Humans
behind AI
Mara Pometti
Associate Design Director
London, UK
Mara Pometti
Associate Design Director
London, UK
We need to capture the human stories hidden in data and algorithms to bring AI closer to our own humanity.
I'm a data-savvy humanist, a term I coined to describe my method of infusing the values of humanism—such as love for truth, empathy, and beauty—into the AI practice. Everything I do is driven by a desire to better understand the world by reading, writing, experiencing art, and asking tons of questions. My desk is full of sketches and notes. Like a reporter, I jot down anything that captures my curiosity. My disciplinary home is data journalism. It’s an approach I use to conduct research, test hypotheses, and make sense of AI models. Nothing is more human-centered than uncovering people's stories hidden in data and algorithms to bring AI closer to our own humanity.
My parents and friends used to call me “the girl with the suitcase.” I love discovering the world. I'm driven by relentless curiosity.
I first travelled through reading, exploring books about the lives of famous journalists. I dreamt of traveling to discover stories that no one tells. In a strange way, I ended up doing that with data and AI.
I grew up in a town near Milan, but I've lived in New York, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and London, which for now is my home.
Hyde Park is one of my happy places. It's where I go running—or I take my books and newspapers to read and study on a bench. I believe that we define ourselves through what we do; that's why my craft is so important to me. I spend a lot of time researching and keeping up with coding to find new ways to translate a humanistic worldview into technical requirements.
AI challenges trust. The unease is palpable. We need to rely on human values such as critical thinking and love for the truth and exercise our discernment to navigate a world where information and decisions are made by algorithms. In the book I wrote, called Artificial Humans (Umani Artificiali), I stated that the biggest risk in AI I see is not human extinction but rather us becoming artificial machines because we'll be driven by algorithms that no one questions.
That’s why we need a new generation of experts: the data-savvy humanists. By combining AI literacy with the humanities, they will challenge the algorithms’ outcomes to ensure AI systems work for people. Organizations need these new experts because they can make AI understandable through the storytelling. They can keep AI aligned with human needs by making it accountable, transparent, and trustworthy.
My human-centered mindset is rooted in a love of the arts and my studies in the humanities. I’ve practised ballet since I was four and I used to play piano and guitar. Dance and music were means to express myself.
Leaving my country was a real turning point. I started feeling in charge of my life when I moved to New York. There, I discovered the practice of data journalism and how what we then called “big data” was transforming newsrooms. I’ve always considered data a language. It can be used to tell stories.
I always have my Sharpies and Post-Its with me because I am obsessed with taking notes. It’s part of my problem-solving approach.
Art has the power to anticipate human needs: if you are attentive, you can pick up on the signals of how the world is evolving.
Data journalism brought me from the media to the tech industry. I became the only data journalist among a team of data scientists working on AI solutions at IBM. Back then, I didn't even know what AI was. With time, by combining my skills in data visualization, coding, and storytelling, I developed human-centered frameworks to address AI from a strategic perspective. Eventually I designed the AI Strategy practice.
As a woman in STEM and tech, I’m a big advocate of mentorship—it can be empowering and a game-changer to elevate women in the workplace. My McKinsey and QuantumBlack colleagues Tey Bannerman and Nayur Khan—among others—have trusted and believed in me more than I could, giving me the freedom to express myself. It’s a feeling I pass along to my own mentees.
Mara's photos were taken in London, UK.
Mentors should help us unleash the best of us that we cannot yet see.
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