Introduction: Technology Is Never Universal—Theoretical Foundations

This chapter argues that technology is never universal but always situated in culture. Drawing on the Airbus case of Virtual Reality (VR) training tool transfer to its Malaysia supply chain, it challenges the persistent assumption that tools can be exported seamlessly across contexts. While the VR system worked flawlessly in Europe, it faltered in Malaysia not due to technical flaws but because it carried hidden cultural scripts—expecting autonomy, linear learning and individual trial-and-error. These assumptions clashed with local workshop practices grounded in hierarchy, tacit knowledge and collective apprenticeship. Building on anthropotechnology, a framework pioneered by Alain Wisner, the chapter redefines technology transfer as negotiation rather than delivery. Tools are not only technical artifacts but carriers of cultural imaginaries, requiring adaptation and translation to resonate with new users. Situating the Malaysian aerospace sector within broader debates on postcolonial modernity and socio-technical hybridity, the chapter proposes an ethic of transfer that treats culture as foundational, listening as engineering and translation as design. In doing so, it lays the theoretical foundation for the book’s core concept—the anthropotechnological islet—as a landing space where global systems can pause, adapt and take root through co-creation with local actors.