How to make un-addictive tech?

Addiction Economy Thought for Today - how do we get companies to make un-addictive tech, instead of blaming people for being addicted to a product which has been designed specifically for that purpose?

Here is Andrew Maynard trying out Apple's Vision Pro and observing that the potential for this becoming addictive is high. He and I started having discussions about 'responsible tech' in about 2008 when I was on his Advisory Board at Univ Michigan and have been working in our own little lands on trying to inspire/motivate/impel 'responsible tech' since then - with little success!

Which is why Joe Woof and I started this Addiction Economy project. It is the 'addictive' properties of the product design which is behind the most health-harming technologies and products (from cigs to social media to ultra-processed foods). Trying to 'educate' people out of their addiction to products designed to addict we know does not work. Designing un-addictive products is the only way.

Here is our chosen definition of addiction from the NHS. “Addiction is defined as not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you”.

How will Apple ensure that creators of the Vision Pro and its offspring actively design out addictive properties, so we can make the most of the benefits without the loss of control or the harm to ourselves or by the wholesale adoption of the technology cause harm to society? Is that even possible if you are designing a new immersive environment designed to replace the real world?

I hope Apple is giving this a lot of thought and focusing not just on the technological possibility, but on human needs.

https://futureofbeinghuman.com/p/is-the-apple-vision-pro-a-social-game-changer