A conversation between Jose A. Rodriguez and Fabien Girardin on how data scientists can think ahead of the curve — The definition of a data scientist is in constant evolution, particularly with the increase in specializations in the domain. I have nothing against specialization, except that I believe that not all data scientists should be pigeonholed into roles for solving specific problems or automating a specific process. A fair part…

This is an approximate transcript of a talk I gave at Sonar+D in the session “So, What About the Future?” on September 19, 2020. I discussed teaspoons, cultural voyeurs, urban canyons, creative contrarians, and our practice of Design Fiction at Near Future Laboratory. …

The business of dishonest automation and how the engineers, data scientists and designers behind it can fix it — “The pilots fought continuously until the end of the flight“, said Capt. Nurcahyo Utomo, the head of the investigation of Lion Air Flight 610 that crashed on October 29, 2018, killing the 189 people aboard. The analysis of the black boxes had revealed that the Boeing 737’s nose was repeatedly…

An introduction and call for early adopters. — Ever since the slow death of Dopplr after its acquisition by Nokia a decade ago, the internet has lacked a dedicated space for people to casually share their travel intentions. Back in those days, it was also a feature of trip planning services like TripIt which since then pivoted to…

Principles to nurture a healthy and innovative Data Science function — As organizations turn to digital transformation strategies, they are also increasingly forming teams around the practice of Data Science. Currently, the main challenge for many CIOs, CDOs, and other Chief Data Scientists consist in positioning the Data Science function precisely where an organization needs it to improve its present and…

Clarify the present with Design Fiction: A tool to discuss the priorities for today which can make a preferable future attainable — For the last few years at Near Future Laboratory and BBVA Data & Analytics, my teams and I have been focused on clarifying the present and anticipating desirable, feasible, and profitable futures for organizations. …

Imagine another version of the Internet respectful of people’s attention and time. — In 1998, Swatch proposed a global time called the Internet Time that divided a day into 1000 “.beats”. It was meant for people to coordinate time for calls, chats or multiplayer online games. Right after the announcement, the company rolled out a model of watch, branded ‘Swatch .beat’, that displayed…

Notes for designers and data scientists who create together systems that learn from human behaviors — 1. Introduction Traditionally the experience of a digital service follows pre-defined user journeys with clear states and actions. Until recently, it has been the designer’s job to create these linear workflows and transform them into understandable and unobtrusive experiences. This is the story of how that practice is changing.

Or how the observations of mundane technological glitches and frictions offer a complementary form of inspiration to the multitude of glamorous utopian design visions — At the Near Future Laboratory we are fascinated by the co-evolution of humans and technology, how technology is changing and how it is changing people. Practically, this means we constantly observe this interplay, and we love to question, design and create the future of this relationship. We are persistent stalkers…