Web Directions Summit 2023

Balance in All Things

Despite our capacity for intelligence and logic, human are biological creatures. In biology, near enough is good enough, efficiency is relative, and we are all subject to hidden processes.

Our savannah-evolved brains are tuned to find patterns where none exist; better to think you see a predator in the undergrowth and be wrong than miss the threat and end up as dinner.

Whether you're working in machine learning or product design, you're still using the same cognitive wetware and this can have a direct impact on the work we produce.

In this presentation, we'll examine how perception works, how it can be tricked or misled, and how we can all work counter our natural biases to make the world a better place, for ourselves and others.

Chris Lienert

Chris started out as a web developer when Netscape ruled the world and works as a Principal Consultant at Cognizant Servian in Melbourne. He organises community groups Men Championing Change and Melbourne CSS. Aside from musical distractions and accumulating frequent flyer points, Chris and his wife Sarah can be found in the company of their not-so-small human.