Upstream of the Machine

The Five Strategies

1. Work the infrastructure — like a service designer

2. Generate evidence — like a scientist

3. Gather intel — like a strategist

4. Zoom out — like an urban planner

5. Make futures real — like a futurist

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

1:48 Stuck in the Machine

3:21 Downstream of the Machine

5:15 Design's Downstream Problem

6:32 What Upstream Looks Like

7:17 Deciding What to Build

13:12 Five Ways to Move Upstream

13:32 1. Work the Infrastructure

17:43 2. Generate Evidence Like a Scientist

21:33 3. Gather Intel Like a Strategist

24:00 4. Zoom Out Like an Urban Planner

26:33 5. Make Futures Real Like a Futurist

30:13 Recap & The AI Learning Trap

34:18 Making the Case to Your Boss

Book Recommendations

• The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow

• Blood in the Machine by Robert Merchant

• Trojan Horses and Dark Matter by Dan Hill

• This is Service Design Doing by multiple authors

• Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt

Strategy Videos

• UX Strategy Info Session by Jeff Humble

• Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: the difference and why it matters by Richard Rumelt

• The Infrastructure of Daily Life by Dan Hill

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