Prof. Alex (Sandy) Pentland

 

Selected Recent Press

Science of Subtle Signals

Reality Mining

Training Leaders (video)

Reality Mining (video)

 

Selected Recent Papers

Automatic Mapping and     Modeling of Human Networks

Thin Slices of Negotiation

Socially Aware Communication

 

Reality Mining Class Projects

CommConnect

HealthCare

 

Selected Recent Theses

Toward a Social Signaling Framework                                    

Influence Modeling of Complex Stochastic Processes

Distribution of Ideas, Practices, and Artifacts

 

 

What if you could see yourself as others see you? What if you could have a “gods eye” view of how the people in your social network interact? Or `see’ the rhythms of interaction for everyone in your town? Or even the entire country? Reality Mining, described by MIT's Technology Review magazine (2/08) as `a technology poised to change the world,' is beginning to make this possible.

The science behind reality mining is that subtle patterns in how we interact with other people reveal our attitudes toward them. These biologically based “honest signaling” mechanisms, including a person’s activity level and how the timing of their actions is influenced by others, offer an unmatched window into our social life, intentions, and health. By understanding these subtle patterns we can better understand ourselves, and begin to engineer our society to be a happier, more human place to live, as described in my forthcoming book `Honest Signals,' published by MIT Press.
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Professor Alex (“Sandy”) Pentland is a pioneer in organizational engineering, mobile information systems, and computational social science. Sandy's focus is the development of human-centered technology, and the creation of ventures that take this technology into the real world.

He directs the Digital Life Consortium, a group of more than twenty multinational corporations exploring new ways to innovate, and oversees the Next Billion Network, established to support aspiring entrepreneurs in emerging markets, and the EPROM entrepreneurship program in Africa. In 1997, Newsweek magazine named him one of the 100 Americans likely to shape this century.



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