Ask Us Anything: You Asked, We Answered

Welcome to our first-ever Ask Us Anything episode. Recently we put out a call for questions… and, wow, did you come through! We got more than 100 responses from listeners to this podcast from all over the world. It was really fun going through them all, and really difficult to choose which ones to answer here. But we heard you, and we’ll carry your amazing suggestions and ideas forward with us in 2023.

When we created Your Undivided Attention, the goal was to explore the incredible power technology has over our lives, and how we can use it to catalyze a humane future. Three years and a global pandemic later, we’re more committed than ever to helping meet the moment with crucial conversations about humane technology - even as the tech landscape constantly evolves and world events bring more urgency to the need for technology that unites us, invests in democratic values, and enhances our well-being.

We’ve learned from our guests alongside all of you. Sixty-one episodes later, the podcast has over 16 million unique downloads! That’s a lot of people who care about the promise of humane technology and are working to construct a more humane version of technology in their lives, their family’s lives, and within their communities and society at large. We’re a movement! 

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions and comments for us. We loved doing this, and we’re looking forward to doing it again!

Correction:

When discussing DeepMind’s recent paper, Aza said the premise was four people entering their views and opinions, with AI finding the commonality between all of those viewpoints. It was actually three people entering their views and opinions.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA 

CHT’s Recommended Reading List:

Foundations of Humane Technology

Our free, self-paced online course for professionals shaping tomorrow’s technology

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff 

Foundational reading on the attention economy

Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble 

Seminal work on how algorithms in search engines replicate and reinforce bias online and offline

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman 

Written in 1985, Postman’s work shockingly predicts our current media environment and its effects

Attention Merchants by Tim Wu

A history of how advertisers capture our attention

Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth 

A compass for how to upgrade our economic models to be more regenerative and distributive

Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows

This excellent primer shows us how to develop systems thinking skills

What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael Sandel

Sandel explores how we can prevent market values from reaching into spheres of life where they don’t belong

Essay: Disbelieving Atrocities by Arthur Koestler

Originally published January 9, 1944 in The New York Times

Humane Technology reading list

Comprehensive for those who want to geek out

ORGANIZATIONS TO EXPLORE 

Integrity Institute

Integrity Institute advances the theory and practice of protecting the social internet, powered by their community of integrity professionals

All Tech Is Human job board

All Tech Is Human curates roles focused on reducing the harms of technology, diversifying the tech pipeline, and ensuring that technology is aligned with the public interest

Denizen

Denizen brings together leaders across disciplines to accelerate systemic change

New_Public

New_Public is place for thinkers, builders, designers and technologists to meet and share inspiration

Psychology of Technology Institute