YouSaid · the spoken record

Mauro Porcini

lines on the record: 33
first: 2026-04-21
most recent: 2026-04-21
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Because I wanted people to feel what I felt when I came into the company. And after, you know, in the first few weeks, they started to show me so many ideas, so many concepts, so many things. And I was like, oh my God, but the world needs to see this. And obviously there is a lot of confidentiality and patent and this and that. So it's difficult to share everything we're working on, obviously. But we figure out a way to share the energy of that experimentation, some of the concepts, some of the ideas, but we don't want anybody to focus on the specific, for instance, form factor of the wearable. But we want to say, look, the world is going in this direction. We need to, the most important thing is to focus on humanity. And these are some examples of some experiments that we're doing, but this is really a phase of experimentation.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“From future concepts of televisions, dressers, wearable devices, speakers, kitchen experiences, all with the eye behind, enabling a different kind of experience, that sometimes is very functional, sometimes it's very emotional, but there is always this blend of different approaches. Sometimes it's very pop. You know, you feel the K-pop cultural career in some of the installations. Sometimes it's very Zen, but this is exactly what we're talking about. technology that flex both in the intents as well as in the manifestation in the design language to serve humanity people you are all different and once again we are in the phase of experimentations the event is that samsung design open lab is an open laboratory with a lot of experiments mixed with some commercial products that are already going in that direction”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Commercial products, some others are just informal concepts. We're testing them in hours. In Milan de Zengui, we are showing a variety of different form factors from pendants to headbands that you put on your head to eyewear. But the reality is that we are showing multiple of them to say it may be none of them, but to say we are experimenting with multiple form factors in the Shoi Milan the goal is to communicate a vision and a philosophy that is based on two pillars. One is human centricity. It's literally elevating the quality of life, helping people live longer, better louder than on. The other pillar is what is the design language of human centricity is what we call an expressive language where form and function flex and blend to be meaningful to people. And so then we show so many different problems.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Kind of designs, form and function will align to what is meaningful to you. Now, to answer your question about what is going to be the right form factor, I think, you know, we're all investigating different kind of form factor because there are pros and cons with each of them. And I think we need to start proposing them to people and see how people react. But we are literally in an experimentation phase. Any company that tells you, oh, I know perfectly what that is going to be is lying because it's not history of innovation. We all know very well that in this phase is a phase of experimentation. And so any company in the world, I'm pretty sure working in tech right now is experimenting with so many different kind of form factor. And some of them are coming out and people are trying them and will come.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Good point. Devices. And now the more technology goes in the direction of wearability, fashion, things that you wear. But also we're talking about television, the same in the house, the more you have technology that should be warmer and more human, more diverse, the more we need to think about the idea of more customization or the logical fashion. So in furniture design, you buy a chair and often you have it available in different kind of colors and materials and finish the more this technology is going to be on your body, the more you're going to have if it's a earbud of, you know, in a certain way, if he's eyewear, if he's a pendant, if he's a pin, the logic of flesh will apply. So even before we talk about is a pin or a pendant or an earbout or a glass, it's even before death, no matter what it's going to be, it's going to have different.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Perfect interface for you, and it's going to happen very soon in the near future. So already there, from a design standpoint, I don't want to go too technical, but essentially, you don't have anymore the rigidity of a system that you need to design up front and impose to people, but you need to design how form and function will blend in a way that is meaningful to people, but this also makes sense for your brand and also help people not to be overwhelmed and confused by total freedom. So what are the right boundaries? What is the right flexibility between the freedom that you give, but also the R direction that you have?”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, look, we are all different. Your living room is different than mine. Why do we need to have TVs that all look the same? I created this new formula to direct our design work that moved from form follows function to form and function follow meaning. What does it mean that I'm gonna blend form and function and mix form and function on the base of what is meaningful for different people this can manifest in multiple ways one the most obvious that it's gonna happen no matter you know what me or Samsung or our design team decides is that in user interfaces through AI we are gonna mix form and function to create the interface for you that is different than the one that I'm gonna have on my phone or my TV so AI we create a”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“TV, the screen as thin as possible that you see on the wall. Is that going to be the design of the TV over AI or is it going to be different? Because this object needs to interact with you in a different way, even without considering AI in an industry where in the past 15 years everything converged towards a very uniform, homogeneous design language, that is the language of minimalism, that is very essential, a language inspired by the Bauhaus, the idea of form follows function, and you strip out anything that is not essential. Is that the design language of the future? Why in the tech industries like this, but then you look at fashion, you look at architecture, automotive, lighting, furniture, and you have so many different kind of design languages. There is so much diversity and choice reflecting human diversity.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Look, AI is going to change the way we interact with all the devices that surround us. In the company, we have a mobile business that is mobile phone and wearables. We have all the world of television and sound systems. And then we have all the world of appliances in consumer electronics. These are the three big businesses. Each of this territory is evolving and transforming through AI. And so I give you an example how the television is evolving in the next few years. We are not talking about the future. In the next few years, moving from a device where you are passively receiving content to a device that essentially is your AI companion, how the design of this device is changing. You know, the traditional television before AI is a frameless.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Like any title in any company, it means that I'm positioning a certain level in the organization, that is the highest level close to the CO. So it's not about P&D, but it's about credibility. But mostly it's the message that Samsung is sending both to the company and the employees and then to the world that they believe in design is a message both internal and external.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Areas we are more experimenting and trying things. But I think, once again, when you dry transformation is to have very, very clear what is going to be your journey. And understanding that it's a journey that requires time. And you need to stick to your plan and you need to be very clear about the different steps you need to take. I'm coming here to Samsung with a very clear playbook of how to do it at work for me in the past. And it seems that it's working also here.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“When we talk about me as a designer introducing a new approach, we are for sure in the occasional leap of faith. I had one full year to identify my co-conspirators and were working on building the proof points and things are progressing in the right direction. Milandes and Wiki is an example of how the company is letting me take multiple ideas that embody the new philosophy all the way to the world in public. So it's, you know, there is support, there is sponsorship from the top. They want to drive this evolution of design. I found my conspirators and I'm landing, you know, the first projects and the first initiative. If you talk instead about AI, similar things even though in some areas with AI we are already scaling up the use of AI in many different areas of the organization, while in other areas.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“What I usually do is to identify what I call the co conspirators, people that get it in the organization. With them, I build proof points. I show that actually that thing can drive real value. And then I storytell the heck out of it. I internally, externally, I use my personal social media, the social media of the company could interviews platforms like this one right now, Bob. And then a lot of informal communication within the company to celebrate the new approach, to celebrate what that approach can drive and celebrate the people, the co-conspirators that have been driving this. So this is how progressively more and more people are like, wait a second. Oh, I didn't see the value there. I want to be part of it. And then you start to scale it up.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The moment you try to transform anything in a company, you have resistance. I mean, strategies I've been using over the years. Again, not just in AI, because we mentioned in the beginning of this conversation, being the first ever chief design officer in these three multinational corporations. So my life.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But what is interesting is not my perspective or AI perspective, but it's the blend in between the two. And this is when I talk about interaction between human and AI. I mean, the reality is if you let AI do everything, then your company is going to progressively look more and more like the other company because AI is going to become more and more like a commodity. human inputs, the interaction between the human perspective and the AI perspective is what is going to generate something that is original. A third perspective, we live in a world that is very competitive and obviously cost is a lever that companies have, but quality of what you do, new ideas, innovation is an incredible lever as well.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“As soon as AI started to be a thing, I remember in my previous company immediately I created a task force to jump on it and leverage it in a moment where a lot of designers were pushing back like crazy on AI. We decided, no, this is an incredible opportunity. And today we're using it extensively in so many different ways in the company and is really increasing the productivity meaning his increase is accelerating the speed but mostly is increasing the quality of what we do. I think one of the biggest values that AI bring to the table today is that it's bringing in a very different perspective. Eventually with the AI biases, you know.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Of problem, you know, you find the solution to that in this care for each other, in this love for each other. This became many years ago a mission in life, a call, you know, that I have. And when Samsung called me, I've been always fascinated by the world of consumer electronics, I did my thesis in the 90s in wearable technologies. So it's been always a passion of mine and technology is a tool and you can drive it in one direction or the other and we should all talk today about what is the right direction. And again, this care for people for humanity and making sure that technology is there at the service of people is fundamental.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We shouldn't talk about AIS, AI NO, or Robos, yes or robust not. They're going to happen. They're going to happen. We should talk about rules, policies, you know, constraints, you know, the boundaries. Yes. But even before that, we should talk about what is going to inform those policies and boundaries. And this is the love I talk about. I make the example of my parents because people can connect with that because there is an obvious love connection between a son and the father and the mother. There is a lot of conversations about the potential of AI, what AI can do or cannot do. But if we will talk more about caring for each other, about loving each other, many of the problems we have, you know, the hate we find in social media, the conflicts that we see all around the world, the problems that we have with technology, the problems that we have with brands and companies, any kind of...”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Look, I'm glad you are mentioning this because essentially when I talk about humanity, what I'm trying to do push and pitch to the world, not just Samsung, but to the world in general, is the idea that we need an ethical compass. What we can control as business leaders, you know, you, Bob, Mima, or each of all the people listening to us right now, we have a role here. No matter our titles, no matter what we do in life, we have a role to remind the world that what we need is care, is love for humanity. Now, there are designers that don't care and there are designers that do, as there are business leaders that don't care and business leader that do, is my responsibility and an opportunity that I have because of the voice that I have, the platform that these companies give me to remind the world that in this conversation right now,”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Italian robots, you have small robots that are more about emotional companionship. In this kind of house, our appliances will change. The robot will be the main interface between you and some of these appliances. AI is going to be in your house, how your TV, your refrigerator, your speakers will evolve, what will be the role, what will be the shape of these devices, where they will be placed, and then you go back to today and you start to influence the development of those products in the right direction. And this is influencing, by the way, eventually strategies of acquisitions, partnerships, you know, or research that you can do.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“There are three horizons that we're considering. One is the short horizons. You start from the products of today and you try to advance them in an incremental way, even though obviously you always try to figure out if there is something breakthrough that you can implement quickly. Then there is a second horizon where I need to figure out how I can do something that is more radical. the area where the four categories apply the most is the long-term horizon. This is where you define the future portfolio of the company. If there are products that maybe in the future won't exist anymore because robots will do a lot of things that eventually other devices do today. So those devices will need to evolve, need to be redesigned. Let's say in 10 years time in a house where you have multiple kind of robots, you have humanoids, you have utility.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Especially when they were kids. So already today, when people are not with us, either because we are in another side of the world, or maybe because they are not with us in this world anymore, we can preserve their memories, their emotions, their knowledge, but more than ever now with AI, we can literally build digital twins of people. It will happen organically because the more we share everything we do with AI devices, AI platforms, the more these platforms will learn about us and we'll be able to replicate us in some formal way. My parents are in their 80s. I hope they're going to live for the next 50 years. But when they're not with me anymore, I would love to have a moment, you know, let's say I have a moment of difficulty, to have the possibility to ask my dad, what would you do if you were me? In all of this, you see that the technology is just a tool, is at the service of you.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Is literally about using robots and AI to increase the productivity of what you do, or ideally to do things on your behalf so that you can be free of technology and do whatever you want with or without technology is up to you, is your choice. The third dimension, they live loud is the word of creativity, self-expression is about using technology to express yourself. It could go from creating content for social media all the way to, for instance, creating your startup from the comfort of your living room using those technologies. And then the fourth dimension is what we call live-on, is about transcending yourself and preserving memories. We are saving pictures and videos of the people we love. I have thousands and thousands of pictures and videos of my family members and I have almost nothing of, for instance, my grandparents or”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The pillar of what we're doing with design assumptions is this really making sure that designers are the voice of humanity in the organization. I identify four different territories, four categories where to focus on. The first one is what I call live longer. Then there is live better, live loud, and live on. Longer means all those technologies, most of them are wearable technologies that we have to monitor your body and help you with your physical and mental well-being. And then all those technologies that are there for your safety. The safety of yourself, of your loved ones, of your pet, of your home, of your belongings. The second one, the live better, is all about using technology to free up time, to do what you love the most.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Did it very, very well. But if you really want to create value long term for your organization, if you build a culture that is really human-centered, a culture that is really thinking, what is the ideal world for the people I serve?”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The parallel is really interesting. When I joined PepsiCo and I'm doing the same year now, the same thing here and now in Samsung, what I'm telling my teams is forget the other guys. We can't design against a competitor. That's really the wrong approach. We need to really focus on people and really understand how can we create the most extraordinary solution for them. And when I say solution, it means the best product, the best service, the best experience, the best communication and storytelling. If you work against a competitor, you may end up being blind to a season of opportunities that eventually are new to the industry, are different for the industry. If you just focus on the competitor, you may do very interesting things, don't take me wrong. There are endless cases of companies that focus on bidding the competitor.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Look, I was surprised by those comments too. Designing corporation is somehow struggling. The design community made huge promises in the first decade of the new millennium about the power of design thinking. And then”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“About the fact that you will do missteps and mistakes, but again, you also need to show as much as possible what you bring to the table.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Your own identity and be unique and original. Already when I moved as an Italian to the United States, there were many things that I didn't understand that were alien to me. They were weird to me, honestly. But, you know, you need to really analyze yourself, analyze the culture you are in front of and understand what are the unique strands that I bring to the table. So here it's a culture that is very organized. There is this vision coming from the top and then an army of people that can execute if used in the right ways is very powerful because they are able to move really quick. Obviously, you know, I was called to bring in a vision that is adding to the one that the company already had in design. So I spent really the past year trying to understand what were the strengths of the company and try to understand how I can bring something different. I'm still in the middle of it. You need to be, I think, very transparent.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Idea of being suspended between different words. I grew up in Italy in the north of Italy from parents from the south in a moment in time in Italy where the south and the north were really divided. I will go around my neighborhood. It was clear there was no belonging there. But then when I was going to the south on vacation during the summer, for sure I was not belonging there either. So already then when I was a child, I lived in this gray area, in this suspension between different identity. If you talk to the design world, often they're like, well, but you're a business person. But then if you talk to the business world, they are totally like, you are not one of us. And so you don't belong there either. Often people are uncomfortable when they don't have a specific label, when they don't belong. The message I want to send, especially to the new generation of people that are trying to define their identity, often in those gray areas, you can design.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It is actually even before I remember I was a student in university in the 90s and I was observing how Samsung was progressively transforming to become an iconic design leader in the world. So I've been fascinated with Samsung already. I hire people out of Samsung to join me for instance in 3M. And when I joined PepsiCo, as you just mentioned, I ask Indra if she wanted to go and see some companies that were really seriously invested in design. And so we took the plane and we came all the way to Korea. And so it is full circle.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And that was the first at 3 a.m. as well. So, and I'm saying this because The jobs are really similar, no matter the industry. You know, I'm an industrial designer. I spent at 3M 10 years in tech. And then I first, I did this first mega leap, giant leap to go to a completely different kind of industry in food and beverage. I never worked in that industry. And then one year ago again, I do another giant step. It's not just, you know, going back to the consumer tech industry, but moving to a completely different region of the world. Because designers, what they do is they observe people, their needs, their wants, and they try to build solutions. The methodologies we use, the approach we have is transversal to any kind of industry. Obviously, the companies are different. The culture is different. I'm European. I work for many years in the United States, and now I'm working Korea, you know, a different world, but we're very similar challenges.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Samsung Design Open Lab is an open laboratory with a lot of experiments mixed with Sanko commercial products. The reality is if you let AI do everything, then your company is gonna progressively look more and more like the other company because AI is gonna become more and more like a commodity. You know the human inputs, the interaction between the human perspective and the AI perspective is what is going to generate something that is original.”
2026-04-21 · Masters of Scale · A first look at Samsung’s blueprint to win the AI era, with Mauro Porcini · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT