TRUST AND TECHNOLOGY

The sociology of risks cannot explain the fact that technology works. To do this, a theory is needed that focuses on this experience of work ing technology in everyday life. Usually people trust in technology - this is the basic style in the way they normally use technology Weber called this attitude toward technology consent (,,Einverstandnis''). H e analyzed modem society as a ,,society of consent.'' Luhmann defines this dimension of trust in modern societies as a ,,trust in systems. ' ' According to this view the present author defines ,,trust in technol ogy'' as a specific form of societal integration that relies on techni cal norms. These, however, embody the hidden agendas of those social a gents who have the power to shape the technical body of society. It is a challenge to the sociology of technology to deconstruct these artif acts in order to white-box this hidden form of power.