• Q: What do you consider your primary philosophical inspirations? And what brought you to metasystematic ideas? On your website you mention thinkers like “Amartya Sen, Charles Taylor, David Velleman, and Ruth Chang
• Q: In “How to Design Social Systems” you describe disconnection from consequences as one of the major flaws of our current systems. How could we introduce consequences into larger-scale systems, like something as broad as a major social media platform?
• Q: You emphasize experimentation and reflectivity in many of your essays—what do you think allows people to have this freedom to experiment, especially in a context where the solidity of identities and group affiliations is stronger than ever? (What makes experimentation an open possibility?)
• Topic: Values and the virtue ethics approach vs. utilitarianism (maximizing one metric) or deontology (following strict set of rules in name of duty)
  • How values relate specifically to action: “Among these ideas, values alone concern the manner of our actions, rather than the consequences (as with plans, goals, and fears) or the mere fact of their performance (as with intentions, and policies).” - Human Values: A Quick Primer
• You recently shared a 'political compass' that plots deliberative systems and broad, aggregative systems on one axis, and formal mechanisms and individuals feeling moral weight on another. Two guests who have frequented this show, Bonnitta Roy and Jordan Greenhall, are all out on their own in the upper left corner. Can you explain your thinking behind this graph?

In your FAQ on Human Systems you say that:

"A key thesis of our approach is that social breakdown happens because new social environments are making it harder for us to live by our values."

Can you unpack that thesis?

"Every social issue can be framed as the failure of social environments to support people in living by their values:"

You say that "Human Systems is a collection of team processes, analysis techniques, and approaches to design and metrics to help people fix broken social systems, change norms, and recover meaning."

Can you say more about the aspect of recovering meaning? What is the relationship between systems design and our sense of meaningfulness?

Recover Meaning. Sometimes the hidden factors in social space support individual’s sense of meaning and meaningful relationships within that space. Other times, they don’t. Trace where meaning comes from in your life and others’, and where it gets blocked by poorly-designed institutions, processes, and environments."

"We believe the basic problem in understanding the social effects of technology and policy is one of seeing the social fabric. Unless designers can come to a common conception of what in society they might be damaging or supporting, it will be hard to anticipate or observe these effects."