My newly published paper on the relationship between creativity, innovation & novelty, generative AI/LLMs, future potentials, and the creative agency of the world: Peschl (2024). Human innovation and the creative agency of the world in the age of generative AI. Possibility Studies & Society, https://doi.org/10.1177/27538699241238049 (online first, open access) Abstract With the advent of Large Language Models, such as ChatGPT, and, more generally, generative AI/cognitive technologies, global knowledge production faces a critical systemic challenge. It results from continuously feeding ..read more

© M.Peschl „Rather, it seems that I become my walking, and that my walking walks me… And with every step I am not so much changed as modified, in the sense not of transition from one state to another but of perpetual renewal. I am indeed a different person when I arrive… Walking is itself a habit of thinking. This thinking is not however an inside-the-head, but the work of a mind that, in its deliberations, freely mingles with the body and the world… I do not so much think while walking as think in walking… Perhaps the meditative power of walking lies in precisely this: that it gives thought ..read more

https://unsplash.com/photos/6mc8N-c8Sjk „Performers, based on their well-trained skills, and well-formed habits (which involve a heedful flexibility rather than automaticity or repetitiveness) are able to move beyond controlled engagement to the point of not-knowing (embracing a kind of uncertainty or surprise) about what precisely will happen—letting the system (brain-body-environment) move in unpredictable, surprising ways—without a prediction of what happens next. What happens next is that brain-body-environment couple in a novel way—they join forces to enact something unpredictable—they c ..read more

A highly interesting paper revealing the decline in the level of innovativeness and disruptiveness in science (and patents) since 1950. This recently published paper in Nature is based on a study of an extensive body of 45+ million papers and suggets “across fields, we find that science and technology are becoming less disruptive.” (p 139) “Relying on narrower slices of knowledge benefits individual careers, but not scientific progress more generally.” (p 143) What does this mean for our funding agencies, our universities as supposed places of innovation, and academia in general? The authors ..read more

If you want to see/understand how J.J. Gibson’s concept of affordances turns our classical perspective on cognition and perception (and, subsequently on novelty) on its head, have a look at this post by John Flach: http://blogs.wright.edu/learn/johnflach/2022/08/05/space-time-according-to-gibson ..read more

TEDx talk by Markus F. Peschl: How the future can drive innovation (April 1, 2022) Innovation entails anticipating and shaping the future. Why is it that most innovations are not so much about the future, but about extrapolating the past and coming up with more of the (almost) same? Taking a closer look at our cognitive capacities reveals that our mind has great difficulties dealing with a future that is highly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (i.e., today’s VUCA world). This TEDx talk shows how assuming a radically future-oriented perspective will change the game. It is about activ ..read more

A recent McKinsey report offers interesting insights into the changed role(s) of designers in organizations: “Design the business, not just the product”. This may come as no surprise to those involved in latest design research or design(-erly)-based businesses. The interesting point is that this report is based on a fairly broad empirical study demonstrating the (mostly positive) impact of a broader understanding of designers’ roles and functions in companies. “Instead of trying to ‘protect’ designers within the design studio, leading Chief Design Officers (CDOs) work with the C-suite to embed ..read more

Greg Satell shows in a recent post why it is necessary to rethink our obsession with disruptive innovation and replace it with a mindset of profound innovation. Such a shift is based on value creation for “real” human needs as well as on scientific knowledge rather than on a strategy of disrupting existing markets by increasing returns of a few large companies with almost no increase of productivity. see: https://marker.medium.com/how-the-uber-economy-is-killing-innovation-prosperity-and-entrepreneurship-7222982cd457 ..read more

Joy @ Work — on the relationship between joy and work (in the 21st century) This is part 3 of a first draft of an explorative paper on the relationship between joy/joyfulness and work. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Implications for organizations and leaders The main conclusion from our considerations can be summarized as follows: in order to make work (more) joyful, it is necessary to bring back purpose to work. As we have seen, joy is not just/so much about feeling well, having fun, satisfying superficial needs, etc. Rather, joy is about engaging in meaningful activities that contribute both to on ..read more

Joy @ Work — on the relationship between joy and work (in the 21st century) This is part 3 of a first draft of an explorative paper on the relationship between joy/joyfulness and work. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Implications for organizations and leaders The main conclusion from our considerations can be summarized as follows: in order to make work (more) joyful, it is necessary to bring back purpose to work. As we have seen, joy is not just/so much about feeling well, having fun, satisfying superficial needs, etc. Rather, joy is about engaging in meaningful activities that contribute both to on ..read more