Ivan Illich wrote Tools for Conviviality in 1973—before there were personal computers, before the internet existed, and long before students were asking AI to do their homework. Today, the book is recognized as a seminal critique of modern industrial society, examining how technology, institutions, and mass production can erode human autonomy, creativity, and community.

Illich argued that many modern tools—whether physical devices, institutional frameworks, or social systems—are designed to control rather than empower. These tools foster dependency, erode skills, and displace personal responsibility, turning individuals and communities into passive consumers instead of active participants in shaping their own lives.

As a counterpoint, Illich introduced the concept of conviviality: the ideal of autonomous, creative interaction among people and between people and their environment. Convivial tools, he proposed, are those that can be easily understood, adapted, and mastered by individuals or communities—tools that encourage agency, foster interdependence, and support meaningful engagement.

Libraries, open-source software, permaculture practices, and communication tools that empower rather than pacify are all examples of convivial tools. Art supplies, facilitation processes, book clubs and political organizing are too. "People need new tools to work with," he said, "rather than tools that 'work' for them. They need technology to make the most of the energy and imagination each has, rather than more well-programmed energy slaves."

‍