Bull Session

Designing Creative Culture

March 22, 2018          

Episode Summary

This week on The Digital Life, for our 250th episode, we discuss designing a creative culture with guest Juhan Sonin, director of our studio, GoInvo.

Many companies try to create a design-centered culture in order to drive innovation but fall flat. We talk about some of our studio tenets and approaches that have worked. In particular we dig into the concept of transparency: seeking to tell the truth to others, both within an without an organization, with the intention of doing the most possible good. We also explore the concept of continuous learning, as we are curious, open creators, who welcome new ideas and the input of others. Join us as we discuss!

Bull Session

The Speed of Lies

March 15, 2018          

Episode Summary

On this episode of The Digital Life, we chat about a recent study, published in the journal Science by researchers at MIT Media Lab and the MIT Sloan School of Management, showing that false news spreads more quickly online than truthful news. We explore the alarming implications for our ongoing political discussions and possible impacts on society of the spread of misinformation on social media.

 

Resources:
How Lies Spread Online

The spread of true and false news online

Bull Session

Net Neutrality

March 8, 2018          

Episode Summary

This week on The Digital Life, we chat about net neutrality, the digital divide, and fast, cheap Internet for all with guest Brough Turner, Founder of netBlazr.

What is net neutrality and why is it important? And why should it matter to the average consumer? Often, access to the Internet is controlled by only a few providers in a given geographic area. Given this near monopoly in many regions of the country, the idea of net neutrality, or the idea that ISPs should enable access to all content regardless of source, without showing favor to or blocking particular sites, is rooted in an egalitarian view of online information and service distribution. Join us as we discuss.

Resources:
Network Engineers Speak Out for Net Neutrality

Internet Engineers Comments/FCC NN

netBlazr

Bull Session, Podcast

Designing Voice User Interfaces

March 2, 2018          

Episode Summary

On this episode of The Digital Life, we talk about designing voice user interfaces with engineer Claire Sun, who just returned from the Conversational Interaction Conference. Today, the voice UI market is primarily focused on performing tasks and controlling devices related to the smart home. Voice recognition technology isn’t robust enough yet to function smoothly in noisy environments or tell the difference between multiple speakers. Additionally, the software that powers VUIs is still at the early stages of being able to understand language in context, as opposed to more simple, transactional phrases. Join us as we discuss approaches to designing VUIs, and the difficulties that designers and engineers encounter in their quest to create software that’s both personal and conversational.