Hi, I am Daniela. I am neuroscientist leaving academia. I am mostly interested in this movement because long before the conversation about the information bubbles on Facebook started, I noticed that FB was the paradise of the confirmation bias, so I left. I think I am very self-aware of my mental processes, psychology, and emotions, so I quickly noticed what FB and Instagram were doing to my wellbeing. I also started to be very concern about my data and how it allows companies to make so much money. I think technology is great, but I also think things are getting out of our hands. People idolize technology and the companies that bring it to us, but in this process, we forget how to be humans and behave humanely. Humans need humans, and if we donāt find a way to connect in more constructive and less shallow attention-seeking ways with each other, I am afraid people will emotionally suffer a lot.
A general concern of mine is the ethics that rule the world and in this case tech companies. What the Time Well Spent movement and now the Center for Humane Technology do resonates with me 100% as a humanist and I want to be part of it as much as I can, so count on me for this revolution.
Iām Hugo, growth lead at Doist - a 100% remote team that builds Todoist and Twist. For both our products, weāre getting very mindful about peopleās time and attention.
Weāve recently launched Twist, a communication app for teams that gives them a more efficient and calmer way to work together.
My name is Joshua Taranowski. I am an Enterprise Architect at what I consider a highly ethical Fortune 500 company. I have been focusing on what we call āFuture #Trendsā, an effort that examines and evaluates the shifting changes in the world around us (Technical, Social, Consumer, Regulatory); but more importantly I am a husband, brother, son and a father.
I helped bring the Internet as a vehicle to our company over twenty years ago. That was a seismic shift in how we interact with our customers and each other. These were exciting times and you could feel the electric crackle in the air, the potential for how much the internet would touch, improve, and change our lives and our culture.
As others have said, this community resonates with me. The internet is now a chrysalis, with social and mobile breaking free and riding upon what the internet bore. We are witness to the most impactful social shift that I expect to see in my lifetime. This shift is sociological, psychological, physical and technical. We are on the verge of a new epoch, one that is blending fiction and fact, concrete truth with social truth, reality and virtual reality. The smartphone is the catalyst, taking the early seeds of social in a new explosive and exponential direction.
I am a deeply technical architect, a futurist, an aspiring author, a writer of haiku. I am a concerned parent, certain that there are rough waters ahead, but optimistic that technology applied using a more ethical framework will ignite our future and avoid the addictive advertising-driven race to the bottom ā in the war for that precious commodity that maters most ā our time. I am also a realist, and I worry that the tide has already turned, that AI and algorithms (that even we use) are becoming relentlessly persuasive. It seems clear the time to act is now, but the action to take is not yet known.
Let us know how to help, and how best to volunteer and direct out time.
My name is Freja. I am a behavioral scientist student from Sweden. Being born in the mid 90th I have witnessed social media go from something fun you do in the afternoon to become my friends entire life. Iām both intrigued and saddened by this development and want to study the behavioral aspects of social media in the future. Most people around me see social media and the use of smart phones as something āneutralā and simply a tool for communication, even though it is changing their entire way of being and socializing.This is a norm I think we need to question and I think this is a great platform for those kinds of discussions.
I found my way to the community through Tristan Harris platform Time Well Spent and another great inspiration for me is Sherry Turkleās book Reclaiming Conversation. I have no experience in the tech field, I am approaching these questions from the social perspective. Iād love to help and discuss these questions further and learn more from all of you!
Hello, Iām Peter. Iāve been an instructional designer at various universities for the past 7 years or so. Iām interested in humane technology for many reasons, but primarily because I see how addicted I am myself in these short term distractions that wind up not being short term at all. Iām also interested to see how to tie in some of these principles for good in online course design for universities. I donāt think social interactions online are necessarily bad, but I think they should be improved with intentionality. And I also think itās okay sometimes to space out and do pointless / fun distracting things.
Hi! My nameās Aaron and Iām a medical device designer; currently working on an intraoperative kidney monitor and a device that gives you an accurate eyeglass prescription in 10 seconds.
I started following time well spent about a year back and since then have been working on a tool that helps us become more aware of our smartphone usage, similar to Moment, but throws in some twists. Still early but will let the community know when released!
On a personal level, I started to realize how addicted to my phone I was and am glad that CHT is extending the time well spent mission. Time to rehab the industry and ourselves.
Hi, Iām a British international human rights lawyer and Iām really excited about the work this group is doing as this is an issue Iāve been looking at from the human rights perspective. Iāve written a few articles on how the use of big data and algorithms goes beyond the debates about privacy and freedom of expression that are well rehearsed in the digital rights field and touches fundamentally on the right to freedom of thought on a grand scale.
This movement is really important and I look forward to engaging on some of the legal and policy issues as it develops.
Hello, my name is Tobin, I am a lead creative designer working for a large financial institution on their mobile application. I actually started my career as a fine art painter, something I still do today. I started a web design business in late 90s and then went to work in design and (as it evolved) UX. I actually found this site surreptitiously after reading Hacking of the American Mind by Robert H. Lustig.
One of the things I am currently challenged with is getting technology (phones, tablets, streaming content, social media) put in its proper place in my life and in the life of my children. I am a father of six amazing children and it is always been my desire to help them to have control over their technology rather than the other way around. Looking forward to learning a lot from this site that I can use for my family and myself. I also am having larger lively conversations with colleges that revolve around the importance of hand done art and [hand] writing and their importance in human communication and interaction as well as what has been lost as people have turned away from doing these things.
Apologies for the ramble, looking forward to learning as I like so much of what I have already discovered on this site!
Hi, all! Iām Alex, currently 23 and pursuing a Ph.D. in Radiation Oncology. I recently graduated from a small college in New Jersey for Mechanical Biomedical Engineering and Iām now in graduate school in North Carolina. I have notable experience with software development, data analysis, and mechanics; though my passion probably lies within public understanding of science. I spend free time reading and tutoring at local shelters for adults seeking to earn their GED.
Iāve been aware for a few months of how dependent we are on technology, so much so that many are likely biochemically addicted. Itās intuitive that the youngest generation will experience extreme difficultly in separating technology from reality, a facet which requires immediate study, attention, and action.
Although I find it ironic that we are networking through a medium which we all identify as inherently problematic, itās clearly the best way to initiate broad outreach. I am more than happy to offer any support required (and surely plenty is required) to this cause.
I am a PhD student at the University of Washington Information School. I study attention, distraction, technology, and contemplative practice. Formerly, I designed digital exhibits for science museums, and prior to that was a designer of digital sites and tools circa 1998-2008.
I am glad to see CTOs and leaders of tech teams here, along with other researchers and designers and do-gooders. I have hopes that our varied expertise and authority will help us discern a path forward that aligns our tech use with our values and aspirations.
I am a long time user of technology, dating back to the early days of 1964! When I was first exposed to the darpanet and internet I had high hopes of it being an equalizer between city and country and rich and poor. Unfortunately, I have helped create something that is āeating itās ownā for want of a better term. I look forward to listening and learning from the group. I may be old, but no 404 errors in this brain yet.
Hi, Iām Kate. Iām a UX designer of many years, and mum of 2. I wholeheartedly agree with the notion of designing a well intentioned, and ethical digital experience, for all. Iām very happy to join you.
My name is Jonathan Blum. I am an author living outside of New York City. About 7 years ago, I started the #Digitalskeptic series aimed at short investors betting against information age companies, down at TheStreet.com. Starting about three years ago, I began working on a book, and āreclaiming my attentionā as I came to realize. Iām fascinated by the notion of storytelling as a fungible technology that teams can us to make better choices and build more humanistic tools.
I talk about those tools to young adults, of all people.
I sit on several boards, I am active in the business journalism community. I am always looking for great stories of teams making proper choices with information. I am fluent in all the communicative arts. I am bullish on digital Geographical Information Systems and just recently Digital Health.
āHumanity at scale,ā thatās the thing, isnāt it?
Hi my name is Chris, Iām Founder and CEO of UnPlug. We run behaviour change programmes to help people manage digital distractions and improve focus and communication.
My background is 15 years in large tech consultancies during which time I was an early adopter and the first in my office to become always on. I struggled with my productivity and wellbeing for a number of years then recognised the link to technology and started to become interested in the science of how our relationship with tech has become so ingrained.
We setup the company at the beginning of 2016 with the objective to help people to take control of their technology instead of their technology controlling them. We work with +30 corporate clients in Ireland, UK and Germany with a focus on positive tech habits to improve productivity and wellbeing. We also run a schools programme in Ireland with a strong focus on improved emotional wellbeing.
Many of the members of Time Well Spent / Humane Tech Community have been key influencers for us and as this is a new and evolving movement we are keen to share and learn from this group to help people to develop better tech habits.
We bring experience of how technology impacts the workplace and how our interventions are creating positive change. Our team includes senior professionals with expertise in psychology, neuroscience, leadership, technology and wellbeing.
Really looking forward to being part of this discussion!
Hi, my name is Michelle, and I live in Austin, Texas. I created the first global contest conducted solely on Twitter, and also ran the first Twitter-powered blood drive. In 2009, the Austin American Statesman awarded me with the first Texas Social Media Award.
I was an idealist at that time, but have since seen how the tools I used to help people could also be used to destroy people. I saw how people could use social media to bully and threaten others. It makes me feel like we opened Pandoraās Box, and now we have to fix the mess. I do not feel like advertising-driven companies like Google and Facebook are doing enough to ensure that their tools are used responsibly.
I introduced a lot of people to social media. Now, I want to make sure that it is used as a force of good. Hence, I am here. Thank you to everyone who has joined. Please know that Iām happy to help.
Hi everyone - my name is Matt Bilinsky and Iām attorney and start-up advisor, working with consumer internet and social media companies in Southern California since about 2009.
Iām still a firm believer in the power and benevolence of tech and social media tools, but know that āconstructive criticismā like what is coming from Humane Tech is necessary to curtail the corrosive effects and better harness the benefits.
Hello,
I am Cat. I am a musician, song-writer, and teacher of inner city students in English and music. I am primarily interested in this movement because I see my students being severely addicted to their phones to the point where most of them (and this is not an exaggeration) have no curiousity, no wonder in the world, no desire to create something great for themselves, no creativity, and basically none of the drive to accomplish that it seems they should have. As a teacher this is a huge concern for me, but more so as a human adult. I love technology and it I believe that it can improve our lives, but I also see trends that concern me deeply with usage and how we can be manipulated through our phones, through the internet, etc. I was turned on to this group by someone at a singer/songwriter summit a couple weeks ago and am excited to see what ideas develop. My own education consists of Bachelor degrees in Social Work, Music Education and Secondary English, and Masters degrees in Curriculum and Instruction, and Montessori Education. I am pleased to be here. Cat
I have dedicated my life to working on a public project to develop a novel financial technology solution that solves poverty with profound human/technology implications and potentially disastrous side effects. Iām crowdsource designing, researching, testing and building a price tag that makes the seller profit by automatically charging more to rich people and less to poor people for the same thing. This functions similar conceptually to an automated version of haggling where an individual seller will change the markup price based on how rich or poor each individual buyer is. It reduces inequality dramatically and quickly and will likely spread viral through the economy since it makes the some sellers in some markets profit and lowers price for the poorest customers who would not otherwise be able to buy at all. I need your help to develop this technology responsibly for the public good. You can find out more at https://www.facebook.com/hOursEqualsPrice but my main purpose here is to get insight on how to run my project as excellent as humantech.com and I see a lot about this site thatās so very similar to my project material, so I think Iām in the right place.
Iām a disgruntled User Experience Designer and unicorn living destitute on public assistance in San Francisco because I donāt want tech to misuse my genius and Iām fighting the economic system of oppression by not participating in the economy. Partly, Iām destitute because I refused on the job to let my work be used in ways that violate my ethics, but the other reason is that the only way not to support the predatory student loan system is to accept poverty because otherwise we vote āyesā to profits for loan collectors. I stumbled on this solution to inequality during brainstorming on my own time and I expect if I donāt develop it fully in a responsible way then sellers will soon figure it out and develop it irresponsibly. I started The hOEP project to crowdsource design, research, test, and develop this product for the public good first and foremost.
Hello there. Iām Scott. I used to do social media for a nonprofit and was quite good at it. Unfortunately, I could not be off of it because of my job and I felt mentally exhausted. I recently have moved up in the organization and no longer need to manage social media account. Iāve since deleted my Facebook and Instagram and have found time to make more meaningful connections with people. It is really nice to ask someone how they are and learn about things through conversation - rather than posts.
My name is Roya. I worked for three years at AMD as an electrical engineer (mostly hardware, Design for Testability.) Apart from my day to day job, my interest in womenās rights led me to volunteer with a non-profit organization in Austin, TX. During that time, I realized how abusers use social media and other location-based apps to cyberstalk and harass their partners. That was the first time I started thinking deeply about the impacts of emerging technologies on human rights. So, I decided to quit my job and go back to graduate school to study human rights. Now Iām done with school and work independently as a researcher on the intersection of human rights and technology. I curate a bi-weekly newsletter called Humane AI.
Iām so glad that Iāve found a great group of like-minded people who truly believe in using technology in a more cautious and humane way
