Spiritual Computing: Toward Meaningful, perhaps Transcendental, User Experiences

Craig Warren Smith visited Nokia Research Center, Palo Alto, on Thursday to present and discuss some ideas relating to Spiritual Computing. As Craig describes it:

Spiritual Computing (Spiricomp) elicits the potential of digital networks for fostering the spiritual growth among individuals and communities. ... The investigative method of Spiricomp is unusual. Made possible by HH Dalai Lama’s interaction with the late Francisco Varela, the method taps the “multi-model” approach combing “first person” methods used by spiritual and philosophic traditions with the established methods of neuroscience.

Craig wants to assemble a collaborative multi-corporate group to help push the agenda for spiricomp forward, and to this end has already met with individuals and groups within Intel, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo as well as other groups at Nokia.

Craig sees two primary ways for spirituality to contribute to more meaningful user experiences with and through technology: epistemologically, or the "ways of knowing" offered through spiritual traditions; and methodologically, through the practices and rituals of such traditions. He also illustrated and advocated ways that technology can help enhance spirituality: through online communities, spiritually-inspired games (including, perhaps, a subset of serious games) and a number of other dimensions (some of which I mentioned in an earlier post on Techno-spiritual Practices and New Technologies of Enlightenment).

Many of the themes that Craig discussed were inspired and inspiring, and he is pulling together ideas from a number of sources I want to investigate further, e.g., Francisco Varela and his notion of autopoiesis, the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, concepts from neuroeconomics, and several [other] dimensions relating to the art, science, business and politics of happiness. One of the most interesting statistics he quoted was that 83% of U.S. adults consider themselves "spiritual", while only half that number consider themselves "religious" ... and the numbers for the former group are increasing 1% annually while the numbers for the latter group are decreasing by 1% each year.

Among the topics that attracted the most discussion -- and debate -- was the collective seeking of a clearer definition of spirituality, a metaphysical concept that seems to have different meanings to different people and cultures. We eventually cycled back to a notion that Craig had mentioned earlier, that of Meaningful User eXperiences (MUX) ... though I [still] think of spirituality as something that is more transcendental, so perhaps Transcendental User eXperiences (TUX?) would be a better label (for me). The other contentious topic was whether there was a strong connection between customer empowerment and brand value (one of the value propositions Craig offered as to why technology companies, like Nokia, should be getting involved in spiritual computing).

Throughout much of the discussion, I was reminded of two influential books I've read recently, VIctor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" and Doug Rushkoff's "Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside out" (especially as Craig articulated the notion of a renaissance several times, a key focus area of Doug's book). As I mentioned in an earlier blog post on work, play and suffering that drew from both of these books, Doug notes that

Luckily, renaissances celebrate immaturity and idealism.

I think that this spiricomp initiative is both immature and idealistic ... and as a self-identified renaissance man, I look forward to future exploration of this convergence of spirituality and technology.