[4] In December 2015, Tristan Harris left his position at Google to focus on alerting the public to the consequences of Silicon Valley's race for attention and culture of growth at all costs.

Later that year, Harris shared his expanded thoughts on the problems with social media platforms and how a handful of companies control billions of minds at TED 2017.

[9] Building on this momentum and recognizing the need for an organization in this space, Tristan Harris, Aza Raskin, and Randima (Randy) Fernando founded the Center for Humane Technology in 2018 to educate the public, advise legislators, train technologists, and more.

[1][11] There are multiple ways that technology companies try to maximize the use of their products: by using an intermittent variable reward system, causing people to fear missing something important, increasing the desire for social approval, strengthening the need to reciprocate others' gestures, and interrupting individuals' daily activities to alert them of a notification.

[13] The organization also aims to influence tech industry culture and practices through training and educational resources, working groups, and advising executives.

Notably, Harris has testified in front of the U.S. Congress in regards to the risk of online deception and the manipulative tactics employed by social media platforms.

[23] The podcast has featured guests such as historian Yuval Harari,[24] Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang,[25] and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa.