How can technology better serve humans?
Calm Tech Café
Dates
"Calm technology" is a term coined by Mark Weiser at Xerox PARC more than 30 years ago. He was referring to common frustration with technology, which at the time was often complex and unintuitive. Today, calm technology is becoming a label for technologies that are less obtrusive and take a lower toll on our attention, our relationships and our bodies.
Many problems that face society today are heavily influenced by problematic technologies owned by large corporations, and business incentives that align poorly with democratic values. Urgent challenges to tackle include threats to privacy, agency, freedom of expression, healthy relationships, ownership of our own attention, and threats to healthy bodies and minds.
The ad-based “free” business model, combined with data tracking and persuasive features like "infinite scrolling", has resulted in business incentives that create various downstream problems for the users. The status quo is an unsustainable practice of design and development. There is now an immediate need for solutions that align technology with human well-being. Or, as EU’s Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said in 2018: “Technology should serve humans, not the other way around.”
Despite the gloomy outlook, successful business examples and indicators of an ongoing shift do exist. One fitting example is the Norwegian company reMarkable, which sells an e-Ink tablet designed to foster focus and concentration. Other successful companies include the children's music player Toniebox or the e-ink-based Light Phone. More discussion, research and thinking is needed to figure out what has made these and other "calm-tech" (or "humane-tech") startups succeed.
In this meetup series, we will gather insights and experiences from researchers and industry, including startups, to try to figure out how technology can better serve humans. No sign-up necessary – just meet us in Parken Bakeri in Forskningsparken, typically on a Tuesday in the first half of each month. We'll serve free coffee and cinnamon buns.
Event organizers: Forskningsparken, SINTEF, Startuplab.
Previous speakers:
April 8 2025 | “An overview of calm technologies”, Tobias Dahl, Senior Researcher at SINTEF Digital and Founder of Elliptic Labs
May 6 2025 | Audun Sanderud from HiRO - a music player for kids
June 10 2025 | "How can mobile service operators play a role in the shift towards more humane tech?", Thomas Daykin Johansen, CEO JunoMobil
Speakers
Todays’ Norwegian Primary and Secondary Schools rely heavily on iPad. It is not clear that access to such colourful and fun devices create a good learning environment. In this talk, we outline an alternative: A dedicated low-cost and low-colour device specifically designed for coding and robotics skills. The talk will showcase an early prototype, discuss the connection between hardware capabilities and learning outcomes, and take a look at the potential market and competition. The project in still in the early phase, and is an exploratory and joint effort initiated by the Norwegian Steiner/Waldorf Schools, Montessori Schools and SINTEF” Presenters: Vemund Sætre Skuleberg (Waldorf/Steiner), Nina Johansen (Montessori Norway) and Tobias Dahl (SINTEF).
Dates
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