A Bit of Optimism Spite Is The Greatest Motivator with Watch Duty founder John Mills
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Jan 21, 2025 
John Mills, the founder of Watch Duty, a nonprofit app aimed at providing crucial information during wildfires, shares his inspiring journey. He discusses the creation of the app in response to his community's needs and highlights the significance of human connection over AI in emergencies. John emphasizes the importance of ethics and legacy in philanthropy, urging a shift towards collaboration. With a background in woodworking, he reflects on the lessons learned from childhood projects, advocating for innovative hiring and creativity in solving real-world problems.
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Watch Duty's Origin
- John Mills created Watch Duty after helicopters alerted him to a nearby fire, not official sources.
- This lack of timely information spurred him to build an app.
Spite as Motivation
- John Mills built Watch Duty out of "spite" for the government's inadequate technology for disseminating critical information.
- He views "IT" as a derogatory term, highlighting the need for serious infrastructure.
Human-Powered Data
- The key to Watch Duty's success isn't technology, but its human-powered data collection.
- Volunteers, including retired firefighters, listen to fire scanners, providing real-time updates.