Published April 28, 2025
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An interview with Paul Hague, CEO of BlackDice Cyber
In this raw and thought-provoking conversation, Paul Hague – tech founder, father, and CEO of BlackDice Cyber – reflects on the unintended consequences of always-on technology. He challenges us to rethink our relationship with digital platforms, our responsibility as creators, and the culture we’re shaping for the next generation.
It isn’t another alarmist take on screen time. It’s a bigger conversation about human connection, presence, creativity – and how technology design influences all of it. As AI and digital ecosystems evolve at pace, so too must our understanding of what we’re building, who it’s for, and what it encourages.
If you’re a parent, teacher, or business leader – this conversation is yours, too.
Key themes covered in this article:
Foreword by Paul Hague, CEO, BlackDice Cyber
They’re not to blame. We built the world they’re growing up in – screen-first, algorithm-fed, endlessly optimised for attention. As a technologist, I’m proud of innovation. But as a father, I’m deeply unsettled. We’ve engineered out friction, boredom, and even the joy of stillness. And with it, we’ve diluted the spaces where creativity once lived.
“Looking up” isn’t just a metaphor. It’s a challenge. A provocation. It’s what we do when we pause, wonder, connect with someone. It’s what kids used to do when they were bored in the back of a car, before iPads filled every second.
Our tools have become our tethers. And yet, tech isn’t the enemy. We just have to build it differently. We need to stop making it invisible and start making it intentional. Tech should help us see the world more clearly, not disappear into it.
Q: Paul, you mentioned the idea of “looking up” – where did that come from?
Paul: It started as a gut instinct. I kept seeing people – kids especially – walking around with their heads down, locked into their screens. It hit me that we’ve literally stopped looking up. At each other. At everything around us.
“Looking up” became this metaphor for something deeper: curiosity, imagination, connection, awe. All things that are in short supply when every spare second is filled by an algorithm.
Q: What do you think we’ve lost in the process?
Paul: Spontaneity. Mental whitespace. The joy of being bored. I grew up playing outside – it sounds simple, but it’s where you build your inner world, imagination. Now, every moment of stillness gets filled with content.
The result? A generation that’s grown up with little space for reflection, boredom, even emotional processing. Everything’s been optimised for dopamine hits, not development.
Q: What do you think is driving this? Where did we go wrong?
Paul: It wasn’t malicious. Most of this was born from a desire to make tech easier, more accessible, more engaging. But we optimised too well. We removed friction, and with it, we removed boundaries.
We stopped asking: just because we can do something, should we?
Q: You’re a CEO in cybersecurity – what’s the link between this and your work?
Paul: Cybersecurity isn’t just about viruses and firewalls. It’s about safety, sovereignty, and trust. And those are emotional things. They’re human.
If we care about protecting people, we also have to care about how systems shape behaviour. What are we normalising? What are we allowing to happen in the dark? That includes the emotional and psychological security of our kids – and ourselves.
Q: Where do you find hope in all this?
Paul: I think we’re at an inflection point. There’s a growing awareness – from parents, from technologists, from society – that we need to reset the balance.
And to be clear, this isn’t about throwing tech away. It’s about building it better. Tech that enhances presence, not replaces it. Interfaces that encourage awareness, not just addiction.
Q: If we had to start somewhere, where would you suggest?
Paul: Start with questions. Ask: What’s this product trying to achieve? How does it make me feel after I use it? And for product builders: Are we designing for humanity – or just engagement?
Personally, I’ve started carving out screen-free time. Letting my daughter be bored. Encouraging conversations. Looking up. It sounds small, but it changes the tone of everything.
We like to think we’re in control, that we’re using our devices, not being used by them. But the truth is, many of us have become just as reactive, just as distracted. Our attention is fragmented. Our downtime has disappeared.
Constant digital noise doesn’t just impact childhood development, it warps adult cognition too. Creativity suffers. Presence evaporates. And we start to equate productivity with perpetual engagement, even when the outcome is surface-level at best. As Paul puts it, “We’ve built a world that celebrates constant connection but leaves no space to think.”
For Paul, the answer isn’t to abandon tech – it’s to build differently. That means designing products that respect the user’s attention, that encourage intentionality, that support moments of stillness and self-reflection. “Tech should create presence, not erode it,” he says. It should help us feel more connected to the world and each other – not disappear into infinite scrolls of content.
“This shift won’t happen overnight, but it starts with asking better questions: What behaviour are we normalising? What kind of culture are we designing for? Because the best technology doesn’t just work – it supports the life we actually want to live.”
At BlackDice, we think a lot about online safety, digital sovereignty, and human-centric design. Because cybersecurity isn’t just about threats – it’s about values. Protecting what matters. Building systems that reflect the best of who we are.
We’re not powerless. We’re just early. The systems we’ve built can be rebuilt. And the shift starts with asking better questions, designing with care, and remembering that some of the best parts of being human happen when we look up.
What does ‘looking up’ mean to you? Join the conversation on LinkedIn.
About Paul Hague and his journey to build BlackDice Cyber:
Paul Hague is the CEO and Founder of BlackDice Cyber, a values-led technology company delivering AI-powered cybersecurity solutions to telecoms operators globally. With over 35 years of experience across cybersecurity, telecoms, and enterprise innovation, Paul has held senior leadership roles at IBM and Cap Gemini and spent two decades building and scaling startups focused on digital resilience and connected infrastructure.
But BlackDice isn’t just a business venture – it’s deeply personal. Paul founded the company in 2019 after witnessing the devastating impact of phone addiction and cyberbullying on his teenage son. What began as a father’s search for better protection evolved into a mission: to build smarter, more human-first cybersecurity that goes beyond firewalls – protecting people as well as networks.
Today, Paul leads BlackDice with that dual lens of technological innovation and emotional responsibility. Under his guidance, the company has grown from concept to recognised challenger in what is a highly saturated and competitive market, partnering with Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 telcos across EMEA and LATAM helping them keep their subscribers – individuals and small businesses – safe online.
BlackDice has earned the trust of organisations like GCHQ/NCSC, Vodafone, and Google, and continues to pioneer cybersecurity solutions that are predictive, intelligent, and rooted in ethical design.
Paul’s vision is clear: in an age of constant connectivity, cybersecurity must not only defend against threats – it must protect what it means to be human.