The contemporary educational landscape has been witnessing a proliferation of technological interventions deemed radical, disruptive and transformational. In The Charisma Machine, Morgan Ames tells the story of one of the most prominent yet problematic modern educational technologies: the One Laptop Per Child initiative (OLPC). Founded in 2005 and touted as an educational project, OLPC sought to produce and distribute hard-to-break, low-power laptops fitted with software and content. The laptops were intended both for individual educational change and social change, and were thus offered to country governments in the Global South at low cost. The Charisma Machine examines, complicates and problematises the OLPC project as it was implemented in Paraguay. This book tells a story of the clash between idealistic promises and messy realities, the disconnect between intended and unintended consequences, and the dangers of quasi-divine techno-fetishism and technosolutionism. In its two parts, the book traces the historical origins of OLPC, and explores the usage, impacts and legacy of its machines by following its signature “XO laptop” as well as the people who thought about it, designed it, distributed it and used it. Before beginning her exploration, Ames lays the groundwork by introducing her central analytical anchor: charismatic technologies. Building on theoretical insights from Max Weber, “one of the founders of modern sociology” (p. 8), Ames conceives of a charismatic technology as one which “derives its power experientially and symbolically through the possibility or promise of action” (p. 10). Charismatic technologies tap into existing cultural mythologies, social imaginaries and ideological frameworks to promise a utopian vision, and persist against failed promises, contradictions, counterevidence, uncertainties, opposition and critique. Marked by

中文翻译：

---

魅力机器：每个孩子一台笔记本电脑的生、死和遗产

当代教育领域见证了被视为激进、破坏性和变革性的技术干预的激增。在魅力机器中，摩根艾姆斯讲述了最突出但问题最严重的现代教育技术之一的故事：每个孩子一台笔记本电脑计划 (OLPC)。OLPC 成立于 2005 年，并被吹捧为一个教育项目，致力于生产和销售配备软件和内容的不易损坏、低功耗的笔记本电脑。这些笔记本电脑旨在用于个人教育变革和社会变革，因此以低成本提供给全球南方的国家政府。魅力机器检查、复杂化和问题化 OLPC 项目，因为它在巴拉圭实施。这本书讲述了理想主义的承诺与混乱的现实之间发生冲突的故事，有意和无意后果之间的脱节，以及准神圣技术拜物教和技术解决主义的危险。本书分为两部分，追溯OLPC的历史渊源，并通过其标志性的“XO笔记本电脑”以及思考、设计、分发和使用它的人，探讨其机器的使用、影响和遗产。它。在开始她的探索之前，艾姆斯通过介绍她的核心分析锚：魅力技术奠定了基础。基于马克斯·韦伯的理论见解，“现代社会学的创始人之一”（第 8 页），艾姆斯将一种魅力技术设想为一种“通过行动的可能性或承诺在经验上和象征性地获得其力量”（第 8 页）的技术。 10）。魅力技术利用现有的文化神话，社会想象和意识形态框架来承诺乌托邦式的愿景，并坚持反对失败的承诺、矛盾、反证、不确定性、反对和批评。标记为