Exploring the Interplay of Technology and Human Experience
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The Long View
A metaphysical design framework aimed at enhancing our understanding of potential pasts, presents, and futures to shape the human experience we desire across time.
Greetings! I'm Vicki, a product designer with experience at Spotify, Headspace, Lyft, and Google. Currently, I'm on a break from product design to focus on a personal project: an illustrated book that guides individuals in making better choices. This book tackles both significant life questions—like where to live, work, and our ultimate purpose—as well as everyday decisions, such as meal choices and managing anxiety.
My interest in behavioral science drives my curiosity about the factors influencing our decisions and actions. As a designer, especially in the tech sector, I often reflect on:
- How can we improve our decision-making processes?
- What influences our initial choices in product development?
- How do we allocate our time and resources effectively?
- How do we determine what to enhance or eliminate?
I’ve observed that our decision-making is often influenced by metrics and goals set by leadership, which are in turn shaped by user interactions. Interestingly, these users (including us) may not fully realize their impact on product decisions that greatly affect our lives.
- Do these decisions align with our personal goals and best interests?
- What are the consequences and broader implications of these choices?
- How does technology affect our behaviors, and what is its overall impact on the human experience?
Making decisions, particularly in large organizations, can be challenging, often feeling overwhelming when striving for long-term benefits. This idealistic approach can seem daunting with minimal immediate reward.
What if I suggested there is a more effective way to approach decision-making?
In the following sections, I will introduce a framework I've developed, along with relatable examples and strategies to apply this mindset in your everyday life and work.
When rethinking our perspectives, I believe it’s valuable to take a broader view, so prepare for a journey through time and space.
The Present
Let’s start by examining contemporary technology through the lens of human experience:
What benefits do these tools provide? What do they take away? How have they reshaped our behaviors and desires?
Here are three examples from my everyday life:
Camera (usually iPhone/Android camera)
If you’ve been to a concert, wedding, or birthday celebration, you’ve likely seen everyone pulling out their phones to take pictures and videos. Cameras serve a vital purpose in preserving memories. There are countless moments that would fade from memory without photos, making them essential as a visual archive of our lives.
However, the omnipresence of cameras can also transform our experiences into moments meant for documentation. By capturing specific parts of our day, we inevitably overlook others. This habit can pull us out of the present moment. Even when we consciously leave our cameras behind, we may experience frustration or fear of missing out (FOMO) from not being able to document a special moment.
Video Conferencing
Platforms like Zoom and Google Hangouts have connected us globally and enabled remote work. During the pandemic, they played a critical role in maintaining our social and professional lives. Many of us found ourselves dancing in our living rooms on Sunday mornings!
However, video call fatigue is a genuine issue. While video chats provide more context than phone calls with visual cues, they restrict our movement and require us to focus on non-verbal cues, leading to disembodied conversations. The self-view feature can also become distracting, as we often find ourselves glancing at our own image. This situation brings to mind Linda Stone’s concept of “email apnea,” where one unconsciously holds their breath while engaging online, making it difficult to connect with our bodies.
Apps
Smartphone applications are built for convenience, solving problems we didn’t even know we had. They allow us to accomplish tasks from virtually anywhere, enhancing productivity even while waiting in line or stuck in traffic.
However, consider the implications of apps like Google Maps and food delivery services. Google Maps has diminished our sense of exploration and the thrill of getting lost, while food delivery apps have detached us from the experience of shopping, preparing, and sharing meals.
Although these apps offer undeniable benefits, they can also dictate choices for us. While it’s crucial to acknowledge their utility, we must also reflect on what they may be eroding over time. Are we losing our ability to wait, be patient, engage in hands-on experiences, or even experience boredom? These are valid considerations alongside the convenience provided by these applications.
The Past
What lessons can we glean from history? How have simple, ubiquitous technologies shifted human behavior, social dynamics, or cognitive processes? The effects of these earlier innovations are often so ingrained that we accept them as the norm.
Paper
While it may not initially seem like technology, paper has enabled us to document our thoughts. It allows us to engage with multiple ideas simultaneously, record histories, and share knowledge across generations.
Before paper, the act of writing down thoughts was impossible. Paper has expanded our capacity for ideation, serving as a medium for preserving history and transmitting knowledge.
- Information overload: With everything documented, how do we determine what deserves our attention and memory?
- Difficulty in deriving meaning: How do we discern truth when the recorder becomes the arbiter of reality?
- Loss of memory practices: Reliance on written records has diminished our reliance on spoken words and memory.
However…
We struggle with information overload in a world where everything is recorded. This leads to challenges in focusing our attention and remembering. Determining meaning becomes more complex, raising questions about truth. The individual documenting information becomes a kind of "decider of truth." Furthermore, this reliance on written records risks undermining traditional memory practices, as we increasingly depend on reading and writing rather than verbal communication and recall.
The Table
A table may not seem like technology, yet it plays a vital role in our social interactions. Tables facilitate dining, socializing, and discussions, providing spaces for work and creativity.
However…
Tables also influence room dynamics. They occupy physical space and dictate seating arrangements, potentially affecting communication patterns. They can create rigid structures, limiting movement and interactions throughout the day.
The Clock
A clock not only measures time but also segments it into smaller units, enabling standardization across different contexts. It shapes our routines and social behaviors, allowing us to make specific plans, such as “Let’s meet at 12:15.”
However…
Our dependence on clocks has distanced us from natural sleep/wake cycles, often overshadowing our intrinsic circadian rhythms. While the sun transitions gradually, we adhere rigidly to the clock. This strict measurement of time can foster a sense of “temporal anxiety”—the fear of losing or wasting time, making it harder to stay present and appreciate each moment.
Connecting the Dots
By linking past technologies with current tools, we can identify recurring themes in how technology has transformed our human experience—often in unintended yet profound ways.
- How we remember and share: Paper and cameras have revolutionized memory documentation.
- How we gather and socialize: Tables and video conferencing have redefined our interaction spaces.
- How we experience time: Clocks and apps have altered our perception of time and efficiency.
As we forge ahead into the technological future, it’s vital to remain aware of the unintended consequences—ripples that extend from our innovations. These reflections aren’t judgments on whether these effects are good or bad; rather, they illustrate how impacts can proliferate in unforeseen ways. They serve as reminders to consider the broader implications as we continue to innovate.
Block Universe
Let’s take a moment to loosen our thinking.
Instead of perceiving time as a straight line, envision it as a fourth dimension within our three-dimensional world, creating a "block" of space.
If we view time and space as a cohesive unit, the present moment is merely one slice, with all other moments coexisting simultaneously. This concept, known as the “Block Universe,” suggests that time isn’t fleeting; rather, it forms a unified spacetime where past, present, and future events are equally real and persist.
The past isn’t lost, and the future isn’t yet to come; they all exist together, constantly.
While I'm not a metaphysics expert, the block universe theory finds support in quantum physics. However, such abstract ideas can often feel detached from our daily realities, reminiscent of science fiction rather than practical life.
Let’s ponder the implications of accepting that past, present, and future coexist. How might this perspective influence our technological development and reshape human experiences?
Future: Spotify
During my tenure at Spotify, our mission was to support artists in making a living from their art, which constantly occupied my thoughts. Here’s how I envisioned the timeline:
- Past: Physical records limited our listening experiences due to their tangible nature. We listened to albums and could only own so many records, fostering familiarity with certain popular songs.
- Now: The streaming era offers limitless songs, providing a personalized experience for every mood while giving smaller artists a platform to reach audiences.
- Future: We envisioned an intelligent audio companion that would anticipate your needs, curating a personalized soundtrack throughout your day. It would adapt as your tastes evolve for a seamless experience.
- Ripple Effect: This could lead to a loss of silence and detachment from natural sounds, while the abundance of music could challenge artists’ discoverability and reshape perceptions of song value.
Block Universe: What if we approached the future with a focus on supporting both the past and present?
Consider this thought exercise: Can we derive more meaning from less? What does quality look like on a streaming platform?
What if we limited “new” content, allowing Spotify to suggest a set number of albums each month? This approach could encourage deeper listening and foster appreciation for each album while promoting fewer, higher-quality recommendations. Ideally, it would create opportunities for silence and reflection on our surroundings.
This balanced recommendation encourages a deeper engagement with the audio experience while valuing moments of quiet. While this isn’t a literal solution, it offers a pathway to address challenges like artist compensation, choice overwhelm, and our relentless quest for novelty.
Future: Headspace
At Headspace, our mission focused on enhancing user health and happiness:
- Past: Traditional meditation practices often required extended periods of quiet, which were inaccessible for many, particularly those with busy home lives.
- Now: Headspace has evolved to offer a “gym for your mind”—just 10 minutes daily, with occasional breaks. They introduced the concept of minimal viable dosage, condensing meditation into small increments for greater accessibility.
- Future: Similar to Spotify, Headspace envisions a future of ongoing mindfulness support, guiding users through their day—whether for a gentle morning wake-up, post-workday stress relief, or nighttime relaxation.
- Ripple Effect: While accessibility is crucial, we must also consider the quality of practice. In a world of minimal viable dosage, does commitment to mindfulness remain deep? Are we reducing meditation to a checkbox task?
Interestingly, Headspace lacks a model for self-reliance. There’s no defined endpoint for users to transition into independent meditation without the app. What would it mean for users to "graduate" from Headspace upon achieving a certain proficiency level?
Block Universe: Viewing meditation through the block universe lens invites us to imagine a future where all meditation states coexist. In this vision, graduates could become mentors, sharing their knowledge with newcomers and fostering community around their practices.
Imagine the fulfillment of mastering meditation to the point where you no longer rely on an app for guidance, yet remain engaged by contributing to the learning community.
These examples illustrate how the block universe concept can serve as a framework for reflection on past achievements and conscious future creation.
As I conclude, it's essential to recognize that this isn’t merely about future-oriented thinking; it encompasses a broader temporal perspective. Short-termism often leads to pitfalls when we focus only on immediate results.
This is about recognizing the simultaneous existence of these realities, each of equal significance.
If we can embrace the block universe, adopting a more expansive viewpoint—the long view—I hope it empowers us to design and create potential pasts, presents, and futures that align with the human experiences we desire.
I extend my gratitude to Ash, Ryan Flomerfelt Mather, Christin Chong, PhD: Buddhist Chaplain-In-Training, Jack Fulton, and Buster Benson for their invaluable feedback on this talk and article.
This piece is adapted from my notes and presentation at Sketch Together in Mexico City, hosted by Pablo Stanley. You can view it here.
References and Further Reading: - Hannah Arendt — The Human Condition - Eric Wargo — Time Loops - LM Sacasas — The Questions Concerning Technology - Yancey Strickler — This Could Be Our Future