Randima Fernando – Humane Technology

In this episode, Wendy speaks with Randima (Randy) Fernando, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology. Over several decades, Randy has worked to integrate technology, mindfulness, and social impact, trying to find ethical solutions to some of our most challenging issues. This conversation covers many topics, including: how the strands of Buddhism and technology have woven together throughout his life; the challenges we face with tech today; parallels between mindfulness and humane technology; understanding the "race to the bottom"; breaking the myth that technology is neutral; looking at technology through the Buddhist lens of dependent co-arising; problematic incentives in the tech space (e.g., advertising as a business model); the attention economy; how technology trains our attention, emotions, and even our values; technology's impact on the way we view our "self"; customized realities, echo chambers, and polarization; how to avoid tech traps; the core principles of humane technology; building values/ethics into AI; understanding dukkha; the pros and cons of using technology to teach mindfulness; and the latest resources from the Center for Humane Technology. Full show notes and resources