Abstract
Spiritual caretakers have been present in every culture throughout human history. We know them as ministers, rabbis, llamas, shamans, imams, chaplains, gurus, and wise elders. In modern, secular times, they also include therapists, social workers, meditation teachers, and more. These caretakers support us through birth, death, and many of the most intimate and complex parts of the human experience. They use skills honed over many years that require paying radical attention to the humanity of others. Yet where is this expertise to be found in the creation of the digital technologies that have become portals through which we live, love, learn, grieve, and connect with our communities? Those who design and build digital technology must accept that we have become de-facto spiritual caretakers with the power to treat the well-being of humanity with care or with negligence. Unfortunately, caretaking is a role that computer science degrees do not prepare people for, few business models optimize for, and algorithms can not easily solve. This article outlines two concrete best practices that can help foster genuine responsibility and care on the part of technologists and technology companies. First, technologists must recognize that what we create is an expression of our own inner state. Our spiritual and emotional health is inextricably linked with our ability to build technology with responsibility and wisdom. Second, technologists must create an empowered seat at the table for those with the expertise and orientation needed to care for our souls, whether from a religious or secular lens.
Highlights
Spiritual caretakers have been present in every culture throughout human history
Its nature is shifting in dramatic ways in the Digital Age, when technology mediates many aspects of the human experience
When Siri and Alexa are on the receiving end of suicidal pleas[1] and vaccine misinformation spread on social media is killing tens of thousands of people, we live in a world in which spiritual care is frequently in the hands of algorithms
Summary
Spiritual caretakers have been present in every culture throughout human history. They support people through birth, death, and many of the most intimate and complex parts of the human experience that exist in between. Addressing the harms of technology requires an ecosystem of interventions, including regulation, employee and consumer movements, values-oriented business models, empowered ethics teams inside companies, and addressing the toxicity of the underlying systems that gave rise to them in the first place. All of these efforts will not create technology that is worthy of the human spirit—technology that shifts us from greed to generosity, from anxiety to ease, that heals us and brings us together—unless we broaden the frame. If adopted as part of a larger ecosystem of changes, they could help mitigate the harms of technology, and perhaps even lead to more technology that brings out the best in humanity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
