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{{Short description|Nonprofit organization}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox organization
{{Infobox organization
| name = Center for Humane Technology
| name = Center for Humane Technology
| logo = [[File:Center for Humane Technology Logo.jpeg|280px]]
| formation = 2013
| founder = [[Tristan Harris]], [[Aza Raskin]] and others
| formation = {{start date and age|2018}}
| abbreviation = CHT
⚫
| website = http://humanetech.com/
| founder = {{Ublist | [[Tristan Harris]] | [[Aza Raskin]] | Randima (Randy) Fernando}}
| formerly = Time Well Spent
| type = Public charity
| tax_id =
| status = 501(c)(3) nonprofit
| headquarters = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], United States
⚫
| website = {{URL|https://humanetech.com/}}
}}
}}
The '''Center for Humane Technology''' ('''CHT''') is a [[nonprofit]] organization dedicated to radically reimagining the digital infrastructure. Its mission is to drive a comprehensive shift toward humane technology that supports the collective well-being, democracy and shared information environment. CHT has diagnosed the systemic harms of the attention economy, which it says include [[internet addiction]], [[mental health]] issues, [[political extremism]], [[political polarization]], and [[misinformation]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=Reuters2019>{{cite web |last=Menn |first=Joseph |date=April 24, 2019 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tech-ethics/technology-ethics-campaigners-offer-plan-to-fight-human-downgrading-idUSKCN1S002A |title=Technology ethics campaigners offer plan to fight 'human downgrading' |work=Reuters |accessdate=May 8, 2019}}</ref> The Center for Humane Technology's work focuses on alerting people to technology's impacts on individuals, institutions, and society; identifying ways to address the consequences of technology; encouraging leaders to take action; and providing resources for those interested in humane technology.
'''Time Well Spent''' is a [[nonprofit]] organization which seeks to reverse what it calls the "digital attention crisis", caused by technology companies designing [[mobile devices]] and [[social media]] features in order to capture as much attention as possible, regardless of their impact on users' [[quality of life]].<ref name=":1" />

Launched in 2018, the organization gained greater awareness after its involvement in the [[Netflix]] original documentary ''[[The Social Dilemma]]'', which examined how social media's design and business model manipulates people's views, emotions, and behavior and causes addiction, mental health issues, harms to children, [[disinformation]], polarization, and more. The film was watched by 38 million households in its first month, making it the second-most watched documentary on Netflix.<ref>{{cite web | last=Moore | first=Kasey | title=Every Viewing Statistic Netflix Has Released So Far (October 2021) | website=What's on Netflix | date=October 25, 2021 | url=https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/every-viewing-statistic-netflix-has-released-so-far-october-2021/ | access-date=August 29, 2022}}</ref>


== Background ==
== Background ==
In 2013, [[Tristan Harris]], then a design ethicist at Google,<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/thrive-global/what-if-instead-of-controlling-your-life-your-phone-helped-you-live-it-f20a979c2767|title=What If Your Phone Stopped Controlling Your Life?|first=Drake|last=Baer|date=April 20, 2017}}</ref> released a viral presentation titled, "A Call to Minimize Distraction & Respect Users' Attention", a warning about the enormous power tech platforms have over users' attention spans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.minimizedistraction.com/|title=A Call To Minimize Distration|website=www.minimizedistraction.com}}</ref> Harris urged companies to take this responsibility seriously.
Former Google employee [[Tristan Harris]] founded the project to raise awareness about the intentional design to make consumer technology addictive.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Harper|first1=Paul|title=Ex-Google boss says you're ADDICTED to your smartphone and it's time to kick the habit|url=https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2286877/ex-google-boss-says-youre-addicted-to-your-smartphone-and-its-time-to-kick-the-habit/|website=The Sun|accessdate=1 February 2017|date=29 November 2016}}</ref> James Williams co-founded the movement, and also dedicates his time to focusing on the ethics of technology design.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://digitalmindfulness.net/62-time-well-spent-james-williams/|title=#62 Time Well Spent with James Williams - Digital Mindfulness|date=2016-12-30|work=Digital Mindfulness|access-date=2017-04-10|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/james-williams/|title=James Williams — Oxford Internet Institute|website=www.oii.ox.ac.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-01-19}}</ref> The two men founded the organization to spread awareness and talk about the aspects of technology that are often ignored, such as attention and distraction and their effects on the user.<ref name=":2" /> After beginning to spread his ideas about the ethics of technological design through the community at Google, Harris adopted the title "product philosopher," where he researched how the company could incorporate ethical design.<ref name=":0" /> Harris left his position at Google in December 2015 to focus on the organization.<ref name=":0" />

A year later at TEDx Brussels, Harris introduced "Time Well Spent",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT5rRh9AZf4|title=Distracted? Let's make technology that helps us spend our time well|first=Tristan|last=Harris|work=TEDxBrussels|date=December 16, 2014 |via=YouTube}}</ref> a concept co-created with James Williams and Joe Edelman arguing that technology should be designed in line with users' basic human needs and values, rather than maximizing their time on their devices.<ref name="auto"/>

In December 2015, Tristan Harris left his position at Google to focus on alerting the public to the consequences of Silicon Valley's race for attention and culture of growth at all costs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/11/the-binge-breaker/501122/|title=What Will Break People's Addictions to Their Phones?|first=Bianca|last=Bosker|date=October 8, 2016|website=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref>

In 2017, Harris was interviewed for the ''[[60 Minutes]]'' episode, "Brain Hacking". to discuss how social media companies hijack biology.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brain-hacking-tech-insiders-60-minutes/|title=What is "brain hacking"? Tech insiders on why you should care|website=CBS News|date=April 9, 2017 }}</ref> "Every time I check my phone, I'm playing the slot machine to see, 'What did I get?' This is one way to hijack people's minds and create a habit, to form a habit", Harris said. Later that year, Harris shared his expanded thoughts on the problems with social media platforms and how a handful of companies control billions of minds at TED 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/talks/tristan_harris_how_a_handful_of_tech_companies_control_billions_of_minds_every_day|title=How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day|first=Tristan|last=Harris|date=July 26, 2017|via=TED}}</ref>

Building on this momentum and recognizing the need for an organization in this space, [[Tristan Harris]], [[Aza Raskin]], and Randima (Randy) Fernando founded the Center for Humane Technology in 2018 to educate the public, advise legislators, train technologists, and more.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Who We Are|url=https://www.humanetech.com/who-we-are#team|access-date=September 14, 2020|website=Center for Humane Technology}}</ref>


== Activities ==
== Activities ==
The organization encourages designers and companies to respect users' time and to create products which have as an end goal something other than maximizing use of products to sell advertising.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last1=O'Brien|first1=Miles|authorlink1=Miles O'Brien (journalist)|title=Your phone is trying to control your life|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/phone-trying-control-life/|website=PBS NewsHour|publisher=PBS|accessdate=1 February 2017|date=30 January 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Bosker|first1=Bianca|title=The Binge Breaker|journal=[[The Atlantic]]|date=November 2016|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/11/the-binge-breaker/501122/|accessdate=1 February 2017}}</ref> There are multiple ways that technology companies try to maximize the use of their products: by using an intermittent variable reward system, causing people to fear missing something important, increasing the desire for social approval, strengthening the need to reciprocate others' gestures, and interrupting individuals' daily activities to alert them of a notification.<ref name=":3" /> Harris claims that technology parallels slot machines, in that both use intermittent variable rewards to increase addiction.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tristan-harris/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds_b_10155754.html|title=How Technology Hijacks People's Minds|last=Harris|first=Tristan|date=2016-05-27|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-10}}</ref> According to Harris, companies have a responsibility to reduce this effect, through techniques such as increasing the predictability of their designs and eliminating the intermittent variable reward system all together.
The organization encourages designers and companies to respect users' time and to create products which have, as an end goal, something other than maximizing use of products to sell advertising.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last1=O'Brien|first1=Miles|authorlink1=Miles O'Brien (journalist)|title=Your phone is trying to control your life|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/phone-trying-control-life/|website=PBS NewsHour|publisher=PBS|accessdate=February 1, 2017|date=January 30, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Bosker|first1=Bianca|title=The Binge Breaker|journal=The Atlantic|date=November 2016|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/11/the-binge-breaker/501122/|accessdate=February 1, 2017}}</ref> There are multiple ways that technology companies try to maximize the use of their products: by using an intermittent variable reward system, causing people to fear missing something important, increasing the desire for social approval, strengthening the need to reciprocate others' gestures, and interrupting individuals' daily activities to alert them of a notification.<ref name=":3" /> Harris claims that technology parallels slot machines, in that both use intermittent variable rewards to increase addiction.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tristan-harris/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds_b_10155754.html|title=How Technology Hijacks People's Minds|last=Harris|first=Tristan|date=May 27, 2016|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=April 10, 2017}}</ref> According to Harris, companies have a responsibility to reduce this effect, through techniques such as increasing the predictability of their designs and eliminating the intermittent variable reward system all together.

CHT utilizes various mainstream media campaigns and resources, such as their podcast ''Your Undivided Attention'' and the documentary ''[[The Social Dilemma]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Girish|first=Devika|date=September 9, 2020|title='The Social Dilemma' Review: Unplug and Run|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/movies/the-social-dilemma-review.html|access-date=September 19, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The organization also aims to influence tech industry culture and practices through training and educational resources, working groups, and advising executives. In 2022, CHT launched the "Foundations of Humane Technology" course directed at supporting technologists and product leaders who are seeking to build more humane technology.<ref name="humanetech"/> As of June 2022, the course had 10,000 participants globally.<ref name="tw"/>

Additionally, CHT briefs policymakers to support the creation of the policy architecture that protects society and rewards humane technologies. Notably, Harris has testified in front of the U.S. Congress in regards to the risk of online deception and the manipulative tactics employed by social media platforms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://energycommerce.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-on-americans-at-risk-manipulation-and-deception-in-the-digital|title=Hearing on 'Americans at Risk: Manipulation and Deception in the Digital Age'|date=January 8, 2020|website=Democrats, Energy and Commerce Committee}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDL9z_lof3Q|title=Tristan Harris – Congressional Hearing|date=January 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQMuxNiYoz4|title=Tristan Harris - US Senate June 25, 2019|date=June 27, 2019 |via=YouTube}}</ref>


== Impact ==
== Impact ==
In a 2018 post, [[Facebook]] CEO [[Mark Zuckerberg]] described feeling a "responsibility to make sure our services aren’t just fun to use, but also good for people's well-being", announcing "a major change to how we build Facebook" so that time spent on the site is "time well spent."<ref>https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10104413015393571</ref> It has been suggested that this is an allusion to the organization.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/17/16903844/time-well-spent-facebook-tristan-harris-mark-zuckerberg|title=‘Time well spent’ is shaping up to be tech’s next big debate|work=The Verge|access-date=2018-01-19}}</ref>
In a 2018 post, [[Facebook]] CEO [[Mark Zuckerberg]] described feeling a "responsibility to make sure our services aren't just fun to use, but also good for people's well-being", announcing "a major change to how we build Facebook" so that time spent on the site is "time well spent".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10104413015393571 |title=One of our big focus areas for 2018 is making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is time well spent |first=Mark |last=Zuckerberg |website=Facebook}}</ref> It has been suggested that this is an allusion to the Time Well Spent movement,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/17/16903844/time-well-spent-facebook-tristan-harris-mark-zuckerberg |title='Time well spent' is shaping up to be tech's next big debate|work=The Verge|access-date=January 19, 2018}}</ref> and spurred similar initiatives, such as [[Apple Inc|Apple]]'s Screen Time<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/04/apple-unveils-a-new-set-of-digital-wellness-features-for-better-managing-screen-time/|title=Apple unveils a new set of 'digital wellness' features for better managing screen time|date=June 4, 2018 }}</ref> and [[Google]] [[Digital Wellbeing]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wellbeing.google/|title=Digital Wellbeing through technology &#124; Google|website=Google Digital Wellbeing}}</ref>

In 2019, CHT launched ''Your Undivided Attention'', a podcast exploring the power that technology has over humanity and how we can use it to catalyze a humane future.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanetech.com/podcast|title=Your Undivided Attention Podcast - Center for Humane Technology|website=Center for Humane Technology}}</ref> The podcast has featured guests such as historian [[Yuval Harari]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/28-two-million-years-in-two-hours-a-conversation-with-yuval-noah-harari|title=28 – Two Million Years in Two Hours: A Conversation with Yuval Noah Harari|website=Center for Humane Technology}}</ref> Taiwanese Digital Minister [[Audrey Tang]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/23-digital-democracy-is-within-reach|title=22 – Digital Democracy is Within Reach with Audrey Tang|website=Center for Humane Technology}}</ref> and [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner [[Maria Ressa]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/9-the-dictators-playbook|title=9 – The Dictator's Playbook with Maria Ressa|website=Center for Humane Technology}}</ref> The podcast has been downloaded 10 million times as of November 2021<ref>{{cite web | title=Center For Humane Technology | date=November 2, 2021 | website=Twitter | url=https://twitter.com/HumaneTech_/status/1455610752354693125 | access-date=August 29, 2022}}</ref> and is among the most popular technology podcasts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/genre/podcasts-technology/id1318|title=Technology - Podcasts Downloads on iTunes|website=podcasts.apple.com}}</ref>

In 2020, CHT co-founders [[Tristan Harris]], [[Aza Raskin]], and Randima Fernando were featured in the Netflix documentary ''[[The Social Dilemma]]''. Following the documentary's debut, Apple CEO [[Tim Cook]] referenced the documentary at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection Conference saying, "It is long past time to stop pretending that this approach doesn't come with a cost – of polarization, of lost trust and, yes, of violence. A social dilemma cannot be allowed to become a social catastrophe."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-facebook-idUSKBN29X2NB|title=Apple's Tim Cook criticizes social media practices, intensifying Facebook conflict|date=January 28, 2021|work=Reuters}}</ref>

In 2021, Harris was named as one of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's 100 leaders shaping the future.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/collection/time100-next-2021/5937599/tristan-harris/|title=2021 Time100 Next: Tristan Harris|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Harris and Raskin, on their podcast ''Your Undivided Attention'', were the first to have a long-form interview with Facebook whistleblower [[Frances Haugen]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/42-a-conversation-with-facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen|title=42 - A Conversation with Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen|website=Center for Humane Technology}}</ref> after she was revealed to be the source behind ''[[The Facebook Files]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039|title=The Facebook Files|date=October 1, 2021|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> and subsequent ''[[Facebook Papers]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/25/what-are-the-facebook-papers/|title=A whistleblower's power: Key takeaways from the Facebook Papers |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Cristiano|last=Lima|date=October 26, 2021|access-date=August 29, 2022}}</ref>


In 2022, Harris gave a speech at [[SXSW]] in 2022 called "The Wisdom Gap", which outlined how technology is both increasing the interconnectedness of our biggest issues and decreasing our ability to respond with wisdom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RlhhRfREa0|title=Can We Close the Gap Between Humans and Technology? &#124; Tristan Harris|work=SXSW 2022|date=April 18, 2022 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref> CHT also launched its course, "The Foundations of Humane Technology",<ref name="humanetech">{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanetech.com/course|title=Foundations of Humane Technology Course|website=Center for Humane Technology}}</ref> a free online course directed at product designers and technologists that has generated more than 10,000 participants in its first several months after launch.<ref name="tw">{{cite web | title=Center for Humane Technology | date=June 14, 2022 | website=Twitter | url=https://twitter.com/humanetech_/status/1536755565648662532 | access-date=August 29, 2022}}</ref>
One of the efforts of the Center for Humane Technology will be a media campaign about the dangers of technology, with Common Sense Media. Common Sense has commitments of $50 million of donated media and airtime from partners including [[Comcast]] and [[DirecTV]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/04/technology/early-facebook-google-employees-fight-tech.html|title=Early Facebook and Google Employees Form Coalition to Fight What They Built|date=2018-02-04|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-03|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 31: Line 58:


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
*{{cite web|last1=Harris|first1=Tristan|title=How Technology Hijacks People's Minds|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tristan-harris/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds_b_10155754.html|website=The Huffington Post|accessdate=1 February 2017|date=27 May 2016}}
*{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Tristan |title=How Technology Hijacks People's Minds |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds_b_10155754 |website=The Huffington Post |accessdate=February 1, 2017 |date=May 27, 2016}}
*{{cite web|last1=Harris|first1=Tristan|title=Distracted? Let's Demand a New Kind of Design: Tristan Harris|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OhMJh8IKbE|website=YouTube|publisher=Wisdom 2.0|accessdate=1 February 2017|date=1 April 2015}}
*{{cite web|last1=Harris|first1=Tristan|title=Distracted? Let's Demand a New Kind of Design: Tristan Harris|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OhMJh8IKbE|website=YouTube|publisher=Wisdom 2.0|accessdate=February 1, 2017|date=April 1, 2015}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{official website|http://humanetech.com/}}
*{{official website|https://humanetech.com/}}


[[Category:Consumer organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Consumer organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Digital media use and mental health]]
[[Category:Addiction organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Addiction organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Human–computer interaction]]
[[Category:Human–computer interaction]]
[[Category:Product design]]
[[Category:Product design]]
[[Category:Ethically disputed business practices]]

Latest revision as of 23:56, 19 August 2024

Center for Humane Technology
AbbreviationCHT
Formation2018; 6 years ago (2018)
Founder
TypePublic charity
Legal status501(c)(3) nonprofit
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United States
Websitehumanetech.com

The Center for Humane Technology (CHT) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to radically reimagining the digital infrastructure. Its mission is to drive a comprehensive shift toward humane technology that supports the collective well-being, democracy and shared information environment. CHT has diagnosed the systemic harms of the attention economy, which it says include internet addiction, mental health issues, political extremism, political polarization, and misinformation.[1][2] The Center for Humane Technology's work focuses on alerting people to technology's impacts on individuals, institutions, and society; identifying ways to address the consequences of technology; encouraging leaders to take action; and providing resources for those interested in humane technology.

Launched in 2018, the organization gained greater awareness after its involvement in the Netflix original documentary The Social Dilemma, which examined how social media's design and business model manipulates people's views, emotions, and behavior and causes addiction, mental health issues, harms to children, disinformation, polarization, and more. The film was watched by 38 million households in its first month, making it the second-most watched documentary on Netflix.[3]

Background

[edit]

In 2013, Tristan Harris, then a design ethicist at Google,[4] released a viral presentation titled, "A Call to Minimize Distraction & Respect Users' Attention", a warning about the enormous power tech platforms have over users' attention spans.[5] Harris urged companies to take this responsibility seriously.

A year later at TEDx Brussels, Harris introduced "Time Well Spent",[6] a concept co-created with James Williams and Joe Edelman arguing that technology should be designed in line with users' basic human needs and values, rather than maximizing their time on their devices.[4]

In December 2015, Tristan Harris left his position at Google to focus on alerting the public to the consequences of Silicon Valley's race for attention and culture of growth at all costs.[7]

In 2017, Harris was interviewed for the 60 Minutes episode, "Brain Hacking". to discuss how social media companies hijack biology.[8] "Every time I check my phone, I'm playing the slot machine to see, 'What did I get?' This is one way to hijack people's minds and create a habit, to form a habit", Harris said. Later that year, Harris shared his expanded thoughts on the problems with social media platforms and how a handful of companies control billions of minds at TED 2017.[9]

Building on this momentum and recognizing the need for an organization in this space, Tristan Harris, Aza Raskin, and Randima (Randy) Fernando founded the Center for Humane Technology in 2018 to educate the public, advise legislators, train technologists, and more.[10]

Activities

[edit]

The organization encourages designers and companies to respect users' time and to create products which have, as an end goal, something other than maximizing use of products to sell advertising.[1][11] There are multiple ways that technology companies try to maximize the use of their products: by using an intermittent variable reward system, causing people to fear missing something important, increasing the desire for social approval, strengthening the need to reciprocate others' gestures, and interrupting individuals' daily activities to alert them of a notification.[12] Harris claims that technology parallels slot machines, in that both use intermittent variable rewards to increase addiction.[12] According to Harris, companies have a responsibility to reduce this effect, through techniques such as increasing the predictability of their designs and eliminating the intermittent variable reward system all together.

CHT utilizes various mainstream media campaigns and resources, such as their podcast Your Undivided Attention and the documentary The Social Dilemma.[13] The organization also aims to influence tech industry culture and practices through training and educational resources, working groups, and advising executives. In 2022, CHT launched the "Foundations of Humane Technology" course directed at supporting technologists and product leaders who are seeking to build more humane technology.[14] As of June 2022, the course had 10,000 participants globally.[15]

Additionally, CHT briefs policymakers to support the creation of the policy architecture that protects society and rewards humane technologies. Notably, Harris has testified in front of the U.S. Congress in regards to the risk of online deception and the manipulative tactics employed by social media platforms.[16][17][18]

Impact

[edit]

In a 2018 post, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg described feeling a "responsibility to make sure our services aren't just fun to use, but also good for people's well-being", announcing "a major change to how we build Facebook" so that time spent on the site is "time well spent".[19] It has been suggested that this is an allusion to the Time Well Spent movement,[20] and spurred similar initiatives, such as Apple's Screen Time[21] and Google Digital Wellbeing.[22]

In 2019, CHT launched Your Undivided Attention, a podcast exploring the power that technology has over humanity and how we can use it to catalyze a humane future.[23] The podcast has featured guests such as historian Yuval Harari,[24] Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang,[25] and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa.[26] The podcast has been downloaded 10 million times as of November 2021[27] and is among the most popular technology podcasts.[28]

In 2020, CHT co-founders Tristan Harris, Aza Raskin, and Randima Fernando were featured in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. Following the documentary's debut, Apple CEO Tim Cook referenced the documentary at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection Conference saying, "It is long past time to stop pretending that this approach doesn't come with a cost – of polarization, of lost trust and, yes, of violence. A social dilemma cannot be allowed to become a social catastrophe."[29]

In 2021, Harris was named as one of Time magazine's 100 leaders shaping the future.[30] Harris and Raskin, on their podcast Your Undivided Attention, were the first to have a long-form interview with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen[31] after she was revealed to be the source behind The Facebook Files[32] and subsequent Facebook Papers.[33]

In 2022, Harris gave a speech at SXSW in 2022 called "The Wisdom Gap", which outlined how technology is both increasing the interconnectedness of our biggest issues and decreasing our ability to respond with wisdom.[34] CHT also launched its course, "The Foundations of Humane Technology",[14] a free online course directed at product designers and technologists that has generated more than 10,000 participants in its first several months after launch.[15]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b O'Brien, Miles (January 30, 2017). "Your phone is trying to control your life". PBS NewsHour. PBS. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  2. ^ Menn, Joseph (April 24, 2019). "Technology ethics campaigners offer plan to fight 'human downgrading'". Reuters. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Moore, Kasey (October 25, 2021). "Every Viewing Statistic Netflix Has Released So Far (October 2021)". What's on Netflix. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Baer, Drake (April 20, 2017). "What If Your Phone Stopped Controlling Your Life?".
  5. ^ "A Call To Minimize Distration". www.minimizedistraction.com.
  6. ^ Harris, Tristan (December 16, 2014). "Distracted? Let's make technology that helps us spend our time well". TEDxBrussels – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Bosker, Bianca (October 8, 2016). "What Will Break People's Addictions to Their Phones?". The Atlantic.
  8. ^ "What is "brain hacking"? Tech insiders on why you should care". CBS News. April 9, 2017.
  9. ^ Harris, Tristan (July 26, 2017). "How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day" – via TED.
  10. ^ "Who We Are". Center for Humane Technology. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  11. ^ Bosker, Bianca (November 2016). "The Binge Breaker". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  12. ^ a b Harris, Tristan (May 27, 2016). "How Technology Hijacks People's Minds". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  13. ^ Girish, Devika (September 9, 2020). "'The Social Dilemma' Review: Unplug and Run". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Foundations of Humane Technology Course". Center for Humane Technology.
  15. ^ a b "Center for Humane Technology". Twitter. June 14, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  16. ^ "Hearing on 'Americans at Risk: Manipulation and Deception in the Digital Age'". Democrats, Energy and Commerce Committee. January 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Tristan Harris – Congressional Hearing". January 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "Tristan Harris - US Senate June 25, 2019". June 27, 2019 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ Zuckerberg, Mark. "One of our big focus areas for 2018 is making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is time well spent". Facebook.
  20. ^ "'Time well spent' is shaping up to be tech's next big debate". The Verge. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  21. ^ "Apple unveils a new set of 'digital wellness' features for better managing screen time". June 4, 2018.
  22. ^ "Digital Wellbeing through technology | Google". Google Digital Wellbeing.
  23. ^ "Your Undivided Attention Podcast - Center for Humane Technology". Center for Humane Technology.
  24. ^ "28 – Two Million Years in Two Hours: A Conversation with Yuval Noah Harari". Center for Humane Technology.
  25. ^ "22 – Digital Democracy is Within Reach with Audrey Tang". Center for Humane Technology.
  26. ^ "9 – The Dictator's Playbook with Maria Ressa". Center for Humane Technology.
  27. ^ "Center For Humane Technology". Twitter. November 2, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  28. ^ "Technology - Podcasts Downloads on iTunes". podcasts.apple.com.
  29. ^ "Apple's Tim Cook criticizes social media practices, intensifying Facebook conflict". Reuters. January 28, 2021.
  30. ^ "2021 Time100 Next: Tristan Harris". Time.
  31. ^ "42 - A Conversation with Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen". Center for Humane Technology.
  32. ^ "The Facebook Files". The Wall Street Journal. October 1, 2021.
  33. ^ Lima, Cristiano (October 26, 2021). "A whistleblower's power: Key takeaways from the Facebook Papers". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  34. ^ "Can We Close the Gap Between Humans and Technology? | Tristan Harris". SXSW 2022. April 18, 2022 – via www.youtube.com.

Further reading

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