Big Data, Little Brain: Making Structural Components Known and Emergent Outcomes Clear with Paolo Gaudiano

In this episode of The Flux, host John Cordier, CEO of Epistemix, sits down with Paolo Gaudiano, a complexity scientist turned DEI innovator, whose journey spans neuroscience, agent-based modeling, and the business of inclusion. Together, they explore what happens when we stop treating diversity as a box to check and start understanding it as an emergent property of complex systems.

Paolo shares how he uses agent-based modeling to connect individual experiences to organizational outcomes, revealing why attempts to “fix diversity” often fail and how measuring inclusion can transform both workplace culture and financial performance. He also explains the danger of “big data, little brain” thinking and how true insight requires combining domain expertise with dynamic modeling.

Whether you’re a data scientist, executive, or systems thinker, this episode will challenge how you see data, decisions, and the future of organizational design.