Hi I am a UK based Software Architect developing software to free teachers from admin to focus on the enriching children’s Lives.
Social Media Avoider aware of my nearest and dearests developing addiction…
Interested in positive engagement and rewards from technology particular for youngsters… such as brainrush.com
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Hello,
My name is Philipp, and I’m a student in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. I study the relationship of economics and culture, i.e. how cultural differences influence economic outcomes, how cultural flows can be modeled with economic methods and how economic developments influence cultural change.
I believe that the technology we have at our disposal today can be a source of happiness, but that the circumstances in which we find it are leading to outcomes that do not live up that requirement. Lax privacy regulations, business models based on the exploitation of attention, and the lack of options to choose from undermine human dignity, in my opinion.
I am looking forward to catching up on the discussions that have already taken place on this forum and contributing to the discussions yet to come.
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Hi all!
I’m Nagee, currently finishing my last semester at the University of Toronto. I study computer science, focusing in Human Computer Interaction and Software Engineering. I came across this forum through the Programmer’s Oath. I’m particularly interested in humane design. Looking forward to get to know all of you 
Excited to learn more about the Humane Tech Community!
I’m Katryn Kolt and I work with a Education Technology platform that is trying to reduce polarization and improve communication both online and face-to-face. Discussion is a powerful tool that is the cornerstone to the collaborations and innovations that change our world.
As far as education goes, when someone can understand WHY they are learning something, they are more likely to engage in deeper learning. We have built a discussion library that focuses on world issues such as those laid out in the UNs Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to encourage meaningful learning. We have further built our tool to increase participation from quieter students in discussions and facilitate a safe space where students can learn how to express their ideas and open their minds to others.
Would love to hear your thoughts on what we’re doing www.parlayideas.com
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Hi everyone!
My name is Samuel Carr and I’m a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. I am currently studying psychology with a minor in education and I learned about this community through a start-up I am interning for called “mindhood” (you can check us out at mindhood.com or Facebook/Instagram by looking up our name). I’m fascinated by the world of humane tech and digital wellness, looking to definitely learn more from you all! Additionally, I am working on completing an undergraduate thesis that will explore the protective and risk factors of college adjustment for students such as exercise, social media usage, sleep, substance abuse, and more. Feel free to reach out to me.
Sam
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Hello! My name is Richard Deubler, and I’m an undergraduate at Ohio Northern University studying English and political science. I recently wrote the senior thesis essay for my English degree. In it, I offered a Marxist literary critique of contemporary social media corporations and applications. I argued that we now find ourselves in an unprecedented state of exploitation; a time when our attention is manipulated and our personal information is auctioned to the highest bidder. In turn, the process of forming a social identity has been commodified and perverted for corporate gain. This phenomenon correlates directly with a rapid rise in anxiety, depression, and loneliness in the United States and other industrialized states.
Over the last year, I’ve grown antagonistic towards the attention economy and its many subtle, insidious facets. At the same time, I’ve come to embrace non-dualism, mindfulness, and conscious consumption. I believe social media – and digital applications more broadly – provide profound opportunities for growth, connection, and development, both globally and personally. However, these applications must be designed with humane, holistic intentions in mind. If we continue to abuse man’s natural propensity to seek out novel information, we will inevitably find ourselves engulfed by a neurotic dystopia of perpetual stimulation.
I firmly believe in this organization’s message. While I lack many of the technical skills necessary to make these ideas a practical reality, I’d love to contribute to the conversation in any way I can.
Richard
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My name is David Klein. I am the Founder and Executive Director of a holistic baseball program and non profit in the SF Bay Area. I am also a Head Varsity High School Baseball coach. I have seen the changes that have been occurring in kids and am greatly concerned. I am taking the Fall off the field in order to launch a new initiative to combat screen attachment and to promote in person connection primarily through sports. I am currently looking for collaborators and those interested in having discussions about this topic. Email me at david@menloparklegends.com if you’d like to connect!
-David
I am currently an RChain.coop Activist or community guide focused on governance, identity, the bounty system and self sovereign tech stacks. I am a founding member of The Digital Life Collective DigLife.com
I have been a developer and researcher of group systems for over 40 years blessed to have been there. I worked with Murray Turoff and Roxanne Hiltz on the development of EIES at NJIT where some there first experiences online communication and from which The Well sprung. I am also an early world wide web contributor.
I am a divergent thinker having ASD who has fared well in becoming literate and sensing the common sense enough to be retired from a rewarding career. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimscarver/) I am still working long hours doing what I would be doing for free but also accepting project tokens for my work which sometimes is quite profitable. It allows me to travel more.
My life might be perfect is I could develop a social intelligence. I am a sort of idiot savant. One might think I too smart ands must have some motive for feigning stupidity with respect to normal collective thinking. I can captain a boat or development team, but brain dead when it comes to salesmanship, facilitation, social edicate and political correctness.
My passion is cooperation at scale with collective intelligence.
The primary funded cooperation at scale use case I am working is RChain.coop. I am hoping people from this community having the skills I lack join the effort helping teams form while themselves and their communities becoming more tech self-reliant. Check out the introduction I wrote to the RChain decentralized budget and reward system We pay each other with valuable tokens which in effect, we mint. Join us! https://youtu.be/WiBgZmQAdfY
Hello Everyone, am really glad to land upon this community.
I am from India. I used to be a tech journalist for 6 years covering India’s Silicon Valley (Bangalore) and the enthusiasm around it. Over time, a certain emptiness crept in which led me to the Himalayas in Northern India on a spiritual quest. A break for a couple of months has now extended into a beautiful life long search and me, along with a few other people, have setup a community in a place called Dharamshala. This website speaks a little about us and the philosophy: https://www.saadhosangha.org/
I continue to write, design books, farm and practice yoga and meditation. We also conduct small retreats for tech companies and anyone who is trying to go deeper within themselves.
Hi Philipp! I was reading your great response to PatMC about human relationships in the digital world; and now that I have been reading about your research I think you might find this book interesting. Sending it just in case you did not know about it.
Hello, my name is Paul.
I’m a father, with two young girls, who has built Creatubbles as a safe place for them (and other children from around the world) to develop and share their natural creative spirit. As a parent, the mission to use technology to make the world a much better and more positive place for our children is of great importance to me.
To realize the full potential of Creatubbles, we are now focused on significantly “upping” the level and quality of rapid iterative product innovation than has been possible with the team structure we have had thus far. To achieve this we are now working to establish a world-class, passionate, and committed co-located team in Toronto.
As a core part of this effort, we are seeking to find a very special type of Head of Product. Someone who not only has talent but also has a demonstrated interest, belief, and commitment to making the world a better place through technology.
Know someone who might fit the bill and be interested? Please send them my way. Thank you!
Thank you,
Paul
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Hi I’m Desma,
I have a PhD in philosophy, I’m a poet, a freelance writer, and I have never used social media. People have really hassled me for years to be on facebook, and my refusal has sometimes cost me as everyone’s social lives have increasingly moved to facebook - people can forget to tell me when things happen or catch-ups are arranged… still, with how things have shaped up, I feel kind of vindicated. One of the areas I write about is ethics, and I have stumbled across this organisation while researching for a short piece on ethics and ‘fake news.’ I feel that what Humanetech stands for is really, really important and I am keen to get involved. Even though I don’t use SM, I live in a world saturated by it, and fundamentally changed by it, and I have a small child who I am going to have to help to navigate it as she grows up.
Hello All -
My names Mo. I live in Los Angeles. I am 31. I am grateful that the first part of my life was lived without a smartphone. I’ve felt like I have not had a healthy relationship with smartphones, social media, the internet for quite some time now. I find that I spend way more time then I want to on all of these things… I want to check one thing quickly, and next thing I know an hours gone by. I use these things to distract myself from feeling sad, lonely, tired, anxious, angry… any uncomfortable emotion, even for a split second - I grab my phone and start scrolling. I’ve done various things over the years to attempt to limit my usage of my phone/computer etc… and they have been helpful but its so insidious… I limit one thing, and find myself taking up my time with another device or app instead. I feel like theres some positive shifts happening at the moment… although many of the changes these tech companies are making are just band aids on the problem. I feel sad when I see what seems like the whole world addicted to these things… being less present, less mindful. I want to be a part of changing the way these technologies are designed and implemented. I want technology to be a tool. Something we use in a limited fashion… I dont want to see my generation waste our lives staring at a screen.
- Mo
Hi there, I’m Sharmin. I’ve been lurking for a while, but felt it’s finally time to say hello!
I’m the Founder of Digital Cooldown, a project that’s all about helping people use the internet in a healthier way: http://www.digitalcooldown.com.
It takes a holistic approach to our lives, so it doesn’t just look at social media or smartphone use in isolation. It considers your offline life too and focuses you on what you care about. It’s the only thing that’s worked for me personally (I’ve failed at EVERY social media detox or deleting my accounts). Everyone’s relationship with the internet is personal, so the framework is flexible to suit different needs.
I intended Digital Cooldown as an experimental productivity tool. But while using it, most of my anxiety dissolved, so it became more about wellbeing. So I set up a website for others to access. My aim is to save as many people as possible from the hell I went through figuring all this out (it’s taken YEARS).
I’m not interested in digital detoxing as a longterm lifestyle choice or taking our cues from the dieting industry: we need something new, positive, practical, value-driven, holistic and exploratory. I hope there are likeminded people here who share my approach. This means a new language, creative responses and experimentation. Anyone interested?
To give you a bit of background to myself, I’ve been struggling with my online behaviour for years. And by years, I mean ever since I was twelve and my dad brought home a screeching modem. The internet was amazing for a while circa LiveJournal, DIY websites and forums, but after Facebook and getting an iPhone, things changed.
I was compulsive, panicked whenever I left my phone when I went out, felt phantom buzzes etc. I felt my self-worth was being eroded and my creativity was paralysed by the fear of judgement by the instant feedback of likes, comments and stats. I purposely subjected myself to anxiety-inducing content, amplifying the worst parts of myself.
It’s surreal to think about now. But I kind of feel like I’ve reached the stage where I can “re-learn” how to use my phone to get the most out of it (phew!!). I’d love to meet more people who are thinking creatively about attention and how we can flourish in our digital (and non-digital) environments.
G’day everyone. I’m John and I have devised an antidote to fake news. I am currently creating content to prove it works. My plan is as follows: 1) give people both sides of the story [not just what I think]; 2) give them a tool to weigh the arguments on each side; 3) feedback their position on the normal distribution of opinion and help them mobilise positive change; 4) run the business as a not for profit; 5) monetise the site via advertising; 6) pay users a revenue share for their participation; 7) develop a [morally sound] social media platform, paying users ad revenue share; 8) develop a web search engine, paying users ad revenue share. Fake news solved. Survey industry, Facebook & Google disrupted. You’re welcome 
Check it out www.starthinker.org
Hi all,
This is David Esteban, from Barcelona (Spain, Europe). I’ve been involved for many years (and keep involved) in the genesis of innovative and research-related European projects and initiatives, mostly targeted to the public instruments facilitated by the European institutions (of whom I’m also an expert, acting many times as evaluator, project reviewer and occasionally as rapporteur). I’m also an entrepreneur, Europeist (although also a global thinker) and convinced that social, economic and technological progress is possible, but when the whole components are brought together and the rules are clear. I’m convinced that things have to change. Right now. Polititians will not fix anything, unfortunately, by themselves. So, another way has to be found. I was instantly attracted by the atmosphere and surrounding dynamics of CHT … just trying to clarify (to myself) whether there’s a way forward here, and whether I could be instrumental if engaged, at my level, in Europe.
Have my warmest regards,
David
Hello,
Laurence Warner here!
1). Actor. laurencewarner.com. How I learnt the importance of face-to-face & people-first.
2). Fulbrighter. codingforpeoplepeople.wordpress.com. Came to the University of Chicago from the UK to study a 2-year Master’s in Data Science. How I learnt the great opportunity presented by tech to make our lives better.
3). Flip-phoner. firstweekflipphone.com. Taking the wisdom from both into action. Accidentally stumbled upon the great benefits of a week-long smartphone detox, and the fact that flip phones make it fun. Encouraged by movements like Time Well Spent, opened up the idea in Boulder, CO: we’ve got 9 detoxers this month. So delighted to be able to get round to introduce myself to this online community. Excited to be able to have on-ground impact in my local community & share their stories widely.
If you’re interested in the project, please reach out at laurence@firstweekflipphone.com.
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My name is Charles Hymas. I am a journalist on The Daily Telegraph in London who has been running the newspaper’s campaign for a statutory duty of care to be imposed on social media and gaming firms to better protect children from online harms, whether it is addiction, cyberbullying or grooming, for example. The idea is that just as there is a duty of care on offline companies to look after the interests of their consumers (eg no sharp points on toys), so there should be the same approach in the online world. I would be interested in anyone’s experience of the companies from the inside, any interesting experiences of how the technology may have damaged wellbeing and any work that anyone is doing to improve our relationship with the technology. I believe it is a watershed moment in our relationship with tech and very much share the aims and aspirations of the humane tech movement. You can be assured that I will treat everything in confidence and respect everyone’s views and experiences. My email is Charles.hymas@hotmail.com and mobile contact +44 7836 273690. Best wishes, Charles Hymas
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My name is Jill Bornstein. I am the Co-Founder of Inspiring Comfort. Inspiring Comfort is a social good company. We aim to empower, teach and equip people of all ages thru skill based learning how to create compassionate connections in order to awaken empathy and give comfort to those who are hurting and isolated. The pace of every day life, visible national and local crisis and the underpinnings of technology are fundamentally changing how we interact with family, friends and co-workers. These changes are impacting peoples ability to comfort and connect authentically with others. Teachers, Counselors, Mental Health Advocates, Human Resource and Professional Development leaders, Faith based organizations and Camps can use our program to teach their students or employees how to compassionately connect with others. Participants learn thru our Project Comfort™ and Club Comfort™ programs and kits - a unique combination of lessons, reflection and intentional giving of self created comfort plaques. For every Project Comfort or Club Comfort kit sold $25 dollars will be donated to LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs or mission appropriate mental health organizations. We are in schools everyday teaching our programs and see the negative impact social media has. We are moms who want to educate and make change. So excited to be part of forum that wants to work to make change on this topic. Please visit our site at www.inspiringcomfort.com. Look forward to interacting with the group. With Comfort, Jill