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storytelling with data podcast: #72 Alberto Cairo and the art of insight

·49 min·4 clips

Mike begins by thanking listeners who took part in a Storytelling with Data workshop this year. He says they have just finished their final public session of 2023. The workshop schedule will be available on the website, with several virtual sessions planned for the foundational Storytelling with Data workshop and a new Storytelling with Slides workshop focused on visuals and the presenter. Mike then introduces Alberto Cairo and his new book, The Art of Insight. He presents it as unlike the usual visualization title. From there, the conversation centers on what insight is and how people build it. Alberto keeps coming back to practical judgment and the value of asking better questions. The interview lets the book open into a broader discussion of communication at work. AI becomes the next major topic. Mike asks how concerned he should be about tools that can simulate some of the work of journalists and storytellers. Alberto responds by comparing AI with earlier creative software shifts. He points to Photoshop and Illustrator as tools that changed workflows without removing the need for skilled people. His view is that AI can lower the barrier to entry and extend what people can do. He also says it can help him avoid writing long articles when what he really needs is a working draft, including prompts that generate R code for charts. He still expects the human to tweak variables, make choices, and decide how to use the tool. The conversation keeps coming back to the same point: tools matter, but interpretation still matters more.

As heard by us

A measured conversation about insight, judgment, and AI as a tool rather than a replacement.

The conversation centers on Alberto Cairo's new book, The Art of Insight, and treats data as something that should communicate, not merely display.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want a calm take on insight, charts, and AI?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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