Innovation Thinking: Principles & Practice

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Think critically about claims regarding the revolutionary significance of innovations.
• More effectively distill and communicate your own ideas about what distinguishes a major innovation from a minor one.
• Anticipate unintended consequences that arise when an innovation is adopted at a massive scale.
• Effectively budget your time in going through large volumes of material.
   

Module 1: How do we envision the future?

This introductory session examines the phenomenon of envisioning the future, using as a case study the 1939 New York World’s Fair. What innovations does the future hold, and how will these new technologies change our lives? Looking back, 85 years later, we interrogate how these predictions are formed, and how they guide our efforts as a society.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore contrasting views regarding how innovations transform our future.
• Consider factors that enhance the ability to accurately predict future innovations.
• Analyze the ultimate effects of a critical vision-setting period through the lens of the 1939 World’s Fair, Vannevar Bush, and Douglas Engelbart.

Module 2: What does it mean for an innovation to be truly revolutionary?

In this session we examine the printing press, perhaps the foundational technological innovation of the modern age. We discuss both its invention and its impact, and it is our first study of the nature of Amplification - the capacity of a new technology to enhance human capabilities. 

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze an undeniably revolutionary innovation to begin to appreciate what makes a technology revolutionary.
• Think critically about the nature and extent of the printing press' impact.
• Better understand what it means for an innovation to amplify human potential and experience.
• Evaluate the tradeoffs involved when an innovation amplifies one set of human capabilities at the expense of other skills and experiences.

Module 3: What is the importance of envisioning the act of innovation?

In this session we study the development of the Saturn V rocket, which propelled humans to the Moon on the Apollo Missions. We look at the moon missions from initial vision-setting, through development, through execution, and then consider the human impact of the moments that the vision was achieved. The central question is the following: 

What role does vision play in the development of world-changing technologies?

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the vision behind the Apollo missions and explain how the vision guided the development of the Saturn V rocket.
• Explore the significance of vision for amplifying innovation.
• Identify different types of amplification: amplification how? Amplification for whom?
• Recognize that amplification almost always entails unintended consequences.

Module 4: What is the difference between a new feature and a new kind of experience?

In this session we discuss the invention and adoption of the Polaroid Camera. It is an example not only of mass-organization and execution, but also of extraordinary persistence toward a singular vision over decades. We discuss photography as an art form, and as a medium in consumer technology, ultimately considering how modern forms of instant photography amplify our lives.

Learning Objectives:

• Compare the amplifying effects of traditional and instant photography on human experience and expression.
• Understand SX-70's vision, development, and marketing.
• Understand the dynamic between alternative visions for a technology, and alternative technologies that accomplish a similar vision.
• Consider the relationship between amplification and simplicity in user experience.

Module 5: What is the connection between “a superpower” and an enriched life?

In this session we discuss the invention and adoption of the automobile and its foundational presence in modern culture. We study the history of the automobile’s adoption, consider its many social and economic impacts, and finally consider how automobility amplifies our lives and states of mind. A key consideration will be how new technologies can have widely varying impacts on different sections of society. 

Learning Objectives:

• Define automobility, and determine what makes automobility amplifying.
• Understand the development and initial adoption of the automobile.
• Understand the cultural, psychological, and economic upheaval the automobile brought.
• Identify how the automobile relied on complementary innovations and trends.
• Recognize the disparate effect of amplifying innovation on adopters vs. non-adopters.

Module 6: How do technologies revolutionize communication?

The next two sessions cover the rise of modern communication infrastructure.

In this first session, we focus on the invention and early history of Radio, TV, and the transistor which has enabled most of today's consumer tech. We cover the complicated history of these technologies and the corporate and governmental interests involved in their development. Ultimately we identify a shift from the individual inventor to the innovative firm, and consider the impact of this shift on the development of amplifying technologies.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the amplifying innovations that enable communication technology.
• Reflect on the "magic" and amplifying power of wireless communication.
• Understand how corporate, governmental and military interests influenced the rise of communication technology.
• Compare the amplifications offered by different modes of communication, i.e. radio vs. television.

Module 7: What are the effects of changes in communication media?

In this session we complete our discussion of the rise of modern communication technology. We deal specifically with the issue of trust, taking Orson Welles' infamous 1938 radio hoax - The War of the Worlds Broadcast - as a key example. In this discussion we consider how media technology contributed to the rise of fascism and continues to play a part in authoritarian movements.

Then we will examine the effects of new media on our social and political lives, and ultimately on our wellbeing. Marshall McLuhan's Tetrad of Media Effects will provide a framework for our discussion.

Learning Objectives:

• Critically examine the effects of broadcast, and later internet media's mass adoption.
• Discuss the formation of trust in media.
• Compare and contrast the social effects of different kinds of mass media.

Module 8: What type of organization is most conducive to the creation of revolutionary innovation?

This session will focus on applying your new skillset to understand the rise of generative AI, a wave of innovation that is currently unfolding. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Compare competing narratives of AI as a tool for human amplification versus human replacement.
• Identify historical parallels that help contextualize the emergence of AI as a revolutionary technology.
• Apply the amplification framework to evaluate how specific AI applications extend or constrain human experience.
• Analyze the psychological, organizational, and infrastructural forces that shape the adoption and framing of AI.
• Reflect on the strategic implications of positioning AI as collaborator rather than competitor.
• Envision scenarios in which AI and human intelligence are interwoven to produce new capabilities or experiences.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to articulate a balanced, historically informed point of view on AI; critically assess claims of disruption or displacement; and design or advocate for AI solutions that amplify—rather than eclipse—human potential.