Chris Messina (Hashtag Inventor, Product Designer) After 15 years designing technology products in Silicon Valley, I noticed that something essential has been missing. In our race to make the world more logical and programmable — including our social connections — we’ve reduced the rich tapestry of human experience beyond recognition. And given the crisis of unintended consequences that we’re now forced to cope with thanks to the swift rise of social media mixing with legacy human attitudes and behaviors, I’ve come to believe that if we don’t address it now, the artificial intelligences of the future will be far worse for us than today’s primitive social products have proven to be. I therefore propose that we set ourselves upon creating the technology of better humans — that is, of investing in and creating better versions of ourselves. Since it will be us — or our children — who will build the next generation Alexas and Siris, the only way to bring about the future that we deserve and desire is to start now. The good news is, some of us have already started and joining in may be easier than you think.

1. July 12, 2019@ChrisMessina Startupfest
The Technology
of
Better
Humans
Montréal, Canada

2. 1998
Photo by Megan Kilar

3. Gay Straight Alliance

4. Gay Straight Alliance

6. ! San Francisco, 2004

7. WordPress Flickr Twitter Instagram Slack

9. 200M hashtags/day

10. ~2,300 hashtags/second
(And that’s just on Twitter!)

11. Photo by Rowan El Shimi

12. Photo by Vlad Tchompalov

13. Photo by Mihai Surdu

15. May 18th 2018

20. 🤔

21. Hannah Miller
“Grinning face with smiling eyes”

22. Photo by Kaitlyn Baker

23. Photo by Tim Gouw

25. AP Photo

27. Harlow Primate Lab

28. Harlow Primate Lab

30. Esther Perel
relationship expert
People go to bed with their phones, in all
senses of the phrase. The last thing they
stroke is their phone. The first thing they
stroke is their phone. I can’t imagine that
doesn’t have an effect.”
“

31. People go to bed with their phones, in all
senses of the phrase. The last thing they
stroke is their phone. The first thing they
stroke is their phone. I can’t imagine that
doesn’t have an effect.”
“
Esther Perel
relationship expert

32. prosocial behaviors

33. self-awareness

34. empathy

35. meaningful interactions

37. Founder’s
Culture
Users’
Behavior
Founder’s
design
choices

38. Founder’s
Products
Users’
Behavior
Culture

40. Sketch by Jack Dorsey

41. Sketch by Jack Dorsey

42. Sketch by Jack Dorsey

43. John Culkin
Friend of Marshall McLuhan
1967
“We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.”

44. Twitterrific

46. Marshall McLuhan
“The medium is the massage.”

47. Screenshot by Jane M Wong

50. …there’s a very smart business
strategy in promoting and being
very open about your progressive
values.”
Scott Galloway
“

51. The state of being aware of
social injustices and taking action
to fix it
wokeness (n)

53. Self

54. Self
Other humans

55. Self
Other humans Machines

57. Kari Sulenes Lisa Sulenes

58. A marathon and not a sprint

59. Photo by Lisa Sulenes

60. Ross Ingram Cristina Poindexter

61. Joy

62. Amused

63. Surprise

64. “Emotionally intelligent entrepreneurs”

66. >50% of the global population is online as of 2019
CC-BY World Bank
8
17
25
33
42
50
1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017

68. Connectivity growth in developing nations (light blue)
Individuals using the Internet (% of population) 2016; Source: World Bank

69. Kari Sulenes Lisa Sulenes Ross Ingram Cristina Poindexter

71. 1998
Photo by Megan Kilar

72. 1998
Photo by Megan Kilar

74. The Technology
of
Myself

80. The Technology
of
Better
Humans

81. #ThankYou
twitter@chrismessina @chris