[A]ll design is “persuasive” in a broad sense; it all directs our thoughts or actions in one way or another. There’s no such thing as a “neutral” technology. All design embodies certain goals and values; all design shapes the world in some way. A technology can no more be neutral than a government can be neutral. In fact, the cyber- in “cybernetics” and the gover- in “government” both stem from the same Greek root: kyber-, “to steer or to guide,” originally used in the context of the navigation of ships. (This nautical metaphor provides a fitting illustration of what I mean: The idea of a “neutral” rudder is an incoherent one. Certainly, a rudder held straight can help you stay the course—but it won’t guide your ship somewhere. Nor, in the same way, does any technology.)

James Williams, Stand Out of Our Light