Meet on the ground floor of QNC, on or near the gray slab benches at 7:20ish, and a regular will let everyone into a room in IQC for 7:30 pm. You can see the precise location on plus.codes. The benches are near the Ring Road entrance, and across the hall from an orange-tinted lab space. As always, vegetarian snacks will be provided.

Discussion

So, how 'bout them cursed amulets? How bad are they? What should we do about them?

Readings

You’re always stressed, your mind is always busy, you never have enough time

Do a Cost-Benefit Analysis of Your Technology Usage

Supplemental:

The AIR Method

Tips on Offline-First Smartphones, 2023 Edition

Those Aren't "Tweets", Those Are Your Thoughts

Question List

1. How much time do you spend using the Internet, and how spread out is that time throughout your day? Do you endorse these? Why or why not?
2. What do you think a healthy relationship with computers and the Internet looks like for you?
3. Have you tried any methods to reduce your usage or change the way you relate to your phone or computer? How did they go?
4. Our first reading is written in the second person. How does this framing affect the impact of the piece?
5. Advocates of digital minimalism often emphasise the amount of time wasted on devices. Is this time truly wasted? How much do people gain from things like scrolling social media, and would that time actually have been spent more productively and/or pleasantly otherwise?
6. How do LLMs change the equation?
7. Thus far, we've been focusing on small-scale solutions, at the level of individuals or perhaps small company teams and friend groups. Are there larger-scale solutions that our society or communities could implement? What would it take to implement these, and how would we ensure that they caused more good than harm?