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Alberto Cairo

@albertocairo.com
11K followers 1.3K following 1.5K posts

Designer, journalist, and professor. Author of 'The Art of Insight' (2023) 'How Charts Lie' (2019), 'The Truthful Art' (2016), and 'The Functional Art' (2012). NEW PROJECT: openvisualizationacademy.org

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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 29/09/2026
What he said. #DataViz #dataVisualization #infographics #dataJournalism friends. @datavizsociety.bsky.social is worth your attention and your support
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Eleonore @eleonore.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Anything worth remembering came from a person who did not know where she or he was going until arriving. No shortcut gets you there: the process leaves a trace."
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VizChitra @vizchitra.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Silver: Open Visualization Academy · @revisual.co · Visualization for Transparency Foundation, @albertocairo.com Bronze: TypeTogether · People Plus AI · Thurro · City Finance Community: @pudding.cool · TREND @ Youth Ki Awaaz
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 28/09/2026
Months ago I talked to Giorgia about her most recent book, and towards the end she shared some thoughts about GenAI that also appear in her article. Here's the recording openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com/p/friends-of... in the newsletter of the Open Visualization Academy
openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com
Friends of OVA: Giorgia Lupi
A conversation about her new book, her career, and the "AI" wave
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 28/09/2026
Months ago I talked to Giorgia about her most recent book, and towards the end she shared some thoughts about GenAI that also appear in her article. Here's the recording openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com/p/friends-of... in the newsletter of the Open Visualization Academy
openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com
Friends of OVA: Giorgia Lupi
A conversation about her new book, her career, and the "AI" wave
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 28/09/2026
Lovely and deep visual op-ed by Giorgia Lupi: "A.I. is a different kind of technology, because it can deliver an end result before creative thinking has happened at all" www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Opinion | A.I. Shortcuts Are Ruining How We Think (Gift Article)
Anything worth remembering came from a person who did not know where she or he was going until arriving.
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 28/09/2026
@stephenrbissette.bsky.social's artwork in that series messed me up (in a good way—I guess?)
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 27/09/2026
Oh, boy, that type of panel weirdness is everywhere in Swamp Thing. Moore wrote the words, but Bissette & Totleben translated them into them visual magic
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 27/09/2026
To me, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run, is far superior to anything else he's done, including Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Such a deep, poetic, deeply moving (and horrifying in some cases) series of stories...
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 26/09/2026
All dunces like this may have obtained their degrees from Trump University
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 24/09/2026
In the newsletter: "Visualization as epistemic representation" openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com/p/visualizat... Or: Building bridges between information design and the philosophy of science & scientific representation #dataViz #dataVisualization #infographics
A diagram depicting the cycle of epistemic representation. An object called the "vehicle" (a chart, for example) represents another object, called the "target" (for instance, a data set). The reader of the "vehicle" can make inferences about the vehicle itself, and later they can use those inferences to make inferences about the "target"
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 25/09/2026
Yes! That's fully compatible with some varieties of analytical theories of representation. That's a great article with tons of relevant references, btw. Thanks for bringing it to my attention
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 24/09/2026
I'd apply that to so-called "AI"
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Voilà: Francis Gagnon @chezvoila.com · 24/09/2026
As a father of teenagers (and phone user), my current take is that we are fighting a new drug, optimized for our weakest points and with no interest for our benefit.
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 24/09/2026
I think that most college professors have gone through something like this at some point. Craig's response was the right one, I believe.
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 24/09/2026
Yes!
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 24/09/2026
"There has to be a better way of connecting and sharing and existing together, a way that isn't locked into the exploitative doom loops and psychic death of what we currently have. A way that's built around humans again, not around algorithms. A way that values connection instead of confrontation."
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 24/09/2026
In the newsletter: "Visualization as epistemic representation" openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com/p/visualizat... Or: Building bridges between information design and the philosophy of science & scientific representation #dataViz #dataVisualization #infographics
A diagram depicting the cycle of epistemic representation. An object called the "vehicle" (a chart, for example) represents another object, called the "target" (for instance, a data set). The reader of the "vehicle" can make inferences about the vehicle itself, and later they can use those inferences to make inferences about the "target"
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Marcelo Soares @msoares.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
O cenário mais realista de os geradores de lero-lero acabarem com a humanidade é o suicídio cognitivo de três ou quatro gerações treinadas simultaneamente a deixar de pensar. Médicos, engenheiros e todos os profissionais de daqui a 5 anos estão pondo um produto de big techs pra estudar por eles.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 22/09/2026
this is a genuinely crazy story
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 21/09/2026
Can't wait:
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 18/09/2026
Good read:
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Jerry Chen @jcsalterego.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"your holiness, it's called a sankey diagram"
a photo of someone explaining something to pope leo while the pope makes a face of slight discomfort
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 18/09/2026
Thread:
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 18/09/2026
On techne vs phronesis: "I don’t think the literal destruction of humanity—our biological species—is likely to occur, but I do think a kind of mass dehumanization is possible and even desired by its creators" @lioneltrolling.bsky.social: www.unpopularfront.news/p/reason-v-r...
unpopularfront.news
Reason v. Rule
The Real AI Risk is to Culture Itself
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is the way.
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Sebastian Bae @sebastianbae.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The Polish Army is embracing educational #wargaming in order to prepare their leaders for hard choices across echeleons and exercise their intellectual muscles. 🎲 💥
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 16/09/2026
New in the Open Visualization Academy newsletter: "The UMAP Isn't the Territory" by Michela Tjan openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com/p/the-umap-i... #dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism #dataVisualization See all our courses and tutorials: openvisualizationacademy.org
openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com
The UMAP Isn't the Territory
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 16/09/2026
New in the Open Visualization Academy newsletter: "The UMAP Isn't the Territory" by Michela Tjan openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com/p/the-umap-i... #dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism #dataVisualization See all our courses and tutorials: openvisualizationacademy.org
openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com
The UMAP Isn't the Territory
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Jesse Onland @jdonland.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Mercator's projection was very useful in its time: a straight line on the map corresponds to a path of constant bearing on the globe. When navigation was done with a compass and astrolabe, this was crucial. He didn't make Africa and Greenland look the same size just for fun!
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 16/09/2026
One day, not far in the future, I'll create a workshop titled "Information Design for Philosophers" (this one comes from an otherwise excellent paper by G. Sanches de Oliveira: lnkd.in/e9emapSz)
A Venn diagram that shows two partially overlapping circles, each representing a philosophical perspective on how scientific models work. One is "representationalism", the other is "artifactualism", The area of overlap is "hybrid artifactualism". The diagram doesn't explain any of this. You have to read the entire caption to understand it.
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 16/09/2026
I was wondering why Sankey diagrams have been trending here lately and oh boy...
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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Very Smart People will see these and know that literally the world'a richest man is behind them and think "gee maybe trans activists did this to themselves"
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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I don't think people really understand the psychic impact of knowing that multiple times a day every day your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and everyone who could ever have any power over you is being flooded with agitprop designed to make them hate you
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Paige Tutt @tatertutt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It's here! The biggest thing I've *ever* worked on for @edutopia.org (or ever). Gratitude to my co-author @youkiterada.bsky.social who did IMMENSE heavy-lifting, and our incisive editor @stephenmerrill.bsky.social. Big thanks to @albertocairo.com and @misssarahleo.bsky.social for their wisdom!
edutopia.org
Will These 6 Sneaky Charts, Maps, and Graphs Deceive Your Students?
In a media landscape overrun with slick data visualizations, students must develop the skills to scrutinize what’s presented to them as fact—or risk being led astray.
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 15/09/2026
"Will These Sneaky Charts, Maps, and Graphs Deceive Your Students?" by @tatertutt.bsky.social: www.edutopia.org/article/will...
edutopia.org
Will These 6 Sneaky Charts, Maps, and Graphs Deceive Your Students?
In a media landscape overrun with slick data visualizations, students must develop the skills to scrutinize what’s presented to them as fact—or risk being led astray.
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 10/09/2026
I'm getting many new followers because I was added to some lists. Hi everyone! Visit the Open Visualization Academy, my library of free learning resources about information design & visualization: openvisualizationacademy.org And subscribe to our newsletter: openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com
openvisualizationacademy.org
Open Visualization Academy
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 10/09/2026
I'm getting many new followers because I was added to some lists. Hi everyone! Visit the Open Visualization Academy, my library of free learning resources about information design & visualization: openvisualizationacademy.org And subscribe to our newsletter: openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com
openvisualizationacademy.org
Open Visualization Academy
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Evan Urquhart @evanurquhart.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Meaning, the point of a data visualization isn't just to have a visualization and look good for having had one. The point is to convey information better and more clearly than you could otherwise.
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 09/09/2026
Thread:
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 07/09/2026
Testing new waters: I'm working on my first philosophy paper. It'll try to begin a dialogue between visualization and the philosophy of scientific (epistemic) representation. Let's see where this crazy idea leads me...
Tentative title: Visualization as Epistemic Representation
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 07/09/2026
hahaha
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 06/09/2026
I didn't invent the term!
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 06/09/2026
Tunts-Tunts é reaggetón? Um amigo meu da Espanha chama de musica "Atún-con-pan", porque é assim que o ritmo das canções soa rs.
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Jonatan Hildén @jhilden.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
This is very good
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 05/09/2026
Thanks!
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 04/09/2026
The technical name of this species is Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath
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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 03/09/2026
The post below also announces the release of my new Open Visualization Academy course: "Tidy Data, Tidy Infographics", designed for absolute beginners
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Juuso Koponen @juusokoponen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Good stuff. I especially liked this: “[Shaw & Nave] explain the difference between cognitive augmentation and offloading—consciously delegating specific tasks to automation—and cognitive surrender, which is a tendency to ‘defer judgment, effort, and responsibility’ to devices”
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
This just means they need to write even more op-eds about how they're the only choice
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