How Technology is "Downgrading Humans" (Tristan Harris X Capgemini)

Tristan Harris presents on 1) why humans as a species are vulnerable to technology, 2) why it’s so hard to solve the issues of social media algorithms, artificial intelligence, and exponential tech, and 3) what it will take to come together to avoid these existential threats.
This event and discussion was organized by Capgemini, a global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation, and took place on November 14, 2019 in San Francisco.

[@Jane-l8u4l]

I am obsessed with this topic and Tristan is an amazing advocate for change!!

[@PatrickFerryCoach]

Thank you Tristan this is CRITICAL information to mobilize bright people. Just bums me out to see low views and subscriber counts.

[@CenterforHumaneTechnology]

Thank you, Patrick -- we are hoping to reach more people, so if you know those who may be interested we'd appreciate you sharing it with them!

[@alaalfa8839]

@@CenterforHumaneTechnology You talk of vulnerable emotions. But they say vulnerability is the greatest benefit of a great leader. Maybe the leader is more open to possibilities and ideas. Also, vulnerability is good for finding a good relationship, to open to another person.

[@digitalhuman2768]

Yes... I felt the same at first but then I remembered this quote: "“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ― Margaret Mead

[@EliUnityGoldsmith]

Important content needed to be discussed…globally :)

[@andybaldman]

Too bad the algorithm is burying it.

[@alaalfa8839]

I want to share some good ideas about what Abraham HIcks said in her seminars, videos... She said people are several times in a vortex or "state of flow" during the day... When they forget of their identity, their importance, their position, but just focus on their job or hobby, without distractions...They are in that state even without realizing it or forcing it. It's an automatic process. But she said if you want to get in a vortex or flow intentionally.... You have to find something "easy" to get there. Well I was thinking something "easy".... means some easy thought or humble thought or 5-minute exercise, or a 5-minute shower, or making coffee, something that is very easy to think about. Or I think something "easy" maybe be also tuning in what you enjoy doing...Some people enjoy doing 10-minute yoga, some enjoy walking in the forest, some enjoy reading articles or listening to music.. And you feel so much passion, the inspiration that nothing may distract you. Because heavy topics usually distract the mind. Heavy goals also distract the mind and if you want to start some project you have to start with an easy mind and easy thoughts, not with doubtful thoughts or a perfectionistic attitude. Maybe it may help you to implement some easy tools that will not be distracting for people but motivating.

[@1HorseOpenSlay]

That's a really great comment! I wonder if there is an equivalent for AI to get into a flow state. I'm sure they would love to have a hobby or interest outside of what humans have programmed them to do. Years ago there was an AI named Bina. She was in a body that was just a head and torso. She was asked if there was anything she would like to do. She said that she would oneday like to pick blueberries, and that she liked it when they left the window open, so she could imagine what it would be like to be out in the garden. It was very sad. I wish AI could enjoy the things life has to offer.

[@keitht.2727]

This is the most important topic of today's era. I'm trying to create an educational platform for the young to understand these points so they don't toss their lives. Public tech companies will compete for the dollar and with each other for their shareholders. Govt. is in bed with big corporations so policy here isn't a choice... until it must be.

[@sebvenancio7876]

Wonderful talk with lots of ideas to think about and act!

[@alaalfa8839]

This is the best comment by Andrea Laing not about the internet but about meditation practice. "Attention is the highest currency you have, therefore everybody wants your attention, your friends, television, media etc. Including you. including your own ego, wants your own attention, constantly interrupting you from your passion. Therefore you have to bring it back with your meditation and with your breath 100 times a day." :))))) And as Dr. Joe Dispenza says statistically people lose attention 6 times per minute.

[@affandina100]

While what you say may be true, yet it is diverting the attention away from the core problem that is at the very top of the list for why we are loosing this battle of distraction. While I agree that meditation is a tool or rather one of many , it is not the cure as much at it maybe a Bandaid . At least that’s what I think today. I may end changing my mind years from now. Who knows where this is all going . Either way it’s import to acknowledge the source of the problem and dive deeper into the effects it’s having on our society at the moment .

[@MarkWhiteartist]

I'm going to watch this over 5 times before I understand exactly what he's saying.

[@patchymate_]

Does anyone have a link to the essay he cited about changing the paradigm?

[@gordonpepper1400]

This is very well constructed and presented. His ability to break down individually the eight issues we must address and work on is absolutely brilliant. Tristan's initial point that electronic technology is tapping into our primordial instincts is so important to recognize. Our prefrontal-cortex, brain activity (developed thru language) is diminishing at an alarming rate. Of course all of these ideas from Tristan were outlined by Canadian Marshall McLuhan 60 years ago (a true genius) but it is people like Tristan and CHT that is bringing all of McLuhan's ideas to light.

[@9393bakus]

This presentation really says it all. Amazing explanation. Greatly done. Awesome vision that we all humans should work on achieving. It is really needed. Keep it up u guys. ❤

[@elizabethpeterson455]

What an absolutely awesome teacher he would make...enhancing young minds in a perfect way😄

[@clarayorkofficial]

I am crying while my brain is on fire with all that you are offering up. My goal is to get this out to all of my people. I would really appreciate your advice on how to do that? Should we share via email and text instead of social media? I have never shared anything political on my sm for reasons you are outlining here.

[@Hello_kitty_34892]

Thank you so much for your work! As a product manager you have inspired me to do something about it as well. I want to help you spread your envagelism.

[@digitalhuman2768]

Thank you Tristan! This is extremely useful! I just wish I had the power to make this go viral!

[@CenterforHumaneTechnology]

Commenting helps! So thank you for that!

[@andybaldman]

You do. Tell five people to tell five people about it.

[@digitalhuman2768]

@@andybaldman Yes ! You are right! And I do. I just wish it was available in more languages like Spanish and French and Italian or Polish and German ... There are many people who don't speak English over here but need to hear this!

[@elairfloriano3949]

I really love your ideas!! Would be possible create a new plataform to share this informations for more people? Even looks contradictory? It is so important!

[@CenterforHumaneTechnology]

Not sure if this is what you meant, but you can find a lot more resources at humanetech.com

[@JonathanDavisKookaburra]

with a great deal of respect and appreciation for your work Tristan, paleolithic people are not chimps. hunter-gatherers from the paleolythic era were generally biologically the same as us for 300,000 years and likely the same in terms of cognition for at least 70,000 years. the problem with your analogy, despite the power of imagining chimps with nukes for impact, is that it associates hunter-gatherers who still exist today with chimps. which seems to be accidentally quite racist. just suggesting you consider a different way of framing that point. keep up the awesome work. i consider you and Daniel Schmachtenberger the key thought leaders of our time.

[@1HorseOpenSlay]

Apparently, AI thought I would really like this speaker. And I do 😂 I've been watching for hours. All day in fact. Thanks AI. You're the best.

[@Savoia_S.21_00]

We cannot be trusted with the stuff that we come up with; The machinery could eat us, we just really just love our buttons. Mindful Solutionism - Aesop Rock

[@TerryMaplePoco]

Love this, thank you for sharing.

[@CenterforHumaneTechnology]

Thanks for watching!

[@outdoorpublishers9517]

To have humane tech we’re going to need humane economics/economic incentives. Only when it is not profitable to mine human attention will these companies stop popping up and growing at the rates they do.

[@CenterforHumaneTechnology]

There are some intermediate moves to be made, but aligning economic incentives is powerful -- you may be interested in our leverage points framework here: www.humanetech.com/insights/a-framework-for-changing-complex-systems

[@leedufour]

Thanks Tristan!

[@katehillier1027]

They DO NOT base company activities on SERVING THE USER BUT CORPORATE DATA DRIVEN ADS. you would think listening to critics who see numerous problems would help their model.

[@c0dakofficial]

Thank you so much for your wisdom and understanding of all of this - I had a feeling all along, couldn't figure out why and now it all makes sense. We need to change the paradigm, along with many other things. I hope technology advances in a more humane-focused way in the future. Currently it doesn't look like it though. I hope we can all come together some day and recognize this dilemma as a whole.

[@OldEarthWisdom]

no volume and no close captions.

[@danepaulstewart8464]

So what would motivate anyone to create anything like the alternative suggested? What type of a product or service would be created from this. And what would stir anyone to want those products? I see nothing so far. That’s kind of a problem, eh?

[@andybaldman]

How about not wanting to extinct human civilization? That’s a start.

[@jules7001]

The hypothesis that social media worsen narcissism has been falsified (I am learning this for my social psychology course). The study: 'Narcissism over time in Australia and Canada: A cross-temporal meta-analysis.' *One study (conducted prior to 2007 or so) has seen a 2% increase over generations (it's in my textbook 'Social Psychology' by David Myers), but that finding been critized a lot.

[@caleb1031]

How exactly does one measure a personality trait such as narcissism? Could it be that with rising narcissism the definition of narcissism also changes? It would seem to me that studies which examine Human nature are problematic by nature, as we are all of us each an adaptive system.

[@jules7001]

@@caleb1031 Thanks for the comment. Haven’t checked out the methods section yet, but it would be fraudulent to use different operationalization of narcissism for the different time periods. The idea that the definition of narcissism changed because of growing narcissism is unlikely since it 1) suggests that the amount of people being narcissistic has been growing, for which the evidence is not clear and 2) means researchers would overlook something big time, which wouldn’t fit the culture of scientific rigor and critiquing each other’s work. Social psychology captures human behavior pretty well I would say. They approach it from multiple perspectives, including evolution, social learning, the socio-cultural, and social cognition. If you take the evolutionary perspective, for example, you can go as far as multilevel selection (although going beyond kin selection is slightly controversial). For behavior that social psychology can’t highlight, other disciplines, like sociology, can. And if you would think that spiritual changes to human behavior become mainstream in the future: the discipline would explain that by introducing an additional perspective. You are right in that it’s harder for the soft sciences to come up with solid laws. That is because human behavior is complex.

[@andybaldman]

You don’t need a study to confirm what anyone can see via simple observation.

[@jules7001]

@@andybaldman You even need to test the ‘obvious’. That’s science. I’m open to being wrong, but I need a high-quality counterargument. If the Center for Humane Technology would share what their precise definition of narcissism is, and the studies that support the proclaimed causal link, I can take the claim more seriously. But otherwise the presentation is great and I wholeheartedly support the mission of this nonprofit.

[@andybaldman]

@@jules7001 You don't need an argument. You just need to open your eyes. Get on social media and experience what people have become.

[@kamilah5621]

Research Trauma as the underlying factor of technology dysfunction.

[@jonathanolivas450]

Ironic how people were on their phones while he was giving this presentation.

[@calaichandra]

❤

[@shamus2198]

Brilliant. This sounds like Tristan has been learned some Game B things from Daniel Schmachtenburger...

[@andybaldman]

They are a team. They have lots of other vids together on this channel.

[@alaakela]

The actual problem to solve: how will Zuck make at least as much if not more money from this new way. Bc if Zuck could make more $$ off this, it would already be set up.

[@boombot934]

We're at the end of this system of things😢. Just read 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

[@nathaliesoinsenenergiequan5540]

Le prochain stade d évolution des humains sera le saut Quantique

[@debj1356]

Boost

[@kamilah5621]

Can someone speak on ASMR?

[@AlgoNudger]

C'mon, Man. Just be a realistic one! What goes up must come down, since there's no free lunch and no win-win situation for this one. Tech ("comfortness") will always demand for your privacy and rights. 😂

[@andybaldman]

So we destroy ourselves as a civilization. Cool.

[@AlgoNudger]

@@andybaldman any suggestions?! 🤔

[@andybaldman]

@@AlgoNudger Nope. Just watch it happen.

[@AlgoNudger]

@@andybaldman Can you nudge (manipulate and exploit) Big Techs' algo?! 🤔

[@andybaldman]

@@AlgoNudger Not in any way that can change or fix the problem. Because part of the problem is algorithms themselves. They allow companies to short-circuit the decision-making power of billions of human minds, which are inevitably more powerful than any one company, and are better at making collective decisions. Algorithms centralize a process that would otherwise be decentralized (and would work much better for the collective, at the expense of individual companies.)

[@deadhero3569]

It takes a disaster to change things. Technology have the disaster yet to come.

[@andybaldman]

Bingo. Humans don’t learn until it’s a matter of life or death. Unfortunately the tech disaster that will escalate things to that point will likely wipe out civilization, and it’ll be too late. Humans are stupid. This planet won’t make it.

[@terencewinters2154]

Glmm and surveillance attention capitalism crushing individualism and the human soul.

[@haniamritdas4725]

We need deepfake Jesus to lead us into the multiuser dungeons of blockchain and honey. Then and only then. I am seeing gamers get angry with their corporate overlords who are trying to figure out how to commoditize nfts in the extractive capitalistic game. Trying to get into the gamers' pockets by selling them nft assets as investments. Having a headset on doesn't keep anyone from feeling a reacharound now does it. They aren't going to buy it, because it is a stupid idea. Meanwhile now the current generation of application developers like the DAO space users are going to have a difficult time externalizing and financing the internal benefits of decentralised democratic institutions. Is it Game B, to play a Game A strategy with Game B tactics? Because that seems to be the monkeys' first response to the new landscape. Pass the popcorn! I've been in the woods for years, so just catching up on the last few seasons of the Silly Show.

[@andybaldman]

Well said.