Is the Next Big Thing In Tech -- Disconnecting From It?

An anonymous reader quotes CNBC:
It is inevitable that artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation will take over some jobs, internet entrepreneur Arianna Huffington told CNBC in a recent email exchange, but that will place a premium on uniquely human qualities in the future labor market -- creativity, compassion, empathy and complex problem-solving. That's where Huffington sees a pressing problem to solve. She says these human qualities are at risk today and the cause is -- no surprise -- too much technology. Her advice: Reevaluate your relationship with technology before it is too late. 'These are the very qualities that are diminished when we're burned out from being always on,' Huffington said of human abilities like creativity. 'One of the next frontiers in the tech world is technology that helps us disconnect from technology and create time and space to connect not with screens but with other people and with ourselves....'

Huffington, who is an executive producer on the new '90s tech-sector docudrama 'Valley of the Boom,' said the consumer relationship with technology is one of the most important issues of the modern era, and it is time to reevaluate the seeds that were planted back in the '90s during that first internet boom.... 'Even for those of us old enough to remember the first boom and to have lived through it, it's sometimes hard to remember that there was a time before we were all hyperconnected and glued to our screens. And seeing the decisions that were made that led to our current moment makes us realize we can also make decisions about how we use this technology.'
To this end Huffington has launched a startup called Thrive Global 'to go beyond raising awareness and create something real and tangible that would help individuals, companies and communities improve their well-being and performance and unlock their greatest potential.'
CNBC reports that Huffington 'sees a bright future for a new kind of technology -- the kind that helps individuals disconnect from the damage done by the internet's first generation.'

In a related story, Bloomberg reports that the Ashton Kutcher-backed meditation app 'Calm' now has a valuation of $1 billion.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.