A New Touchpoint and Next Steps for our Data Science Insights
- Maria Alice Maia
- Apr 7
- 2 min read
Nine months ago, I started this project with a simple, urgent mission: to fix how we use data in business.
We began with a deep dive into the technical toolkit. We've tackled the foundations of causal inference—from the logic of Difference-in-Differences and RDD to the nuances of Propensity Scores, Doubly Robust Estimation, and Synthetic Control Methods. We’ve exposed the "Doing Data Wrong" scenarios that I’ve seen waste millions, from naive before-and-after comparisons to the flawed analysis of staggered rollouts.
We’ve built a rigorous foundation. But technical rigor alone is not enough.
Focusing only on the elegance of a causal model while ignoring its impact on the people who build it, use it, and are governed by it is the most sophisticated form of "Doing Data Wrong." It's getting the math right but the mission wrong.
My career has never been just about the data; it has always been about decoding human behavior. Whether that's a customer, an employee, or a citizen. This project must now evolve to reflect that.
So today, I’m excited to announce the next phase. We will continue our technical deep dives, but we will add a new, crucial dimension: the psychological, societal, and strategic context in which our data lives.
Drawing on my research at UC Berkeley and FGV, and my experience building ventures and leading teams at places like Ambev, Itaú, and NaHora.com, we will start to explore questions like:
The Human Impact of AI Regulation: The EU AI Act is a fact. But is it a 'brake' on innovation or a 'booster' for trust? How do we measure its real-world behavioral impact beyond anecdotes?
From Corporate Practice to Public Policy: What did my work building 'fair' hiring algorithms in People Analytics teach me about the risks of deploying similar AI in public services? How can we translate hard-won corporate lessons to government?
The Entrepreneurial Story: How did we use dynamic pricing models at NaHora.com to decode traveler behavior and create a new market, achieving 28% monthly growth?
This is the bridge I've spent my career building: from the code to the commercial, and from the commercial to the societal. It’s about understanding not just if a new feature works, but why people trust it. Not just if a policy has an effect, but how it shapes our communities.
Thank you for being on this journey. The most exciting work is yet to come.
If you’re ready to connect the technical to the human and build a truly complete data strategy, join my movement. Subscribe to my email list.
And if you’re wrestling with one of these complex challenges, book a 20-minute, no-nonsense consultation with me. Let’s decode it together.
