Alex Soojung-Kim Pang Lecture: Contemplative Computing

Computers, smartphones, and the Internet all promised to make us smarter, more connected, and more productive; but all too often living with them leaves us feeling busier, more distracted, and more unfocused. Responses to this have ranged from negative (technologies are dehumanizing and antisocial) to positive (computers are rewiring our brains to read status updates rather than Steinbeck) to fatalistic (progress is unstoppable). In this talk, I present an alternative view. Humans have used technologies to extend our minds and augment our abilities for hundreds of millennia. Our ability to use technologies so well that they become extensions of our selves is one of the things that defines and shapes us as a species. We can derive great pleasure from using technologies well. The problem with our current devices, I argue, is that they’re designed to hijack this ability and redirect this pleasure. But we can learn to use our devices to be more focused and mindful, not fractured and distracted. This approach to information technology— contemplative computing— argues that can design relationships with technologies that are profound and empowering; that we can learn to become more savvy about how technologies are designed to capture and commodify our attention; and that we can become more mindful about how we use technologies, and more mindful while using them.