Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Merry Christmas

With the commercial side of the holidays in full swing, it's good to pause and reflect. Our culture is saturated with incentives for buying things, even as many of us realize that experiences make more sense. An abundance of psychology research has shown that money spent on doing tends to provide more enduring happiness than money spent on having. Four studies have demonstrated# that the most important benefit happens before we make a purchase. Anticipation or waiting for experiences feels better than waiting for things. It's not necessary to spend a lot on experiences, either. In many cases, a little... Read more →

How the World Works, How we Work

Quantum physics is the study of the behavior of matter and energy at the molecular, atomic, nuclear, and even smaller microscopic levels. Matter is any substance that has mass and occupies space. All physical objects are composed of matter in the form of atoms, which in turn have protons, neurons, and electrons as part of them. Greek philosophers Democritus and Leucippus originally had the idea that matter consists of building blocks in the fourth century A.D. Energy is the capacity of a physical system to perform work. It exists in many forms, including heat or thermal energy, kinetic or energy... Read more →

On Preference Falsification: Private Truths and Public Lies

“He who dares not offend cannot be honest.” [Thomas Paine] First it was social media and now it's technology that is supposed make the trust leap possible through transparency. Social networks and search engines unrolled a welcome mat to the age of expressing ideas freely, and being our own agents complete with identification process... to then turn around and either sell, take, or otherwise exploit data and information gleaned about us, and our customers. Big tech companies Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple are now playing leading roles and we're definitely supporting actors, when actors at all. In The Four, Scott... Read more →

Nine Strategies to Awaken Intrinsic Motivation (+ Dan Pink's Reading List)

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” [The Walt Disney Company] Life exposes us to all kinds of opportunities, options, and pressures. To sustain success we need a method that helps us filter through all possibilities and seize on those that allow us to give our best. But only 20 percent of us get to do what we do best every day. This means that the rest of the world feels they're not. In the same research, the Gallup organization found that focusing on unlocking strengths helps us increase performance. Marcus Buckingham championed the idea... Read more →

Why we Need to Embrace our Curiosity about the Future

Technology and humanism was the topic of my Ignite Austin presentation in 2011. My goal was to redefine the question of a vision for the future of tech. To me, the opportunity is for women AND men to co-create as connected minds on issues like sustainability, literacy, health and diseases, the economy, and much more. We need our brilliant minds alive to the possibility of collaboration, and we need to redefine the idea of smarts, because it's not just about expertise and competence, both important, but also about understanding of the issues, empathy, and a willingness to put ourselves into... Read more →

How Culture and Technology Drive our Future

The future of emotional intelligence is the ability of organizations to sift through all the data they accumulate on people, and parse the bits of information that help them improve business decisions that also help their customers. Emotion contains a treasure trove of intelligence about future intent — one product or service misstep can make a big difference. As customers, we want consistency, peace of mind, and reliability — these are table stakes. But in a world that gives us more options, yet less time, the winning strategies will literally depend on individual preferences. Expectations for 1:1 interaction, problem solving,... Read more →