In 2020, the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma exposed the world to what those of us in the technology industry have known for quite some time: technology can be—and often is—used to hijack our attention spans for profit, with disastrous effects on individuals and on societies. As we emerge further into the brave new world that the AI revolution has created, we can already taste a multiplicative effect of the abuses of humanity’s newfound superpowers through displacement, deception, and increased isolation from human relational connection.
But technology doesn’t have to be evil. In fact, as Indian philosopher Vishal Mangalwadi points out, many of our modern technological advances originated with medieval monks who believed in both the goodness of work and the value of human dignity that should not be debased by oppressive work conditions.
At Trailmerge, we share this belief that technology should be for the benefit of the people it impacts: as much its users and those who experience its second- and third-order effects as those who commission its creation. That’s why there are projects we don’t work on and practices we won’t consent to. For example, don’t ask us to use manipulative design patterns for short-term gain.
This value is a big reason for our focus on building work-related software: SaaS applications and custom enterprise software. Most professionals spend the majority of their working hours in their work context. We have responsibilities to carry out and a desire to do our best work. The software we use in our workflow can either provide an empowering, assistive experience, or a frustrating, error-prone, or hindering experience. As a software agency centered on human-centered design and research-driven product management, we have a unique aptitude in building better, more dignifying technology that helps people and companies reach their goals and potential. That impact alone is worth it.
