Sep 12, 2019
Digital technology is playing an increasingly large role in our
lives. We use our smartphones to communicate, post photos, read
breaking news, watch videos, and more — to the point where we touch
our phones an average of 2,600 times a day, according to a study by
research firm Dscout. Author James Williams joins Julian Zelizer
and Sam Wang in this episode to discuss his new book, “Stand Out of
Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy.” The
book examines the attention economy and how this relentless
competition for attention from our digital products and services is
undermining individual human will and democracy at large. The book
was chosen by Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83 as
the pre-read selection for the Class of 2023. Williams joined
Eisgruber and other faculty (including Wang) at a Sept. 9 book
talk. The recipient of the inaugural Cambridge University “Nine
Dots Prize” for original thinking in 2017, Williams recently
completed his doctoral work in philosophy at Oxford University.
Before that, he worked for Google as a technology and business
strategist. He also is a co-founder of the Time Well Spent
campaign, a project that aims to steer technology design toward
having greater respect for users’ attention, goals, and values. His
writing about the philosophy and ethics of technology has been
published in The Observer, WIRED, and other publications.