Do technological advancements impair the conservative cause?

Broadly defined, technology is the application of knowledge, tequniques, and skills used to accomplish specific objectives and outcomes. Under this definition, technology would not just include those things most commonly described such as rockets, computers, skyscrapers, and paperclips but also more abstract things such as optimal land utilization, laws & legal systems, bureaucracies, moral practices, and social norms.

With this expanded definition in mind, is it true that technological developments largely harm the conservative cause?

In many situations, such as the expansion of government, addition of new legislation, and overturning of long standing traditions this is superficially true, as these things might represent technological changes which openly oppose conservative values. However, I would argue that even the colloquial definition when applied would yield a similar conclusion. That is to suggest that any scientific or industrial developments might directly undermine conservatism. While on the surface this might seem unlikely or difficult to conceive, I nevertheless report that I think this connection between technology and the erosion of conservatism is likely the case.

One way we might put this into perspective is to consider the way that society is changed by technology. Depending how old you are, you can likely remember a time when the internet didn't exist, or wasn't popular, and cell phones were the size of bricks and uncommon. In this year, such devices are ubiquitous. The effects on society by the popularization of such communications & information technology is outstanding as the ability to quickly and effortlessly communicate with virtually anyone in the world in a matter of seconds is unsurpassed by anything else in history. It has lead to a world where anyone can look up anything in real time, ask questions, and discuss topics of interest at their leisure. This has for example, lead to the rise of social media giants who have slowly but surely been modifying the discourse such that people are placed into echo chambers and the spread of misinformation is rampant. This social change has created a world in which the old ways of thinking and operating are no longer sustainable for society. This implies, that the things that conservatism stands for are no longer ideal for society. For example, blind adherence to unrestricted free-speech might allow the spread of misinformation prompting decisions to be made by individuals which is harmful to both themselves and others. We might therefore make a direct connection between the arrival of the internet, and the decay of conservative values.

Even science has an important role in such an assault. The most prominent example of this is the degradation of religious dogmas at the hands of empirical evidence. Especially in the United States conservatism is heavily tied to evangelical Christianity and conservative thinkers and politicians go out of their way to pander to a faithful base. However, even a casual comprehension of modern scientific understanding will give any rational person reason to doubt their beliefs as a literal truth. While many try to defend their faith through apologetics and pseudo-science using logical arguments or alternative facts to present their case, the sheer volume of empirical evidence that contradicts this stance is more than apparent. Thus, as the generational gap which drives the religious decline in the US and much of Europe grows, conservatives will need to shift the basis of their political identity in order to stay relevant.

TL;DR To sum up my argument, technology is anything which applies knowledge, techniques & skill to accomplish tasks, and this is detrimental to the conservative cause as developing it changes the world and thus drives incentives for people to behave differently, or reject these ideas altogether.