The relationship between the Default Mode Network and a rich inner life seems like a reasonable enough connection, as does the relationship between DMN activity and loneliness.
What would be fascinating to me is an exploration of causality.
Can feelings of loneliness be increased by an upregulation (dTCS) of Default Mode Network activity? Can they be reduced by a downregulation? Can either of those be performed without substantially changing the subjects conscious qualia or internal states?
This will be really interesting to watch in a few years.
Humanitarian use: see below about 100 years ago vs. today.
Quality of people: that's why Space is free.
What's design's ethical imperative: also, see below about 100 years ago vs. today.
Founders of push notification companies: Ask the CEOs of Leanplum/Marketo/Intercom/Vizurly/Kahuna why they haven't released an antidote for push notifications? Please. Try to get them to talk about it.
Because we don't sell to apps that would hurt people. See manifesto on usedopamine.com/team/index.html.
~100 years ago, the most frequent causes of death in the US were pathogens for which we barely had a name. Pnemonia, Flu, Cholera, Fevers. And it was only after we developed a rigorous technology of the body (modern medicine) did we lift millions of people out of suffering simultaneously.
Today, if you are under 50, you're mostly like going to die of opiates. Over 50? Type-2 diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease, obesity and its complications, and stress-related illness.
Every single one of these has strong behavioral components.
Building a smartphone-first, AI-powered rigorous technology of the human mind gives us all an above-the-table, democratized chance at designing scalable technologies that stop this. It spreads better across national, sex, gender, and SES lines than most other behavior-change oriented solutions. And as we enter an age of an excess of cheap energy, food, and data, we NEED a rigorous way to help us better align modern aspirations with an ancient brainstem.
His work on why you, me, everyone on this thread, and every species that's part of the subphylum Vertebrata shaped the course of thinking from contemporary Machine Learning techniques like Q-Learning to us!
The men and women who write your software control the boundary conditions for your experiences there. They control what and how you can think, feel, and believe in that experience. When Twitter doubles the numbers of characters you can tweet, they're making a decision about the quality and size of thoughts people can express - and in turn what depth of dialogue we have there.
Analogously, when someone designs a diet app, they're creating the boundary conditions of a new behavior pattern for users. Their use of Dopamine aligns well with their end user's goals: in the same way that you hold friends close because you know they rub off on you, so too should we think about our software. Having an app on your phone you chose to let close to your mind and behavior - to be a new venue of your thought and future self - is a decision about who you want to become. And if that app can use good design, a good interface, and persuasive tech to help you achieve your health or diet goals: you win.
That's an alignment of what tech wants and what humans want.
Contrarian, not evil, is more of the motto. You don't get anyone to listen if you just talk about an AI SaaS platform for long-term habit formation. It comes off as wonkish. Trust me, we tried ;)
Happy to answer any questions you have! It's all of our job to be transparent about the new tablestakes of design, because that transparency builds exact dialogues like this! It would be more audacious if we didn't publicize what we're doing and these techniques remained the dark patterns that keep people hooked to social apps that have poor alignment to what people actually want out of life!
Also, would love to clear up mob misconceptions about:
-Why did we pick lightening-rod branding?
-Why was this the most humanitarian use of a neuroscience MS/PhD?
-What quality of people must we be to do this?
-What is design's ethical imperative that, 100 years ago when most died of infections diseases, that this year the majority of people over 50 will die of strongly behavioral-based diseases? [1]
-How come the Founders of the Push Notification teams aren't part of the cultural dialogue?
-What does Tristan Harris think?!
-What is our pricing model and can your startup get a discount? (YES!)