Foundations of Humane Technology: the course all product managers should take

The Center for Human Technology offers an online course aimed at people working in tech to encourage us to consider how we can make technologies more humane.

Foundations of Humane Technology will prepare product teams to create technology that treats attention and intention as sacred, protects well-being, minimizes unforeseen consequences, and ultimately builds our collective capacity to address the most urgent challenges facing humanity.

It’s easy to tell ourselves that if we don’t work on large scale social platforms that our products have no means to cause harm and so we don’t need to think about these things, but in fact unless we understand and amplify the message that all technology should be humane, how can we ever make any technology better?

The course consists of eight self-paced modules.

  • Setting the Stage – What challenges define this moment in history and how can the technology we build help to address them?
  • Creating Shared Understanding – How can technology engender the trust and understanding we need to solve complex problems together?
  • Respecting Human Nature – How can technology work in harmony with the vulnerabilities and biases with which all humans have evolved?
  • Narrowing the Gap – How can technology address inequity and practically integrate voices of people who experience harm?
  • Minimizing Harmful Consequences – What economic forces affect products, and how can product teams help address and reduce harmful externalities?
  • Helping People Thrive – How can products help people act in alignment with their deeper intentions, rather than optimizing for engagement?
  • Centering Values – How do the conditions of our lives shape our values? How might product development be informed by metrics but centered on values?
  • Ready To Act – How can we create a culture of humane technology inside of our workplaces and broader industry?

All product teams teams should do the course, ideally together so they can talk about the issues and ideas the course raises. If you’re interested, sign-up now.