3 Criteria for Humane Technology
We had the first Bay Area Humane Tech Meeting on May 19th. The topic of our discussion at the event was “what is humane technology?”
There were participants from a variety of professional backgrounds at the meet-up. Psychologists, journalists, artists, mathematicians, authors, filmmakers, and lawyers were all present. Despite this diversity, we agreed that a tech product should meet at least 3 criteria to be considered humane:
1. Humane technology is transparent. It conforms to people’s assumptions about how it works and treats their information. There are no hidden ulterior motives or dark patterns which trick users.
2. Humane technology lets people opt-out. People are not forced to sign up for services or needlessly give up their data when they use humane tech.
3. Humane technology has legal language that is easy to understand. People can comprehend the terms of service for tech they use so they can make informed decisions. Contracts and privacy policies are written or explained in the simplest legally-permissible language.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it is a starting point for further discussion.
If you are in the Bay Area and would like to attend our next meeting on June 30th, please click here for more info. The topic of the upcoming event is “how can we make technology more humane?”
