Episode 25: César Hidalgo - Information and complexity, learning and leading, rethinking technology in society

Dr. César Hidalgo holds a new lens up to the world, one that enriches it and allows each of us to see it differently. His voice is an increasingly important one in a disorienting and technologically-dominated existence. His 2020 book, How Humans Judge Machines, embodies his unique ability to use complexity as a framework for seeing across fields - technology, art, and society.

César is a Chilean-Spanish-American scholar known for his contributions to economic complexity, data visualization, and artificial intelligence. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor in Physics from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

He headed the MIT Media Lab’s collective learning group from 2010-2019, focusing on understanding how teams, organizations, cities and nations learn and on developing the software tools to that facilitate learning.

He is the author of three books: The atlas of economic complexity, Why information grows, and his latest, just released in September 2020 How Humans Judge Machines. This book is strikingly poignant of our historical moment and that gave a framework for a rich revealing discussion.

It's precursor chronologically and, in many ways, ideologically was Why information grows — a book that has created waves since it’s release in 2015, being translated into more than 10 languages. It is a brilliant development of the evolution of information, on the ability of people to generate it, and the profound implications for our world, and embodies César’s unparalleled way of seeing that can be a rich teacher for all of us. 

Dr. Hidalgo brought his perspective to the TED stage, delivering two incisive talks the latter of which, titled “A bold idea to replace politicians”, has been viewed more than 2 million times.

He currently holds a Chair at the Artificial and Natural Intelligence Institute (ANITI) at the University of Toulouse, one of four institutes spearheading research on AI in France. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Manchester and a Visiting Professor at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He accumulates awards and leaves a trail of award-winning data systems wherever he goes. 

Through his moving ideas, transformative endeavors, and in the way he writes and speaks, César breaths life into the world. He has long been an inspiration to my thinking and life. It is my pleasure to have a conversation with one of the great thought-leaders and change-makers in our world.