contrary to popular belief, the original Luddites were not anti-technology , nor were the…

NPR’s word of the week was “Luddite”, a term often used to refer to someone who hates modern technology and is against progress. You’ve probably heard it in the context of AI, with critics of the AI explosion viewed by some as simply “behind the times”... Read the full dispatch:

Understanding Luddite: What This Word Really Means and How to Use It “Luddite” is one of those words that slips into conversations about technology with surprising speed, often carrying more baggage than most speakers realize. Its modern misuse can derail debates, offend historians, and obscure the real human anxieties that first gave the term its power. Historical Roots: Who the Original Luddites Were The first Luddites were English textile workers between 1811 and 1816, not anti-technology zealots but skilled artisans whose livelihoods were being erased by mechanized looms. They organized night raids to smash specific machines owned by factory owners who slashed wages and replaced trained craftspeople with cheaper, less-experienced labor. Contrary to popular myth, they did not fear innovation itself; they feared innovation without fairness. The Name “Ned Ludd” and the Power of Myth Legend says Ned Ludd was a weaver who smashed two knitting frames in a fit of rage in 1779, becoming a folk hero whose name later served as a rallying cry. Leaders of the movement wrote threatening letters signed “General Ludd” to factory owners, turning an obscure anecdote into a potent symbol of res…

Get with the times — here's what a 'Luddite' means today It's often a derogatory term used to describe digital dinosaurs and technophobes. That wasn't always the case. NPR's Word of the Week looks back at the not so backwards-looking Luddites.

Get with the times — here's what a 'Luddite' means today NPR News Get with the times — here's what a 'Luddite' means today NPR | By Emma Bowman Published June 19, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Manuel Orbegozo / Reuters A protester holds a sign during a protest outside of OpenAI headquarters calling for a pause in AI development in San Francisco on March 21. As artificial intelligence races ahead in the United States, so has the backlash. This month, New York moved closer to passing into law a pause on the development of new data centers that power the technology. This graduation season, tech leaders who invoke AI optimism in their commencement speeches are getting booed by classes entering the workforce with anxieties about what AI could mean for their job prospects. When someone dares to question the wonders of technology, there's a handy word used to mock them: Luddites. David Friedberg, a tech investor and adviser to the White House, recently dropped the term on the popular business podcast All-In : "The idea that AI is going to destroy jobs is a Luddite idea that is being disproven every single day." Luddites are often accused of bein…

Who Were the Luddites? - History.com By:Evan Andrews EA “Luddite” is now a blanket term used to describe people who dislike new technology, but its origins date back to an early 19th-century labor movement that railed against the ways that mechanized manufacturers and their unskilled laborers undermined the skilled craftsmen of the day. The original Luddites were British weavers and textile workers who objected to the increased use of mechanized looms and knitting frames. Most were trained artisans who had spent years learning their craft, and they feared that unskilled machine operators were robbing them of their livelihood. When the economic pressures of the Napoleonic Wars made the cheap competition of early textile factories particularly threatening to the artisans, a few desperate weavers began breaking into factories and smashing textile machines. They called themselves “Luddites” after Ned Ludd, a young apprentice who was rumored to have wrecked a textile apparatus in 1779. There’s no evidence Ludd actually existed—like Robin Hood, he was said to reside in Sherwood Forest—but he eventually became the mythical leader of the movement. The protestors claimed to be followin…