Technology Will Make Us Better Humans

Every week, we're talking how to build legendary kids.

Every year, I do an exercise where I take stock of ways I can improve (yup, I’m that person).  

One year, I resolved to create more of the kinds of moments I really wanted in my life. I got very literal with it and created recurring calendar reminders of things like, “hang out with kids!” “Surprise wife with a gift!” Even, “play with Rivington!” (our dog).

Surprisingly, these little reminders helped. My family seemed happier and I was feeling pretty proud of myself—right up until the moment my wife saw my “get Preeti flowers for no reason” reminder.

She was decidedly unimpressed, but the truth is that these little nudges helped shift my priorities over time to not just seem more thoughtful, but to be more thoughtful. The reminders helped me translate my thoughts into actions. In a small way, they helped me be the person I aspire to be.

Since that time, I’ve been convinced that, used in the right way, technology can help us be better humans—not just in a separate metaverse, but right here in this universe.

Nearly 10 years ago, I took this idea further and started a project called Bond, which used handwriting robots (yes, you read that right) to create and deliver beautiful handwritten notes. I know robots are getting a bad rap right now, but we delivered over a million notes of gratitude that might never have been sent without the help of technology. Notes that connected people, brightened days, welcomed babies, or offered a moment of hope.

Ultimately, like most parents, I believe that every one of our kids has the potential to be a legendary human. Our goal as parents is to unlock that potential. Of course I’m still wary of the risks around technology—particularly social media and AI— for my kids’ future. But, I’m also excited about the opportunities.

The flowers were real even if my phone had to nudge me. The notes were sent even if our customers didn’t lick the stamp. That’s not the part that matters and it never was.

So instead of focusing on how technology can be more human, I’m choosing to focus more on how it can help us be better humans. And being a better human? Well, that’s a thing I’d set a reminder for.

• Because kids listen better when MVPs say it: Michael Jordan’s pep talk for improving kid’s confidence

• Because we listen better when icons say it: Rihanna on what she does when she’s not feeling confident.

• For when we need to be our kid’s confidence coach: 3 tips for raising confident kids from a parent coach and TikToker we <3

• For upcoming travels: An AI generator for personalized walking tours

• For a hot phonics issue: “The Daily” episode breaks down the great reading debate

• And our story generator to help with that debate!: Check out our first tool, The Visualizer, that makes kids the main characters of their story (and builds their confidence too!)

Actionable Advice from our Head of Program & Development

There will come a day—even if it’s when your kid turns 18—when they’re using technology relatively independently, making their own decisions about when and how they engage online. It’s especially tough when the tools kids use and the culture of online interactions are changing faster than we can imagine.

So how do we prepare them for that moment?

Here are some tips that can help:

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Research TLDRs from our Director of Research & Evaluation

We all learn in different ways and at different rates, whether it’s taking our first steps or our final exams. That isn’t how most learning systems are designed but maybe they should be. A seminal study on improving learning outcomes found that combining one-on-one tutoring with mastery learning was a vast improvement on traditional classroom education— the average score for the group of students who received personalized tutoring was higher than the scores of 98% of students placed in a conventional learning environment.

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A word from our Executive Director of Legends Lab Foundation

In the spring of 2020, I vividly remember Facetiming students while navigating their empty residence halls in an effort to identify and ship them their essential items—computers, books, beloved stuffed animals.

“I need my chemistry lab reports,” they’d say, directing me to some bookshelf and I'd use my iPhone to confirm I was rifling in the right places. Little did we know that it would be months until the students returned to those halls—belongings in tow.

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