Have you heard of the “male technologist” mindset? It may sound familiar, and you may even know such people personally.

Design researchers Turkka Keinonen and Nils Ehrenberg have defined the male technologist as someone who is obsessed with concerns about energy, efficiency and reducing labour.

This archetype became apparent in my PhD research when I interviewed 12 families about their use of early domestic robots and smart home devices Amazon Alexa and Google Home. One father over-engineered his smart home so much, his kids struggled to turn the lights on and off.

The male technologist in the home, as seen in my research, reflects wider trends of the Silicon Valley “tech bro” archetype, the techno-patriarchy, and the growing influence of a tech oligarchy in the Western world.

The male technologist often complicates and overcompensates with technology, raising the question: are these real problems tech can solve, or just quick fixes masking deeper issues?

The term “male technologist” isn’t about making men feel guilty for using technology to innovate. Anyone can adopt this mindset. It can even apply to institutions that prioritise innovation and efficiency over emotional insight, lived experience or community-based ways of creating change.

It’s a reflection of how a masculine drive to solve surface-level problems can come before addressing patriarchal systems that have shaped the long-standing gendered division of domestic........

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