What if our apps were designed by Buddhists?
I don't mean just meditation apps or mindfulness apps. You might consider how odd it would be if Christian programmers were only concerned with Bible verse apps. What if what we aimed for, in designing our everyday technology, were to embody and promote values of leading a meaningful life?
In reality, our apps are already designed by teams of religious and secular ethical people - people who care about health, a meaningful life, families, making the world a better place, and long-term human good. But those values are rarely framed as the value to optimize. Deep customer needs are not often the customer needs that we set out to solve, with teams of considerable talents and skill.
But they can be - and sometimes are. How we frame the problem and present the choices has an immense influence on what we do, as designers know. If we frame technology "merely" as entertainment, it can be an uphill battle to go deep. The movie and video game industry can attest to this, as over the decades they've struggled to craft meaningful messages, seek to raise values other than laughter, comfort, relaxation, etc., and be recognized for deeper artistic or cultural value.
If we frame technology as "merely" tools of convenience and consumerism - with efficiency, sales, quarterly growth, or leisure as the ultimate values - it can be an uphill battle to re-frame it to seek other values.
If we were to design, from scratch, a tool for universal communication and access to knowledge, that we would be proud to give to our 6-year-old nephew, what would it look like? What choices would it promote? What choices would it take off the table?
How could I create settings options that made it easy, by default, for my friends and neighbors to manage their time and interact in the way I'd want to see in my ideal world? And of course, proactively made it much harder for malicious actors to cause harm through hate, ignorance, or greed?
How could I do my part to help all my friends and families who want to make healthier choices, get outside, take meaningful political action? Escape cycles of anxiety, worry, and distraction that leave them not feeling well?
What if the next way we connect was designed with these concerns not as an afterthought, or a side note, but as the mission and vision underlying all of our work?
I think we're seeing the demand for this kind of work begin to be answered. I can't wait to explore what we'll do next.