From new legislation to heightened national security concerns to greater calls for platform responsibility, 2022 marked a big year for humane technology. Here’s a snapshot of our impact, plus a window into the movement’s momentum.
OUR IMPACT AREAS
This year, we worked behind the scenes with leaders in government and tech to pursue strategic solutions while also providing everyday leaders with practical resources. This work fell into three broad areas:
- ADVANCING THE CONVERSATION: We expanded the public understanding of persuasive technology’s effects and drivers.
- SHIFTING TECH DEVELOPMENT: We helped upgrade the operating principles of technologists to be more humane.
- INFLUENCING POLICY: We informed policy solutions to address root causes and account for technical feasibility.
4 IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS
- We drew a clear connection between social media’s business model and democratic decline on 60 Minutes, introduced “The Wisdom Gap” framework on the interconnected harms of exponential tech, and much more – all to a wide-ranging, global audience.
- Since its March release, our Foundations of Humane Technology course has enrolled over 13,000 engineers, product managers, researchers, and professionals from top organizations worldwide – including Meta, Apple, and the United Nations – working to build more humane products.
- We partnered with Issue One to launch the Council for Responsible Social Media, bringing bipartisan technology, government, and national security experts together to develop smart, practical policy solutions.
- We advised dozens of government officials on how to best target platforms’ business models, enabling them to craft more impactful bills and policies. We also supported the development of California’s Age Appropriate Design Code legislation and urged the FTC to prohibit design features that maximize engagement for minors.
Stay tuned for a more comprehensive 2022 impact report on our website in January.
2022 BY THE NUMBERS
We see the humane tech movement growing every day. Yet, we’ve heard from many of you that you sometimes feel alone in caring for this work. That's why we wanted to share a peek into how the CHT community grew and participated in 2022.
- 14,000,000+ views on our major press appearances
- 930,000 unique podcast listeners in 200+ countries
- 460,000 humanetech.com visitors across 230 countries
- 177,000 Catalyst subscribers, with high engagement (45-55% open rate)
- 130,000 page views for our Youth Toolkit across 179 countries
- 52,000 page views for our Ledger of Harms, with 15+ minutes average time on page
- 13,000 course registrants from 139 countries with an average rating of 4.6/5.0
- 300+ meetings with hundreds of high-level stakeholders across government, tech, and culture
- 10 CHT team members (we’re hiring!)
Thanks to the support of our partners, our community, and you, we tangibly impacted the trillion-dollar tech industry. While there’s a lot more to tackle in 2023, we hope you also end the year feeling encouraged.
MOVING FORWARD
In 2023, our primary focus will be developing and advocating for ecosystem-shifting solutions. We’ll also help you find more ways to contribute to the movement.
In the meantime, check out our recent action-oriented pages on kids and democracy. And stay tuned for new resources coming soon on mental health, news and media, and privacy and surveillance.
We thank you for participating in this movement and look forward to continuing this work in the new year.
