Here is a passage from Against the smart city (The city is here for you to use), a pamphlet by Adam Greenfield (thanks to Fraser Speirs for the recommendation):
Both history and whatever urban texture that history gave rise to were thought of as impediments, sources of friction, things that might safely be discarded.
You should read the whole of the pamphlet to get a better idea as to the context, but this single passage spoke to me on a professional level as well. So many times we want to discard everything of the past in some vain hope that “technology” will be able to fix all of the ills we perceive as holding us or an institution back.
What hogwash.
That same history is what sets apart a person or institution or city from everything else. In a “one-size-fits-all” society, with “one-size-fits-all” technology being peddled on every corner, it is the “oddballs” who are going to have an opportunity to thrive.
Don’t discard your history in some vain hope that technology will save you. You risk (or actively work to) give up your soul.