Own Your Power Over Tech

Evan Selinger is a philosophy professor and author focused on the unique intersection of philosophy, technology, and privacy law. His work, which includes co-authoring the book Re-Engineering Humanity, helps people wrap their minds around the implications of our relationships with technology—a vision of where we are today and where we’re going—and he hopes to create an optimal future for us and for the generations to come. In our conversation, Evan shares the “meta-skill” of world-building, including our fundamental abilities of choice (free will) and a salvo for us to be more thoughtful about when and how we outsource our humanity to technology. Throughout, he displays a judicious eye for the ways our thoughts and blind spots, actions and inaction, end up shaping our world—and he encourages us to pause. This pause can come in the form of a mindful moment (“breathing room”) or simply the consideration of the full, weighty context of social and technological issues at play.