Spotlight: The Three Rules of Humane Tech

TL;DR

The three rules of humane tech are that every invention creates new responsibilities, power-conferring technology starts a competitive race, and an uncoordinated race ends in tragedy. Asa’s infinite scroll, invented in 2006, shows how a tool intended to simplify browsing was adapted by attention companies to keep people scrolling. Read on to see how privacy, mindfulness, and the right to be forgotten emerge as technological responsibilities.

Transcript

hey everyone this is Triston and this is Asa so in our last episode we shared a presentation Triston and I gave recently to a group of influential technologists and media folks in San Francisco about the race happening in Ai and at the beginning of that presentation we talked about three rules for technology or laws and technology that you know Tri... Read More

Key Insights

• 👶 Each new technology introduces a new set of responsibilities that creators must identify and address to prevent harm.
• 🥺 Competitive races among tech companies over powerful innovations can lead to unintentional negative consequences for society, particularly in consumer engagement.
• ✋ Without effective coordination among stakeholders, there is a high risk that unchecked technological advancement will result in widespread societal tragedy.
• 🗯️ Historical precedents show that technological advancements, such as the camera, have necessitated the creation of new societal norms and rights.
• 🎨 Creators of technology need to foresee the broader implications of their designs to develop more humane and responsible innovations.
• 😮 The rise of AI increases the urgency for technologists to responsibly manage the profound impact of their creations on the fabric of society.
• ❎ Ethical considerations must evolve apace with technological advancements to stay ahead of possible negative outcomes.

Questions & Answers

Q: What are the three rules of humane technology?

Rule one says that inventing a new technology uncovers a new class of responsibilities that may not be obvious. Rule two says that technology conferring power starts a race, and rule three says that the race will end in tragedy without coordination.

Q: What does it mean to be a responsible technologist under these rules?

A responsible technologist considers how larger economic forces may use a creation beyond its creator’s intent. The technologist must identify the new responsibilities and competitive races the invention creates, then recognize where coordination is needed to prevent tragedy.

Q: How does infinite scroll illustrate the three rules of humane tech?

Asa invented infinite scroll in 2006 to help people find items such as restaurant reviews or search results without clicking to load more. Social media later adapted it into infinite feeds, where it gave attention companies more power to keep people scrolling and intensified their competition for attention.

Q: What new responsibility did infinite scroll uncover?

Infinite scroll uncovered a responsibility to protect mindful technology use. Asa intended to make finding information easier but did not anticipate that the design would be used for mindlessness or to keep people scrolling at scale.

Q: Why did infinite scroll start a race among attention companies?

Infinite scroll keeps people on a site longer, so it gives companies power in the competition for attention. The speakers explain that if Facebook adopts it while Twitter does not, Facebook gains an advantage, pressuring competitors to follow.

Q: What tragedy can result when technology companies do not coordinate?

Individual companies seek only a little more user attention, but their combined actions can create a world of continual doom scrolling that none of them individually wants. The transcript estimates that infinite and doom scrolling waste something like 200,000 human lifetimes per day.

Q: Why can’t one company simply stop using an attention-capturing feature?

A single company that refuses to use infinite scroll may lose to competitors that continue using it. Because the companies are caught in a race, individual restraint does not resolve the collective problem without coordination.

Q: What other responsibilities have new technologies created?

Computers that can remember people indefinitely created a need for the right to be forgotten and new laws addressing it. The mass production of cameras similarly created a need for legal concepts protecting privacy, illustrating how inventions can reveal responsibilities their creators did not foresee.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Technologists must recognize that with each new invention comes a new class of responsibilities, which can be complex and often unforeseen.

• Technologies that confer power initiate competitive races among companies, which can lead to harmful societal outcomes if not managed properly.

• Without coordination among technologists and regulatory bodies, the rapid advancement of technology risks resulting in collective tragedy, especially in areas like AI where stakes are exponentially high.