Center for Humane Technology
The Center for Humane Technology (CHT) is an organization dedicated to mitigating the negative effects of digital technology, which they refer to as human downgrading. From the CHT website: "Our mission is to reverse human downgrading by inspiring a new race to the top and realigning technology with humanity."
The Center was founded in February of 2018 by Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google; Aza Raskin, former head of user experience at Mozilla; and Randy Fernando, a former NVIDIA employee and Executive Director at Mindful Schools. The organization also includes many other prominent experts in various areas of technology; the prominence of the individuals involved means that CHT has a ready audience for its message.
The Center works to inform tech stakeholders, educators and the general public around the world about the situation and the need for change. CHT pressures policy and lawmakers to mandate humane technology principles and pressures technology professionals to advocate within their workplaces. The Center offers a design guide, a ledger of harms and app ratings, as well as a weekly podcast, “Your undivided attention.” An annual conference is in planning stages.
The organization also provides simple tips for attention management, such as turning off notifications except for those from people, removing social apps from your phone and sending voice messages instead of texting.
The independent non-profit organization is headquartered in San Francisco, California. CHT invites public participation and input.