amber at valley of commons

amber case at valley of the commons

via voc tweet [https://x.com/votc2026/status/2090023817380827445?s=46]:

On the guilds, professional bodies, and small non-commercial communities quietly thriving in out-of-the-way places, and what they teach us about building institutions (like her Calm Tech Institute) that change the world without getting corrupted.

more on amber via twitter bio [https://x.com/caseorganic]:

Founder, Calm Tech Institute, New York and Denver, calmtech.institute

notes via calm tech institute:

Case is the author of four books, including Calm Technology and A Kids Book About Technology. She spent two years as a fellow at MIT’s Center for Civic Media and Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and was a 2021 Mozilla Fellow.

Calm Technology® is a process for designing technology that works with human attention, instead of against it.

Launched in May 2024, Calm Tech Institute is dedicated to redefining technologies that enhance human life without causing stress or distraction.

Principles of Calm Technology™

1. Require the smallest possible amount of attention

2. Inform and create calm

3. Make use of the periphery

4. Amplify the best of technology and the best of humanity

5. Communicate, but not always with voice

6. Work even when it fails

7. Use the minimum tech needed to solve the problem

8. Respect social norms

one of advisors: douglas rushkoff

douglas rushkoff et al..

via 72 min video (2024) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clxm5qW3pao&t=1010s]:

Designing Calm Technology with Amber Case

Technology shouldn’t require all of our attention, just some of it, and only when necessary.

rather.. shouldn’t require any of it.. tech we need most: tech w/o judgment.. ie; nonjudgmental expo labeling..

The difference between an annoying technology and one that is helpful is how it engages our attention.

to me.. this is a cancerous distraction.. legit calm/humane tech is about listening deep enough to itch-in-the-soul

need st/most: means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening – so we can hear what’s already on each heart as global detox in order to org around legit needs

Calm technology describes a state of technological maturity where a user’s primary task is not computing, *but being human. The aim of Calm Technology is to provide principles that follow the human lifestyle and environment in mind, allowing technology to amplify humanness instead of **taking it away.

all from on the ground ness deep dive

*nothing to date (ever since that day) has gotten to that root of problem

ie: mufleh humanity law et al

legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do

how we gather in a space is huge.. need to try spaces of permission where people have nothing to prove to facil curiosity over decision making.. because the finite set of choices of decision making is unmooring us.. keeping us from us..

ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)

the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness

[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]

there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance

ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition

otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of part\ial ness.. perpetuating survival triage.. for (blank)’s sake..

**always be ‘taking away’ until we let go enough to try/see a means sans any form of m\a\p

The idea behind Calm Technology is to have smarter people, not things.

This session will cover how to use principles of Calm Technology to design harmonious technologies that work alongside our attention, instead of against it. We’ll look at notification styles, compressing information into other senses, and designing for the least amount of cognitive overhead.

rather.. need it to facil or itch-in-the-soul

About Amber Case
Amber Case is a renowned scholar specializing in the interactions between humans and technology, particularly how technology influences culture. She has authored four influential books, including “Calm Technology” and “A Kids Book About Technology.” Her academic credentials include fellowships at MIT’s Center for Civic Media and Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center. She has been recognized by Inc. Magazine’s 30 under 30 and named one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Technology.

Case co-founded Geoloqi, a location-based software company that was acquired by Esri, and later established The Calm Tech Institute, a non-profit aimed at fostering harmonious human-tech interactions. Currently, she serves as the Research Director at the Metagovernance Project, focusing on design, governance, and AI.

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