Professional Development at HQ

This is my third year in HQ and I have been given the opportunity to get exposure to specialist work (X-Labs) and also an internal leadership development programme. As the latter has just started, I would probably only write about it a bit more later in the year. This post will be mostly about the ETD X-Labs exposure.

 

The AI Research Group that I have been tagged to has been using Flipboard to curate and share relevant readings and I believe general users can access the articles (just follow the board) like AI used to detect animal emotions. It is also good to note that officers who have left the RG (secondment to NIE) are still in touch and do touch base to look for opportunities to collaborate or learn from each other's experiences. Back to the reason for this post, I am also pleased to get the chance to experience the Professional Development (PD) that the specialists in ETD will be undergoing. A book reading of 

Calling Bullshit

The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World

By: Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West (listen to the excerpt/extract below)

The PD would be hosted on SLS with question components for active learning for us to complete in our student accounts. So far, the book has been an interesting read (or listen via audiobooks in Libby). Although the title sounds crude (BS!) there are important considerations for experts and also fun materials for casual readers. Below are some links worth checking out:

1. https://www.whichfaceisreal.com/ (power of AI)
2. https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations (associations, correlations and not causation)
3. https://www.callingbullshit.org/case_studies.html and https://www.callingbullshit.org/tools.html

Dataviz Ducks

That's a graphic where the designer's prerogative is to catch your attention and persuade you of something in a way that's often misleading. The term "ducks" is borrowed from programmatic architecture, specifically a duck-shaped building that sold ducks and duck-related products.

Check out these videos and playlist too: