Respecting Human Nature
Human biases and vulnerabilities are inherent and hardwired. They have evolved to help us survive in an ancient environment, not our modern one.
These evolutionary tendencies are now being exploited by technology.
It’s important that we begin to see products in terms of human vulnerabilities.
Just because we look at something, or we click on something, that doesn’t mean it’s what we want, or even what we believe is best for us.
To “give people what they want” is often an easy way to avoid moral responsibility for exploiting human desire.
Surely we can build products that respect the complexity of human nature rather than exploit it.
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Found these ideas in a foundational course over at the Center for Humane Technology.