14 DAY TRIAL // Technology has advanced significantly lately in the consumer area, but with side effects on people who grew dependent on it.
Bing and Big Think have partnered in an attempt to make some changes in this area, so as to make sure that people will keep their abilities to communicate with others.
They announced a new project, Humanizing Technology, a virtual expo aimed at finding technologies that can seamlessly integrate into our lives, while being capable to amplify the best of human nature.
“We have all experienced “dehumanizing” technology – software or hardware that seems to diminish our ability to communicate with others or to function effectively in the world. Technology that creates new boundaries between people rather than erasing old ones,” Big Think notes on its website.
Stefan Weitz, director, Bing, notes that many of the things that are being built today put technology first, and that this should change a bit.
The idea is to have products more people-centric, the Humanizing Technology series is meant for that. There are three basic things that it was designed to do:
- Engage capable people into finding ways to make technology better serve us. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Peter Diamandis, and Jane McGonigal are some of those involved in this project.
- Host a “Virtual Expo” featuring companies, academics and technologies that are building things in line with the hierarchy of human needs that psychologist Abraham Maslow issued: Safety and Security, Human Relationships, and Personal Growth.
- Provide people with the possibility to experience these at a a “Humanities Fair” live in NYC the weekend of June 15-17.
The virtual expo will last 10 weeks and will present contest nominees, gather submissions from readers and feature video interviews with technologists, ethicists, entrepreneurs, and artists engaged in the new approach to technology.
There will be experts and contest judges such as Peter Diamandis, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Jeff Jarvis, Sonia Arrison, and many more who will decide which technologies best exemplify the move towards a more human-centric technical world.
“The goal of the Bing Humanizing Technology Expo – which will culminate in June, 2012 with a live event and prize ceremony in New York City – is to identify new technologies that integrate themselves seamlessly into our lives, capitalize on our unique strengths, and amplify the best of human nature,” Big Think notes.
You can learn more on the project via this blog post on Bing Community, or head over to Big Think's website for an in-depth view on the initiative.