High technology, also known as advanced technology or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest technology on the market. The opposite of high tech is low technology, referring to simple, often traditional or mechanical technology; for example, a slide rule is a low-tech calculating device. When high tech becomes old, it becomes low tech, for example vacuum tube electronics. Further, high tech is related to the concept of mid-tech, that is a balance between the two opposite extreme qualities of low-tech and high-tech. Mid-tech could be understood as an inclusive middle that combines the efficiency and versatility of digital/automated technology with low-tech's potential for autonomy and resilience.

In business theory, disruptive innovation is innovation that creates a new market and value network or enters at the bottom of an existing market and eventually displaces established market-leading firms, products, and alliances. The term, "disruptive innovation" was popularized by the American academic Clayton Christensen and his collaborators beginning in 1995, but the concept had been previously described in Richard N. Foster's book "Innovation: The Attacker's Advantage" and in the paper Strategic Responses to Technological Threats.