Friction into Traction: A Case Study of Friction in Strategic Ethnography
Our paper on three productive frictions in today’s business setting, presented by Maria Cury at EPIC 2023.
Smartphones and the Future of Remembering: Frictions, Problems, and Pathways
Our paper on friction in everyday information-seeking on smartphones for EPIC 2023.
Is parental shame getting in the way of childhood education?
How a deeper understanding of parental shame around tutoring can unlock educational benefits for children.
Phenomena S2 E7: Metaverse
To what extent does the metaverse mark the next paradigm shift in how we work, play, and learn as humans?
Wearable technology is everywhere. But how do you actually make it wearable?
To get wearables right, we have to get the body right first. Our research across fashion, luxury, and technology points to at least three strategies from fashion and adornment to help makers, in short, make wearables more wearable.
Social Algorithms: why we need them and how friction will get us there
There’s an assumption that people want algorithms to serve up frictionless experiences, but our work shows something different. People want to have relationships and dialogues with algorithms and hack them toward different ends – in other words, social algorithms.
Generative AI: a reading list
A list of articles, Twitter threads, blog posts, podcasts, and books is an attempt to cut through the unchecked hyperbole and direct you to the most interesting angles on the topic.
Phenomena S2 E2: Algorithms
From fashion brands to Silicon Valley giants, virtually every company is trying to make algorithms work for their business.
At play with DALL-E 2: fieldnotes from the algorithm
DALL-E 2 has been inspiring endless rumination on the future of technology and art: will DALL-E be a new creative tool or the death of art altogether?
Phenomena S2 E1: Cities
Post-lockdown, there is renewed enthusiasm and excitement around cities.
Will the Metaverse Kill off the Car Industry?
How will businesses built around physical offerings, like automotive and mobility, stay valuable or even relevant to users of the metaverse?
How Can We Get Ready for the 'Metaverse'?
When it comes to rolling out groundbreaking innovations like the metaverse, getting social norms right is more important than the tech itself.
What Dystopian Sci-Fi can Teach us About Disruptive Tech: A Conversation with Max Brooks
ReD hosted Max Brooks to discuss the power of metaphor to strengthen storytelling and why the tech industry should ban the word “disruption”.
We Need to Talk About Synthetic Data
Mikkel Krenchel and Maria Cury discuss the potential promise and pitfalls of the synthetic data revolution underway.
Understanding Our Hands is Key to Getting Haptic Technology Right
As companies roll out haptic technology that mimics the sensation of weight and touch of real objects when handled in virtual space, it’s important we keep the technology in the background to ensure our hands, and humans, can learn, collaborate, and shine on their own.
How to Talk to QAnon Loved Ones This Thanksgiving
In this article for Slate, the authors provide lessons learned from original ethnographic research of QAnon ‘formers’.
The Ethical Dilemma
Most people end up making suboptimal investment decisions. But is automation the answer from an ethical point of view?
How Not to Design a Financial ‘Super App’
Financial companies need to understand their customers, their social worlds, and their relationship to money to make “super apps” work in the long term.
You Can’t Disrupt the City
Getting #mobilityasaservice ‘right’ is an ever-evolving challenge for cities the world over. How do mobile disrupters go wrong when they think of cities as hardware searching for software?