In this episode (25 min. long), we talk with Alex “Sandy” Pentland, who is one of the most cited web scholars at the crossroads of web science, network science, and computational social science. He’s a professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT, directs the MIT Connection Science Research Initiative, and heads MIT’s Human Dynamics Group, among other accomplishments. His work has pioneered organizational engineering, wearable computing, modern biometrics, and more.

In this conversation, Sandy brings insight to how data is the “new resource.” He talks about issues of data and privacy, as well as why people should have more control over their data. He also discusses what he learned in his study of signals and the mobile web, why wearable devices have a social dimension, and how the web can help respond to COVID-19. And he tells us the power of blockchain as the web evolves from not just a communication medium but also toward a transaction medium. To hear about this or more, listen to this episode!

Click here for this episode’s transcript, and click here for this episode’s show notes.