The Human Show: Innovation through Social Science

We are happy to have Amina and Min’enhle with us sharing their research insights and pursuits as well as motivation to be part of the Reponse-ability Summit this May. They share the questions currently at the centre of their research. What does context mean for data mining and machine learning? How can we think of algorithms as main interlocutors of research? There is a general lack of locally pro...

Mariliis Öeren is the Chief Scientific Officer at Method X Studios, a company focused on democratising good mental health and ending the mental health poverty gap. Previously she has worked for the National Institute of Health Development in Estonia implementing public health programs. Mariliis holds a PhD in Behavioural Science from the University of Cambridge and has been involved in the develo...

Agnethe Kirstine Grøn is a senior design anthropologist at Alexandra Instituttet in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is engaged in many aspects of user involvement and user-driven innovation and combines anthropological methodology and design processes to gain a deep understanding of end users and potentials / barriers for change. Agnethe is an expert in facilitating co-creation processes involving differ...

In light of the upcoming Response-ability Summit this May 20th-21st , we are excited to be talking to two of its amazing speakers – Malé and Luke – and find out what will they be bringing to the conference space and what expectations do they share. We discuss how to use creative ways to form a space of exchange and how to exercise ethics. What is the end of me and the beginning of someone else? We...

Karen Boswall is a filmmaker, ethnomusicologist, and visual anthropologist. Her audio-visual output includes individually authored and collaborative productions carried out in Nicaragua (1984), the United Kingdom (1986), Iraq (1993), Cuba (1995), Mozambique (1997-2018), Jordan (2014), Nepal (2016), and Brazil (2019).Between 1990 and 2007, she lived and worked in Mozambique as a musician, journalis...

In today’s episode hosted by Tiffany, Sawyer shares his experience as a UX researcher working in Thailand and applying anthropological frameworks and practices for design and innovation projects. Digital technology is a new reality for both the researcher and the research participant, so how does it affect the research process and what to keep in mind when designing it? We fail as a user of digita...

We are excited to have Tiffany hosting the episode today and sharing her experience of conducting ethnography outside of academia in the Asian context together with Nicholas and Oshin. As a colonial discipline in its origins, anthropology inevitably carries the Western gaze, something of which to be cautious in the day-to-day research. Is there a need for a framework, methods and a way of thinking...

In today’s episode we explore Jennifer’s multiple and equally strong yet seemingly unrelated careers. We ask how she balances the different skills needed and how she makes spaces for them inside herself? As a soprano, Jennifer is used to being in the spotlight, so we are curious how she manages to equally embrace the role of the silent observer. Being busy keeps Jennifer interested and thus allows...

Wendy is a researcher in the field of design anthropology whose written work, research and design practices have contributed to the foundation of what we now perceive as design anthropology. She holds an MA and a PhD in Social Anthropology both at the University of Manchester. She taught at architecture department at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. From 2005-2017 she was Associate Profe...

Mikko Koria; a curious person who wears many hats: about design, interdisciplinarity and ways to reach joint meanings. Mikko Koria is; the Professor in Design Innovation and the Director of the Institute for Design Innovation at Loughborough University London, and Visiting Professor at Aalto University, Finland. He holds degrees in Architecture from University of San Paulo and Helsinki University...

Simone Abram is a professor of anthropology at Durham University where she is also a Director of the Durham Energy Institute, and is the current Chair of the Association of Social Anthropologists in the UK. She holds a BSc/MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, an MSt and DPhil in Social and Cultural Anthropology. Simone’s research projects span across multiple fields and a wide range of i...

In today’s episode, we reflect on the concepts of community and fellowship in the world of those practicing anthropology. We ask Mary and Elizabeth about the relationship that they have with their discipline and the community of practitioners within it.  What do they feel they need from colleagues, critics and journals – all of which form the axis of the anthropological community? How to be excell...

Today we are talking to Annemiek about her experience with multidisciplinary. How did it happen that a designer with an engineering background started weaving anthropological perspectives into her approach to design? What ignited her turn towards a culture sensitive design? What does it take to design for a diverse society?. She also elaborates on the importance of combining a curious mind with a...

Mary L. Gray is a Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research as well as an E.J. Safra Center for Ethics Fellow and Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society Faculty Affiliate at Harvard University. Mary also maintains a faculty position in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering with affiliations in Anthropology and Gender Studies at Indiana University. Prior to that, Mary...

Lisa Talia Moretti is an award-winning digital sociologist, strategist and tech ethics activist based in London. She currently holds the position of Head Of User Research at Methods. For more than a decade, she’s studied and written about the relationship between technology, information and society. Lisa is an Associate Lecturer at Goldsmiths (University of London) and at Cardiff University. She i...

Rachel O’Dwyer is a lecturer in Digital Cultures in the School of Visual Culture in the National College of Art & Design, (NCAD) Dublin. Among other things she coordinates modules on Economies of Culture and Digital Cultures and teach electives on topics such as Art and Money, Tactical Media and the Politics of Algorithms and Networks. She is formerly a Media and Communications Research Fellow in...

Nani Jansen Reventlow is a human rights lawyer who specializes in freedom of expression and strategic litigation. She is also the founding Director of the Digital Freedom Fund, which supports partners in Europe to advance digital rights through strategic litigation. Nani is a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, Adjunct Professor at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government, a Senior F...

Rasmus Thomsen is Partner and Design Director of IS IT A BIRD - a strategic innovation agency that combines methods from social science, behavioral economics and design thinking. Rasmus has a foot in both social science and design. He is an innovation geek, with a mind tuned to design thinking. He works at the forefront of development, with a critical understanding of the forces behind disruption,...

Dan Wu is the CEO and lead  innovation advisor  of  Joyful Ventures , empowering social impact executives to create financially sustainable, high-growth ventures. With a unique blend of Silicon Valley expertise and Harvard-level insights, he has successfully led product teams at mission-driven startups. Dan's work on  inclusive communities  and  responsible nnovation...

Susan Halford is Professor of Sociology and co-Director of Bristol University’s new Digital Futures Institute, which aims to use social science expertise and methods to analyse and understand digital technology futures in the making and use insights to help shape these futures in a way that is fair, just and prosperous for all. A Geographer by training and a Sociologist for 30 years, for the past...

Sarita Fae Jarmack is an anthropologist currently exploring the politics of access, expression, and knowledge within the postcolonial art scene of South Africa for her PhD at the University of Amsterdam. We are talking to Sarita about the making of her PhD and get a glimpse into all the processes that happen on the way, which as she herself admits, are rarely given visibility. Sarita shares how sh...

In today’s episode, Laura leads the discussion with a number of questions for Kadija about AI, machine learning, ethical decisions, fair health and the complexities that underline it all. Kadija’s research tackles health disparities through data and aims to make it is more inclusive and ethical. As Laura points out, data is easy to interrogate but how to get at those answers that could lead us to...

Chui Chui Tan is a cultural expert with more than 15 years of experience in UX (user experience). Her experiences range from defining business strategies to building a UX team within the organisation to implementation (research and design) and continuous consultancy support as well as training and coaching. She graduated from mechanical industrial engineering, and later pursued a Master in Musical...

Diana Finch has been Managing Director of Bristol Pound since July 2018.  Prior to that, she spent most of the last 20 years working in senior leadership positions in the non-profit sector, in areas including the environment, adult social care and psychotherapy training.  Her earlier career was in accounts management and accounting systems design. She is a fellow of both the Finance Innovation Lab...

The Anthropology + Technology Conference brings together 22 leading international experts from the social sciences and technology to champion and promote the benefits of responsible AI, and to highlight the value that the social sciences bring to tech and business. There are three streams for 2020: smart cities, fintech, and health tech. Our 2020 keynote is Nani Jansen Reventlow, a human rights la...