What do we value?

A new interview every week, from October 2024.

“?” by Slovak artist Július Koller (1939-2007)

We are APOSSIBLE, a studio made of positive psychologists, creative technologists, designers, and philosophers. We are interested in our relationship with technologies: how we shape them, and how they shape us. 

We live in an age dominated by speed, scale, and standardization. While these values allow many technologies to thrive, they present hidden costs to the human experience. 

Human flourishing is not about streamlining our lives to maximize efficiency and convenience. We need complexity and friction in life to experience things like growth, richness, and meaning. Yet, as we optimize for efficiency on the surface, we inadvertently erode these deeper, more complex elements of fulfillment. 

In this moment of acceleration, APOSSIBLE believes it is important to slow down and reflect on what we really want from technologies. Beyond comfort, convenience, and instant gratification, what deeper purposes should technology serve in our lives? What values should guide innovation, if not efficiency, speed, and scale? To address these questions, we’re exploring what people value, what makes their lives fulfilling, and what kinds of relationships to technology they already cherish.

We are gathering perspectives, stories, and examples from individuals who inspire us. Their insights and reflections will guide our work as a studio. By sharing them, we hope to empower designers, technologists, and artists with tools and inspiration to create alternative possibilities that enrich the human experience.  

The four questions we are pursuing:

1. What is a ritual, practice, or routine in your life that is important for your psychological wellbeing and/or fulfillment? Why? 

2. What is a human-made creation that brings out the best in you? Why?

3. When do you cherish the slow or hard way of doing something? Why? 

4. What is something you appreciate or long for from the past? Why?
 

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