The "attention economy"—a business model that monetizes user attention itself as a resource—has long been the standard in Silicon Valley. But now, the backlash is approaching a critical point. Criticism of the "dark patterns" that encourage addiction has led to discussions about regulation, and calls for a new relationship with technology are beginning to rise from within the industry itself.

In November, Amber Case, founder of Calm Tech Institute, visited Kyoto to report on the opening of the institute's first overseas base.