Chris Messina - The Technology of Better Humans (Turing Fest 2019)

After 15 years designing technology products in Silicon Valley, I noticed that something essential has been missing. In our race to make the world more logical and programmable — including our social connections — we've reduced the rich tapestry of human experience beyond recognition. And given the crisis of unintended consequences that we're now forced to cope with thanks to the swift rise of social media mixing with legacy human attitudes and behaviors, I've come to believe that if we don't address it now, the artificial intelligences of the future will be far worse for us than today's primitive social products have proven to be.

I therefore propose that we set ourselves upon creating the technology of better humans — that is, of investing in and creating better versions of ourselves. Since it will be us — or our children — who will build the next generation Alexas and Siris, the only way to bring about the future that we deserve and desire is to start now. The good news is, some of us have already started and joining in may be easier than you think.

Transcript

1. August 28, 2019 @ChrisMessina Turing Fest The Technology of Better Humans Edinburgh, Scotland
2. 1998 Photo by Megan Kilar
3. Gay Straight Alliance
4. Gay Straight Alliance
6. ! San Francisco, 2004
7. WordPress Flickr Twitter Instagram Slack
9. @biz @jack @tonystubblevine @chrismessina (photographer)
10. Too nerdy!
11. 2004 ! 2019
12. 2004 ! 2019 Pew Internet 72% U.S. adults 0 % 20 % 40 % 60 % 80 % 3/21/20 0 5 8/10 /20 0 8 4 /19/20 0 9 5/30 /20 10 12/21/20 10 8/7/20 12 9/30 /20 13 1/10 /20 18 Social media use over time
13. % of U.S. teens who use… Pew Internet; “% of US teens who say they use…” YouTube 85 % ........................................ Instagram 72 ...................................... Snapchat 69 ...................................... Facebook 51 ....................................... Twitter 32 ............................................ Tumblr 8 ............................................... Reddit 7 ............................................... None of the above 3 .....................
14. 200M hashtags/day
15. ~2,300 hashtags/second (And that’s just on Twitter!)
16. Photo by Rowan El Shimi
17. Photo by Vlad Tchompalov
18. Photo by Mihai Surdu
19. Est. 2004
20. May 18th 2018
26. Hannah Miller “Grinning face with smiling eyes”
27. Photo by Kaitlyn Baker
28. Photo by Tim Gouw
30. AP Photo
31. comfort security
32. Harlow’s monkey experiments
33. Harlow Primate Lab
34. Harlow Primate Lab
36. Esther Perel relationship expert People go to bed with their phones, in all senses of the phrase. The last thing they stroke is their phone. The first thing they stroke is their phone. I can’t imagine that doesn’t have an effect.” “
38. Inventory of Effects* Digital Addiction Digital slot machines occupy more and more space in our lives Mental Health We constantly face a battle for our attention, social comparison, and bullying Breakdown of Truth It’s become harder than ever to separate fact from fiction Polarization Stronger ideological rifts make compromise and cooperation more difficult Political Manipulation Creating discord through cyberwarfare is far more cost-effective than military action Superficiality A social system built on likes and shares prioritizes shallowness over depth *According to the Center for Humane Tech
44. We’ve got problems
45. Solutions?
46. Fix the products
48. Twitter notification controls
49. Twitter muting controls
50. Telgram "Slow Mode”
51. “Starting today, all users on the latest versions of WhatsApp can now forward to only five chats at once, which will help keep WhatsApp focused on private messaging with close contacts.” WhatsApp Blog, January 21, 2019 WhatsApp restricted forwarding
52. Build new products
54. Regulate the companies
58. Good starts…
59. Sufficient?
60. Incremental
61. Systemic?
63. Here’s what we’re up against
64. Sean Parker (2017) Footage from Axios
65. Urgency
66. >50% of the global population is online as of 2019 CC-BY World Bank 8 17 25 33 42 50 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017
68. Connectivity growth in developing nations (light blue) Individuals using the Internet (% of population) 2016; Source: World Bank
71. So, how?
74. Culture Founder’s
75. Culture Values Founder’s
76. Choices Culture Values Design
77. Choices Products Culture Values Founder’s
78. Choices Products Culture Values Founder’s
79. Founders’ products propagate their culture
81. Sketch by Jack Dorsey
82. Sketch by Jack Dorsey
83. Nov 2017
84. June 2019
85. Sketch by Jack Dorsey Products Founder’s Behavior Users’ Culture Mass
86. John Culkin Friend of Marshall McLuhan 1967 “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.”
87. Twitterrific
89. Marshall McLuhan “The medium is the message.”
90. The message of social technology has been that it’s zero sum.
91. But that’s a direct result of the culture that built it.
92. So we need to make a change.
93. The good news is, 
 some have already started.
95. Dr. Emily Anhalt Founder Alexa Meyer Founder
96. Photo by Lisa Sulenes
98. Co-founder & individual therapy
99. Neil Devani
 Angel investor and VC
101. Investing in whole humans
102. Investing in whole humans
103. Ross Ingram Founder Cristina Poindexter Founder
104. Joy
105. Amused
106. Surprise
107. “Emotionally intelligent entrepreneurs”
108. Neil Devani
 Angel investor and VC Ross Ingram Founder Cristina Poindexter Founder Dr. Emily Anhalt Founder Alexa Meyer Founder
110. 1998 Photo by Megan Kilar
111. 1998 Photo by Megan Kilar
113. The Technology of Myself
119. The Technology of Better Humans
120. #ThankYou @chrismessina @chris