Let me take you back a few weeks. It’s September. I wake up to my news feed, hundreds of overnight emails, G Chat messages, calendar alerts, WhatsApp notifications. My iPhone has an update pending. Gemini upgraded its default model. The Wall Street Journal app tells me Anthropic’s Dario Amodei – whose company has a revenue run rate of more than $65B – has called for an AI slowdown.
I go for a short run before work. Just the pavement and me; no notifications. Three years ago, shortly before I joined Logitech as CEO, I’d have gotten my morning update from the Financial Times. Gemini didn’t even exist. Anthropic had less than $100mio in revenue. Technology is running faster than I can, so it’s important to take time away.
I reflect on Dario Amodei’s words. “Left unchecked, [AI] could outrun our ability to understand and control these systems, and so must be pursued very carefully, if at all.”
It’s the first time I can remember that a tech innovator has called for slower innovation or asked for regulation for their own industry. Especially on the brink of an IPO. It concerns us all. We should all pay close attention.
Here, the question of control is indeed important. Who really controls the technology in our lives?
The question is not anodyne. At a global scale, our control over AI may pose a risk for humanity. Yet, for every individual, team and organization, the question of control is also very important. Logitech has studied this.
Studying technological control and its impact
Our new Ctrl Tomorrow Study reveals the surprising impact technology can have on our mood, physical and emotional wellbeing, performance, accomplishments and potential.
Of course, we all instinctively understand that tech empowers us when it works, and is very frustrating when it doesn’t. Logitech’s research went further. We discovered that there is a new tech divide between people who feel in control of their technology and those who don’t.
Even people with similar tech in their lives can have vastly different experiences with it. And those experiences don’t stop at how we feel. We take them home from work and carry them into our personal relationships. They impact our physical and emotional wellbeing, our confidence, our focus. They are related to what we achieve, how we live. They affect our future potential.
Look at the numbers. The study draws on a representative sample of more than 9,400 respondents across nine countries, including gamers and a separate survey of 1,350 IT decision makers. Of these, a clear 77% of people agree that those who feel in control of their technology get more out of life. It’s a control dividend. And we see it across the research:
- 81% say the right technology setup can be the difference between reaching their goals and falling short.
- 58% feel more optimistic about their future when they are in control of their tech.
- 63% report more confidence in their own abilities.
- 54% report real improvements in physical or mental well-being.
- 52% say control of their technology enabled them to accomplish something they did not think was possible.
- About 3 in 5 say tech control increases their creativity and their ability to focus.
Conversely, for anyone who does not feel in control of their technology, they experience real disadvantages – a kind of control tax.
- 64% report feeling frustrated, anxious or angry.
- 46% report feeling helpless, embarrassed, exhausted, or like they are falling behind when technology fails.
- 58% experience physical discomfort — wrist pain, eye strain, neck fatigue — at least monthly from their tech setup.
Control measures – putting a number on tech control
The good news is, you can measure this. And what you can measure, you can change … or control.
We created a Ctrl Score as a benchmark to make control visible, trackable and improvable for individuals and organizations. The index evaluates people across three specific dimensions: setup intentionality, confidence with new digital tools, and whether technology feels like an enabler or a barrier.
The benchmark findings are eye-opening. Only 30% of people report high agency over their digital tools. Just 10% qualify as truly in command. That leaves 70% lacking intentionality or confidence – roughly 4.2 billion people globally who risk feeling drained or left behind.
Consider what people could do if they reclaimed that lost time and energy. About 41% of respondents say that if automated tools handled routine tasks, they would redirect those saved hours toward mental health, personal wellbeing and work-life balance. Among those with lower Ctrl Scores, nearly half expressed that same desire. People furthest from feeling in command are the hungriest to reclaim their time.
Gamers stand out for mastering this balance. 81% of gamers report that gaming builds real-world confidence and reduces anxiety. That confidence carries directly into professional life, driving stronger performance at work. All of that optimization of their game pays dividends in other aspects of their work and life.
Getting more control over your technology
The big question this all raises is: How do we get that dividend of improved mood, wellbeing, achievements and performance? How do we gain more control?
- Choose your technology more deliberately: research it, be choiceful
- Build your knowledge and confidence: you don’t need to have a passion for technology to understand it; take the time
- Stay open to new tools: new tools get adopted because they make people’s lives easier – give them a go
- Consider physical hardware: of course I’d say this as Logitech CEO, but the numbers don’t lie – tactile tech builds trust and a sense of agency; as software and AI abstract more of our world, you can anchor your sense of control in the tangible
Back to my run.
Yes, it’s just the pavement and me; no notifications. But don’t get me wrong. I love technology. Not for technology’s sake, but for exactly the reasons the Ctrl Tomorrow Study exposes. It helps me focus, be more productive and accomplish more. It connects me to others, including those I love. It shapes my day, and the future. Because when humans control the tech of today, we control tomorrow.
