Apr 5, 2021
If you're looking to develop a healthier relationship with your technology, this interview is for you.
Max Stossel is an award-winning poet, filmmaker and the Head of Education & Content for the Center for Humane Technology, an organization of former tech insiders and CEOs dedicated to realigning technology with humanity’s best interests.
(He's also a longtime friend.)
When I first met Max, nearly 9 years ago, he worked for a startup that could have been a precursor to Tik Tok.
There, he experienced first-hand the "Social Dilemma" that comes with trying to make a habit-forming app, with the emerging consequence of hooking people to their screens.
Around the same time, Max heard a poet that inspired him to begin writing and performing poetry himself, also turning his poems into short films.
His third poem, Subway Love went viral. As did his next poem, The Panda is Dancing. They've been seen over 15 million times.
Max's poetry often explores our relationships with technology, presence and the importance of prioritizing the relationships that matter to us most.
With the Center for Humane Technology, he helps teach people to more consciously design our relationships with technology.
However, after re-listening to our discussion, I think his key lessons are about consciously designing our relationships with each other.
Big thanks to Max for sharing so much with us!
#EveryMileMatters!