Title: Technological Parasitism,
Abstract: Technological parasitism is a new theory to explain the evolution of
technology in society. In this context, this study proposes a model to analyze
the interaction between a host technology (system) and a parasitic technology
(subsystem) to explain evolutionary pathways of technologies as complex
systems. The coefficient of evolutionary growth of the model here indicates the
typology of evolution of parasitic technology in relation to host technology:
i.e., underdevelopment, growth and development. This approach is illustrated
with realistic examples using empirical data of product and process
technologies. Overall, then, the theory of technological parasitism can be
useful for bringing a new perspective to explain and generalize the evolution
of technology and predict which innovations are likely to evolve rapidly in
society.