The Amazing Power of Apps – Ramsay Brown, Co-founder and COO, Boundless Mind – Understanding How The Apps That We Use Impact Our Behavior and State of Mind

Ramsay Brown, co-founder, and COO of Boundless Mind (boundless.ai) delivers an insightful overview of the apps that influence our behavior and the mechanisms of behavioral engineering that could change our actions. Brown believes that machine-learning techniques have advanced to the level that we can now predictably and predictively take behavioral engineering seriously. Brown states that Boundless Mind can help companies understand how people are acting, and change the way they behave. Additionally, they can assist individuals who want to make a behavioral change in their own life. He discusses some options that they offer to help people change the way they interact with social media as well, options that allow people to build healthier relationships.

Brown and his team at Boundless Mind believe that technology is becoming more addictive, and coercive, and some of the technologies that are moving at the greatest pace toward persuasive domination are unfortunately not always great for human prosperity. Through the study of human behavior mechanisms, Boundless Mind has developed their AI platform such that any app that seeks to help humans thrive can now do just that, powered by state of the art mechanisms that bring together brainpower and machines. Essentially, the Boundless AI platform works to combine neuroscience and data, to deliver tailored in-app user engagement programs that consistently outperform other methods and approaches.

The AI platform allows administrators to pick a common action that has value for users (opening the app or completing a specific task), and then they can pick a particular enhancement, such as a visual cue that acts as a reward for completing the task. Finally, the users are connected to Boundless Mind's API through one of their supported software development kits, known as SDKs, or REST (Representational State Transfer) API, which aligns each user onto an individualized program tailored for them. It is software that changes user behavior and strengthens engagement following neuroscience, which has proven that habits are programmable, but individuals require tailored programs.

Brown discusses optimized reinforcement techniques, and their partnership with a large pharmaceutical company in which Boundless Mind has delivered a means to keep patients on track with their medications. By using the mechanisms of basic neuroscience their platform can help to reward patients for taking their medication and thus increase retention. Brown digs into the hard science behind predictability and patterns of reinforcement as it applies to modification of behavior.

The behavioral modification expert provides an overview of how we interact with our apps in the smartphone world, and how all apps are designed to be persuasive. He explains that we are constantly making choices as to which apps we give our attention to, and how those apps are influencing our decisions, and ultimately how we feel about ourselves. Brown believes that when we are equipped with tools that understand our motivations and aspirations, that our smartphones can become instruments that enable us to grow into the kind of people we aspire to become. By loading up our smartphones with apps that appeal to our better selves, who we aspire to be, and deleting apps that impact us negatively, Brown feels that we can transition to a healthier life. Brown's team ultimately seeks to work with other companies that share their vision of bringing positive, healthy changes to our behavior.