Bio
Adam Bly is the founder and CEO of System, a Public Benefit Corporation developing a systems-based approach to organize the world’s data and knowledge. He previously led data at Spotify. Prior to that, he founded and was CEO of Seed Scientific, the data analytics firm, which was acquired by Spotify.
Named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Adam has lectured at the United Nations, MIT, NASA, Ars Electronica, MoMA, The National Academy of Sciences, The Royal Society, the World Economic Forum (WEF), and before the U.S. House of Representatives on the role of data and science in society. He was a Visiting Senior Fellow in Science, Technology & Society at Harvard Kennedy School, has advised Fortune 500 companies on data strategy and national political campaigns on science policy, and has served on the WEF Global Agenda Councils on Complex Systems and Data-Driven Development.
Deeply committed to modernizing and spreading science literacy, Adam founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of the National Magazine Award-nominated science magazine, Seed; co-organized Design and the Elastic Mind, the landmark exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art; and edited Science is Culture: Conversations at the New Intersection of Science and Society (HarperCollins). He served as a Trustee of the Society for Science, the organizer of world's largest pre-college science fair (which he won in 1998 — Best of Category, Biochemistry). For his efforts to advance the public's understanding of science, Adam was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal.
Born in Montreal, he studied at McGill University and began his career researching the genetics and biochemistry of metastasis at the National Research Council of Canada. He lives in New York City.
NEWS
Some thoughts I wrote on the state of the modern world order: All the Institutions I Was Taught to Trust Are Crumbling All at Once
I have an essay out in The Boston Globe on the epistemological risks of generative AI, and what that could mean for truth, trust, and democracy. Amy Brand and I offer some new (and some very old) ways to think about building more responsible AI -- including the approach we're taking at System.
I have an op-ed out in The Information on how I think we must strengthen Congress to legislate AI and the science and tech issues of our time.
InformationWeek covers some of my thoughts on generative AI
I did a Data Science Hangout
I joined Paola Antonelli in Design Emergency on IG Live to talk about the why behind System.
We announced our Series A.
We announced the first product release from System.
I’ve joined the Board of Trustees of the Society for Science.
I’ve written A Thought Experiment in AI Infrastructure
My essay for Broken Nature, titled “Redesigning the System,” has been published.
I'm proud to be a coalition partner of Future Congress, working together with many wonderful organizations to ensure that Congress is equipped to legislate the science and technology issues of our era.
I spoke with public servants in Canada about the place of science literacy in the age of data, AI, and complexity. The talk and Q&A are now online.
As a lifelong supporter of science fairs (and 20-time competitor!), I'm thrilled to be joining the National Leadership Council of the Society for Science & the Public.
I've started a petition to restore science and technology advice to Congress. You can read more here and sign here.
I am hiring data, ML, and backend engineers for my new startup, including a Senior Data Engineer.
Brian Feldman wrote a very nice article in New York Magazine about Your Time Capsule, entitled Spotify Has The Only Algorithms I Don't Fear.
Talks
Government
Canada School of Public Service, Ottawa, Canada, 2018
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA, 2012
NASA, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, USA, 2012
U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC, USA, 2010, 2011
U.S. House of Representatives, STEM Briefing, Washington, DC, USA, 2011
National Science Board, Washington, DC, 2011
The Ministry of Science and Technology of People’s Republic of China, Beijing, China, 2008
Academia
Solve at MIT, Cambridge, MA, 2023
Northeastern University London, UK, 2023
Pitt School of Computing and Information, Modeling the World's Systems, Pittsburgh, USA, 2018
Factry, Montreal, Canada, 2018
NYU, Stern School of Business, New York, USA, 2017
Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, USA, 2013
MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, USA, 2013
Yale University, Rio+20 to 2015, New Haven, USA, 2013
Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, USA, 2013
MIT School of Architecture + Planning, Cambridge, USA, 2011
University of Western Ontario, Conference on Science Education, London, Canada, 2011
Ohio State University, Knowlton School of Architecture, Columbus, USA, 2010
Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism, New York, USA, 2009
Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, USA, 2008
Peking University, School of Environment and Energy, Beijing, China, 2008
OCAD, Toronto, Canada, 2008
McGill University, Faculty of Management, Montreal, Canada, 2007
Associations & Institutes
Disruptive Technologists, New York, USA, 2023
RStudio, Data Science Hangout, 2022
Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, 2020
Modeling the World's Systems, Washington DC, USA, 2019
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Phoenix, USA, 2019
International Conference on Complex Systems, Workshop on Food Complexity & Nutrition, Cambridge, USA, 2018
Santa Fe Institute, Annual Board of Trustees Symposium, Santa Fe, USA, 2017
Santa Fe Institute, The Complexity of Platforms, Palo Alto, USA, 2017
Keynote, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India, 2012
Keynote, NASIG, St. Louis, USA, 2011
Keynote, BIOTECanada, Ottawa, Canada, 2011
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, USA, 2009, 2010
Keynote, The Royal Society, London, UK, 2009
Keynote, Society for Scholarly Publishing Annual Meeting, Baltimore, USA, 2009
Keynote, International Council for Scientific and Technical Information, Helsinki, Finland, 2009
The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World Annual Meeting, Mexico City, Mexico, 2008
AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy, Washington, DC, USA, 2008
STS Forum, Kyoto, Japan, 2007
Festival della Scienza, Genoa, Italy, 2006
NGOs & IOs
United Nations World Food Programme, Rome, Italy, 2017
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 2014
Keynote, i2 Conference, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2014
Keynote, United Nations, High-Level Committee on Management, Rome, Italy, 2013
United Nations High Commission on Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland, 2013
World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2013
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 2012
UNICEF, New York, USA, 2012
Young Global Leaders Summit, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, 2012
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 2011
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of New Champions, Dalian, China, 2011
World Economic Forum Summit on Europe and Central Asia, Vienna, Austria, 2011
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 2010
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 2009
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 2008
World Economic Forum Summit on the Middle East, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, 2008
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of New Champions, Tianjin, China, 2008
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 2007
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of New Champions, Dalian, China, 2007
Industry
UBS, Executive Committee, New York, USA, 2017
LVMH, Paris, France, 2016
EMC, Data Science Summit, Las Vegas, USA, 2012
The Guardian, Activate Summit, New York, USA, 2011
GE, New York, USA, 2010
Keynote, Microsoft Research, Berkeley, USA, 2010
Procter & Gamble, New York, USA, 2009
Milken Institute Global Conference, Los Angeles, USA, 2008
Arts & Culture
Mozilla Festival, 2022
Design Emergency, 2021
La Triennale di Milano, Broken Nature Public Symposium, Milan, Italy, 2018
Cannes Lions, Cannes, France, 2017
The Museum of Modern Art, The Way of the Algorithm, New York USA, 2015
Keynote, field.work, London, UK, 2015
Keynote, Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria, 2012
NYC Media Lab, New York, USA, 2012
India Design Forum, New Delhi, India, 2012
WWW Conference, USA, 2012
Keynote, The Art of Science Learning, Washington, DC, USA, 2011
The Museum of Modern Art, Talk to Me Symposium, New York, USA, 2011
SXSW Interactive, Austin, USA, 2011, 2012
Eyeo Festival, Minneapolis, USA, 2011
Smithsonian National Design Museum, Why Design Now?, New York, USA, 2010
New York City Science and Engineering Fair, New York, USA, 2010
DLD, Munich, Germany, 2009
Chicago Humanities Festival, Chicago, USA, 2008
BOOKS & Articles
All the Institutions I Was Taught to Trust Are Crumbling All at Once, 2024
AI is Muddying the Truth. We’ve Known How to Fix it for Centuries, 2023
This is the Help Congress Needs to Regulate AI, 2023
Redesigning the System, 2019
A Thought Experiment in AI Infrastructure, 2019
Congress Needs Science and Technology Advice, 2018
Why I'm Starting a New AI Company, 2017
Data-Driven Development: Pathways to Progress, 2015
Why We're Stuck on Climate Change: A Hypothesis, 2015
Perspectives on a Hyperconnected World, 2013
Modernizing Global Governance, 2012
Science is Culture: Conversations at the New Intersection of Science and Society, HarperCollins, 2010
Boards & JURIES
Board of Trustees, Society for Science, 2020-2024
National Leadership Council, Society for Science, 2018-2024
Board of Visitors, School of Computing and Information, University of Pittsburgh, 2018-2020
Advisory Council, Broken Nature: XXII Triennale di Milano, 2018-2019
Jury Member, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Final Review, 2018
Global Agenda Council on Platforms and Systems, World Economic Forum, 2016-2018
Global Agenda Council on Data-Driven Development, World Economic Forum, 2014-2016
Expert Panel on the State of Canada’s Science Culture, Council of Canadian Academies, 2013-2014
Vice Chair, Global Agenda Council on Complex Systems, World Economic Forum, 2012-2014
Science Advisory Committee, World Economic Forum, 2011-2013
Weizmann Institute of Science, American Committee, 2010-2013
Advisory Board, Science & Entertainment Exchange, National Academy of Sciences, 2010-2013
External Advisory Board, University of Michigan, Risk Science Center, 2012-2013
Partner, Executive Coordinator’s Office, United Nations Rio+20 Conference, 2012
Vice Chair, Global Agenda Council on Design Innovation, World Economic Forum, 2010-2012
Jury Member, Buckminster Fuller Prize, 2009
Advisor, OECD Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Societies, 2010-2012