Revenge Effect
When a technology produces the opposite effect of its intended purpose, such as antibiotics that breed resistant bacteria or security systems that generate so many false alarms they reduce actual vigilance.
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Origin
Technology historian Edward Tenner introduced the concept in his 1996 book Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences. Drawing on his experience as executive editor at Princeton University Press, Tenner documented how innovations routinely produce adverse outcomes when new devices and systems interact with real people in unforeseen ways.
Updated February 22, 2026