Dear Product Leaders
Here's how to get involved in humane technology
Let’s start with a few acknowledgments
I know you care about how your product is received in the world.
I think you have an incredibly important role to play—I appreciate and respect that.
As the co-founder and Chief Customer Officer of an AI startup, I understand the necessity to grow and to give users what they want. It’s just that there’s more to the story.
More to the story:
You might be feeling dissatisfied. Maybe you can’t quite put your finger on why.
Perhaps the impact of the products you’ve created isn’t what you’ve hoped.
How is it that you're working so hard and you care so much and yet the actual result is that there's harm being done by much of the tech we build?
What do I mean by harm? Start by reflecting on your own relationship with technology. And then broaden your scope to the world at large, where we see:
phones as a wall between us, inhibiting connection
So, what do we do? Follow these questions and figure out where you come in:
What is Humane Technology? Retaining our humanity with technology, not in spite of it. Learn more.
Why does that matter? As our lives become increasingly digital, we need to determine how to live in balance with technology. That gives us, the people building companies and products, the opportunity to shape what we’re building in a way that supports the bottom line and our customers’ well-being.
How could you do that?
Read this draft constitution for humane technologists
Like what you see? Sign it
Read these draft humane product principles
Like what you see? Take action on one principle
Attend
a Humane Tech meetup in California’s Bay Area
a webinar on humane technology, like this one on emergent design
Become part of a 2025 cohort of humane technologists to support each other in bringing humane tech into our companies
Using the Foundations in Humane Technology course as the base
Could be in person (Bay Area) or online
Read my Humane Tech substack to gain context
Jump on a call with me to connect and learn more
Goals
Further defining this framework so we can all take action
Shifting the paradigm so that humane technology becomes the norm
Living in a world where we retain our humanity so we can
connect to ourselves
connect to each other
connect to nature
and get all the incredible benefits of tech without the incredible pain
What’s in it for me?
Meaning and purpose
No dollar bills. Just mutual interest. This isn’t a commercial engagement.
Ways to reach out
Send me an email at erika at storytell.ai
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