Sweet Spot #82: AI and data storytelling

• Hello and welcome to the 82nd Sweet Spot (click here for the full archive).

What's in store this month? 3 thought-provokers on Generative AI and data analysis.

But first: our next Chart Chat is about dynamic duos. Not the Laurel and Hardy type. We're going to debate which chart types go best together. Pie and bar, anyone? Marginal histograms?  Click here to register. We're live on March 7 at 11am EST.

The generative AI text boxes are coming! And with them a whole new paradigm. Have you stopped to think about the UX implications of a text box? For decades, we've had a command-based interaction where the computer is fully obedient. I point and click: computer does something. I point and click: computer does something else. I can reassess progress after each interaction. With generative AI chatbots, that has fundamentally changed. Now, I describe an outcome and leave the software to execute the task as it deems best. In this article, Jakob Nielsen describes this as a "complete reversal of the locus of control". What do you think? Are you happy with letting the computer decide how best to do things, or would you rather the slower, but more controlled, point-and-click system?

Is Generative AI the death of data storytelling?

With Generative AI, I can just ask for insights from my data, right? And so, I don't need to think about data storytelling skills anymore? NO! In this article, Ganes Kesari shares an excellent framework to help understand the areas where Gen AI's automation can usefully be used, and where the human needs to be very much involved. Data visualisation is a language, as rich as the written word, and there is simply no way a Gen AI can capture all the nuances required to craft the right data visualisation for the right moment. I find this framework an excellent place to start conversations. 

Here's why it's not:

Giorgia Liupi wrote this list of observations on the importance of presenting data correctly towards the end of the main COVID pandemic. They were based on her observations of how the media portrayed the tsunamis of data during that period. As Generative AI becomes ever more prevalent, it's vital to look at lists like Giorgia's and realise that we need the human touch more than ever. When we cede too much control to the AI, we lose the nuance and risk creating confusion, not clarity. 

What do you think? How do data storytellers adapt and adopt generative AI? Let me know in the comments.

Coming up...

• Which charts work best next to each other? That's the topic for debate in our next Chart Chat on March 7. Click here to register.
• I'm representing Tableau at the Gartner BI Bake Off in March. What's the Bake Off? It's like Iron Viz, but it's me (Tableau) against PowerBI and Oracle. No pressure... 😀
• Are you gearing up for Tableau Conference? I'll be hosting Iron Viz, and we cannot wait to bring the datafam together in San Diego at the end of April.