Communications of the ACM
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How the “Frontier” Became the Slogan of Uncontrolled AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been billed as the next frontier of humanity: the newly available expanse whose exploration …
From Putting People First
Focus groups are dangerous and kill innovation
Gianfranco Zaccai is co-founder and president of the global design and innovation consultancy Continuum. And he doesn’t like focus groups very much (and neither...
From Putting People First
Ethnographic research on vehicular design in China
Zach Hyman is based in Chongqing, China on a year long ethnographic dive into creative practices of vehicular design among resource-constrained users. After four...
From Putting People First
Steelcase’s anthropologist on remaking offices to create happier workers
Anthropologist Donna Flynn directs Steelcase’s WorkSpace Futures, a 19-member independent research group within the global office design company, that is responsible...
From Putting People First
Big Data, healthcare, and the human lens
Now and then somebody writes something that you don’t only wholeheartedly agree with, but that is so deliciously written that it’s a pure joy to read. Ian Eslick...
From Putting People First
Fitness by design
Can data heal? Yes, argues Dan Hon, whose type 2 diabetes spurred him to embrace “personal informatics” devices such as the Nike FuelBand and the Fitbit. Yet as...
From Putting People First
Hertz president on the future of mobility
A day after the announcement that the Avis Budget Group has agreed to acquire Zipcar, the world’s leading car sharing network, for approximately $500 million, Michel...
From Putting People First
Research on the impact of tablets in secondary schools
Two months ago I wrote about what was then one of the first qualitative studies on the impact of tablets in schools: “Carphone Warehouse (corporate site), a UK...
From Putting People First
How are students actually using IT? An ethnographic study
This ECAR research bulletin describes an anthropological ethnographic analysis of student practices relating to the use of information technology on the University...
From Putting People First
What’s the future of doctors when the sensors in your electronics diagnose disease?
In a future where biometrics are measured constantly and interpretation is aided by algorithm, what do we want our health professionals to actually do, asks Bradley...
From Putting People First
Should there be a standard user interface for cars?
Writer Jason Torchinsky makes a case for a standard user interface for cars: “I know there’s already a number of official and unofficial standards in place — pedal...
From Putting People First
Seven questions with library anthropologist Nancy Fried Foster
In her work anthropologist Nancy Fried Foster applies anthropological principles to the study of the university’s libraries and their users. By focusing on the...
From Putting People First
Dan Saffer on how we *should* interact with the automobiles of the (near) future
Smart Design’s Dan Saffer discusses on Fast Company on how we should interact with the automobiles of the (near) future: “What will this feel like, riding in our...
From Putting People First
How technology has restored the soul of politics
Longtime political operative Joe Trippi advocates a bottom-up, people-centered politics, and cheers the innovations of Obama 2012, saying they restored the primacy...
From Putting People First
Design in the service of austerity
The UK government’s deficit reduction plan may fall short of its targets, prompting speculation that austerity measures will have to continue into the next parliament...
From Putting People First
Are the older generation getting tech-savvy?
BBC News has published a 5 minute video feature on Cambridge University’s Design Centre where they test how elderly people use technology. Must-have modern gadgets...
From Putting People First
McKinsey’s iConsumer Global Research Initiative
Recent reports from McKinsey’s iConsumer Global Research Initiative: Moving from “mobile first” to “touch first” December 2012 (published on the EconomistGroup...
From Putting People First
Understanding electric utility customers
A few weeks back, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) issued “Understanding Electric Utility Customers—Summary Report: What We Know and What We Need to...
From Putting People First
The man looking to turn Samsung into a Silicon Valley trendsetter
Samsung is doubling down on technology investments in Apple’s backyard, including two new R&D buildings in Silicon Valley that will house 2,000 staff and a recently...
From Putting People First
Charles Leadbeater on scaling and system innovation in public services
On 26 November MindLab, the Danish citizen-centric governmental innovation unit, invited Charles Leadbeater for its morning lecture series. Leadbeater, a leading...
From Putting People First