IMO, your brain can adapt to "minimal" UI and even with minimal UI it will find its desired source of dopamine distraction.
So either you replace those distractions with other activities or you have to put something more engaging and advanced to protect you from going to rabbit holes.
The second is what I'm experimenting with. I built a quick chat that tries to challenge the necessity or intention of my device usage after I unlock my phone. Unfortunately it's possible on Android only. If you are interested check Intenty app on Google Play.
Apologies for misleading title of my question, I was curious about "improving" our phone usage habits not using it for the purpose of getting more attention. Something like reducing screen time.
You can use the same principles that Google and friends use to intervene on other behaviors. First you need data to make a model and then you use the model to optimize some metric. In this case it seems like you want to reduce screen time so the intervention in this case would be to lock out applications that seem like unproductive time sinks. Alternatively, you can look into developing better meta-cognitive skills and you don't need extra software for that other than spending some time every day meditating.
You don't even need AI for this. Just track application use and then gradually increase the lockout time for the top 3 applications.
Then a proper question is "what metric to select for optimization?"
As for just using plain software, yes it is an option indeed. But when we are using our devices, we produce so many data points and they are mostly used for hooking our attention through models. Don't you think that there is there so little reverse targeted application of the models?
Getting people to waste time is profitable so that's why AI is used to waste people's time and get them to buy stuff. It's just how the world economy works. If people stop consuming and buying stuff they don't need then the system stops working.
Creating this is a very bold move, regardless of success or failure. The noise it generates draws attention to potential alternatives in how we interact with our devices.
Talking about alternatives often leads to mere concern and agreement without action. Presenting an actual alternative, however, deserves respect.
Yet, there's a hint of skepticism in my appreciation. Why the 'AI' pin? The constant mention of 'AI' arouses suspicion about the product, recalling a time when 'AI' was not a part of their lexicon.
Working on a side project. An app that should help to use mobile devices more focused and purposeful. App simply prompts users to type an intention before using the device(Android), certain apps(iOS). I'm making it privacy-focused, no analytics, no sign-ups, with local data storage. At first, I solved my issues with phone usage and now I'm trying to make the app easier to use and I focus on users feedback to improve retention.
> If every time I unlocked my phone it had a screen that displayed for 30 seconds that just said "what are you doing right now, and how long do you intend to do it?" I think it would probably have a similar positive effect.
So either you replace those distractions with other activities or you have to put something more engaging and advanced to protect you from going to rabbit holes.
The second is what I'm experimenting with. I built a quick chat that tries to challenge the necessity or intention of my device usage after I unlock my phone. Unfortunately it's possible on Android only. If you are interested check Intenty app on Google Play.