The Center of Humane Technology’s (CHT) mission is to align technology with humanity’s best interests. In essence, how do we create safer, more sustainable digital products? The rapid acceleration of recent technology has been linked to issues including polarization, addiction, mental health decline, and democratic backsliding, to name a few. CHT’s work is focused on raising awareness of these consequences and providing resources for people to take meaningful action.

The nonprofit was founded in 2018, built out of co-founder Tristan Harris’ “Time Well Spent” movement inside of Google, which advocated for the development of products that encourage intentional rather than addictive use. CHT then received widespread attention from the 2020 release of its Social Dilemma Netflix documentary on the harmful societal impacts of social media. Since that time, technology has only continued to advance at a faster pace and affect society in some ways that are clear, but many others that are obscure. CHT’s current focus is on bridging this gap between the exponential growth of technology’s influence and our full understanding of it.

The overarching goal of my internship was to help CHT adjust its communications and content to fit its evolved theory of change. My core project was to manage updates to the CHT website in advance of upcoming events and media opportunities. This started with conducting a website analysis to understand user flow and make recommendations for improvement. I then worked to create new and update existing content for priority web pages. From there I provided direction to CHT’s existing web developer and a new UX/UI designer, whom I helped interview and on-board into the organization.

In addition to leading the website project, I managed a video production agency, Dragonfruit Media, for the release of 13 videos on the CHT YouTube channel, which has a following of over 9k subscribers. This consisted of weekly content reviews, providing creative direction, copy editing, and approving optimizations. I also worked directly with the senior policy and communications manager to conduct policy research, evaluate proposed legislation, and shape CHT’s involvement in a tech reform project with Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist at New York University's Stern School of Business.

The unique nature, scale, and potential impact of CHT’s work required a nuanced understanding of the tech industry, systems thinking, effective communication, and process improvement. On a daily basis, I pulled from concepts learned in business analytics, game theory, organizational change, and media and tech public policy courses to complete my projects. This background allowed me to evaluate business strategies, identify process weaknesses, and ask the right questions of various stakeholders at an MBA level.

A primary challenge for CHT is addressing complex and constantly evolving societal issues with an extremely small team. While enormously influential, the organization has fewer than 10 full-time employees. This often means that beneficial opportunities are declined or projects take longer to complete due to a lack of bandwidth. Specific to my work over the summer, several timelines were extended and other items were deprioritized as CHT went through organizational changes. While this is common in any business, the magnitude of impact is greater on small teams.

I entered Columbia Business School with the goal of pivoting into ethical tech — a niche industry with an undefined career path. However, I found the opportunity to join CHT through direct outreach to the current chief operating officer. While untraditional and ambiguous at times, the experience allowed me to dive into the world of humane technology, understand the players, dissect the challenges, and build relationships with a variety of leaders. The path to developing a safer tech ecosystem remains uncertain, requiring the support and activism of people across sectors. My work over the summer was ideal for exploring this landscape to better identify where I can most effectively contribute both now and after my MBA.