How does the tech you use on a daily basis expand your opportunities for creativity rather than narrow them?
I just read wonderfully thought-provoking article written by Evgeny Morozov in a recent FT magazine. This sentence really stuck out:
"Today's personalised tech systems, once the tools of mavericks, are more likely to narrow our opportunities for creativity than expand them"
I'm reminded of related provocations through conversations with the likes of Christian Busch on serendipity and Laura Francois on awe, where we "give in" to the forces of chance and the power of context to shape our experiences and open doors to new ideas, new connections, and new opportunities.
I often think about this in the context of my work in human connectivity, to which I believe the same challenge applies. Driven by a combination of optimisation, automation and personalisation, I sometimes feel like we're inadvertently designing out the chaos, surprise and friction on which creativity thrives.
Like a stream descending a mountain, we naturally gravitate toward the path of least resistance. In human connectivity terms, this means sticking to what (and who) we know. It means having the easy conversations when the hard ones could be more beneficial. It means prioritising TYPING – which is impersonal and editable, over TALKING – which is live and dynamic and sometimes uncomfortable.
The technologies we use on a daily basis to organise ourselves and our worlds certainly do help in many ways. For example, it would be impossible for me to keep track of the hundreds of connections I've made across the globe were it not for these tech systems. That said, when these tools become more of a crutch than just a container they can imbue complacency rather than inspiring creativity.
I'm curious to learn about examples of tech systems being used to counter this challenge. Or perhaps it simply comes down to switching off from time to time and seeing the tech as the means not the end, particularly when it comes to creativity.
And so, back to my original question, how does the tech you use on a daily basis expand your opportunities for creativity rather than narrow them?
Also, if you are someone who develops the tech the rest of us use on a daily basis, how do you consider the unintended consequences of optimisation, automation and personalisation in the things you build?
#humanconnection #creativity #serendipity #awe #connection #technology
