This document discusses innovation and patterns of evolution. It notes that innovation is not just new things, but when new things are adopted and change narratives or history. Innovation happens through the processes of imagination to create new things, enabling technologies to support those new things, and selection mechanisms like markets, research and technology that determine what survives and thrives. Digital humanities can be part of the innovation process by helping develop a common technical narrative and understanding of technology to facilitate adoption. Ultimately, innovation is where technology and humanity meet through convergence and revelation.

1. Digital Humanities - Bocconi 2016 - Luca De Biase
Innovation
“People don’t know what they
want until you show it to them”.
Steve Jobs

2. A robot suitcase which
follows you is made by the
Israeli startup NUA Robotics.
It is full of sensors, computer
vision and robotics

3. Innovation is not a set of new things

4. Innovation changes a story…
or even history

5. Patterns of evolution
❖ Imagination (process of creation)
❖ Connection (enabling environment)
❖ Selection (choice of what survives and thrives)

6. Patterns of evolution
❖ imagination
❖ enabling technologies
❖ selecting mechanisms (market, research…)

7. selection by market forces
❖ finance
❖ sales
❖ talents

8. selection by research
❖ we can select by doing
research: that’s about what’s
true and false; what’s
documented and what’s not…
❖ verification handbook
❖ http://
verificationhandbook.com

9. selection by technology
❖ it works
❖ it is too old
❖ it is too new

10. Is it in sync with my time?

11. Patterns of evolution
❖ Moore’s law
❖ Metcalfe’s law
❖ Power law

12. Patterns of evolution
❖ Moore’s law
❖ Metcalfe’s law
❖ Power law
❖ Computing
❖ Networking
❖ Big Data

13. Exponential
adoption rate

21. Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Chasm

22. Logistic curve
absolute numbers

24. network effect
cumulative
resources limits
in a world
imagination
enablingtechnologies
in a context of meaning
or in a given technology

25. Exponential (with a twist)

26. Exponentiality is not a given
On Singularities and
Black Holes in
Combination-Driven
Models of Technological
Innovation Networks.
by Ricard Solé, Daniel R.
Amor, Sergi Valverde.
Plos.

27. So: either you change context
and start a new rise…

29. … or you find a niche
in which to thrive

30. But what is this: finding a niche in
which to thrive?

31. Innovation is not a set of new things

32. Innovation changes a story…
or even history

33. Patterns of evolution
❖ Imagination (process of creation)
❖ Connection (enabling environment)
❖ Selection (choice of what survives and thrives)

34. Innovation
Five Dangerous Lessons
to Learn From Steve Jobs
1. Customers don’t know what they want
2. Maintain obsessive secrecy
3. Project a reality-distortion field
4. Micromanage every detail
5. Beat people up
http://www.forbes.com/sites/
chunkamui/2011/10/17/five-dangerous-
lessons-to-learn-from-steve-jobs/print/

35. Innovation happens
when the creation generated by new vision
is adopted

36. innovation is…
❖ …not a new thing…
❖ … it is a new thing that is adopted thus changes a story,
or history
❖ adopted means that people make that thing become part
of their lives
❖ There is some common narrative, a shared vision, an
understanding of the technology, a meaning and a use
value that is understood. And it just works

37. Innovation is where technology
and humanity meet

38. convergence
❖ Digital humanities are part of the innovation process…
❖ … because a common understanding needs a technical
narrative and a meaningful technology

39. convergence
❖ program
❖ project
❖ progress
❖ prospect
❖ prosperity

40. Innovation is a revelation

41. Readings
❖ Exponential organizations http://www.slideshare.net/vangeest/
exponential-organizations-h
❖ THE BARABÁSI-ALBERT MODEL http://barabasilab.neu.edu/
networksciencebook/download/network_science_december_ch5_2013.pdf
❖ BarabàsiLab: http://www.barabasilab.com and read some chapters of Link
http://www.barabasilab.com/LinkedBook/index.html
❖ Innovation Killers. How Financial Tools Destroy your Capacity to do New
Things, by Clayton Christensen, Stephen Kaufman and Willy Shih, 2008,
Harvard Business Review