Keywords
expectativas tecnológicas
promesas tecnológicas
futuros empresariales imaginados
descarbonización profunda
evaluación de tecnologías technology hype
technological expectations
overpromising
imagined business futures
deep decarbonization
technology assessment
How to Cite
Abstract
This article critically examines the phenomenon of technological exaggeration (technology hype) within a scientific-technological and cyber-mediated society, focusing on how excessive expectations and promises shape economic, corporate, and scientific discourses. Using deep decarbonization and climate-transition narratives as a paradigmatic case, the paper introduces the concept of imagined business futures (IBFs) to explain how firms construct anticipatory projections that combine facts, assumptions, and emotional components for strategic and legitimizing purposes. The analysis distinguishes different forms of overpromising—contradictory, exaggerated, and self-committing—and highlights the risks arising from a disconnect between promises and actual capacities for fulfillment. Finally, the article argues for the need to critically assess scientific-technological promises through approaches such as Technology Assessment, aimed at fostering shared, realistic, and socially responsible futures.
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