In 2023, emotional AI—technology that can sense and interact with human emotions—will become one of the dominant applications of machine learning. For instance, Hume AI, founded by Alan Cowen, a former Google researcher, is developing tools to measure emotions from verbal, facial, and vocal expressions. Swedish company Smart Eyes recently acquired Affectiva, the MIT Media Lab spinoff that developed the SoundNet neural network, an algorithm that classifies emotions such as anger from audio samples in less than 1.2 seconds. Even the video platform Zoom is introducing Zoom IQ, a feature that will soon provide users with real-time analysis of emotions and engagement during a virtual meeting.
https://www-wired-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-empathy/amp
SAMSUNG AND PATAGONIA MAKE AN UNLIKELY PAIRING IN THE FIGHT AGAINST OCEAN MICROPLASTICS
Tech giant Samsung and eco-minded clothier Patagonia have teamed up to tackle ocean pollution. In a statement released earlier this month, Samsung says that “together, the companies are working on a feasible, effective and expandable way to combat the microplastics that result from textiles and laundry.”
https://futurevvorld.com/design/samsung-patagonia-microplastics-filter-washing-machines-ces-2022-ocean-pollution/
‘This song sucks’: Nick Cave responds to ChatGPT song written in style of Nick Cave
“Writing a good song is not mimicry, or replication, or pastiche, it is the opposite,” he wrote. “It is an act of self-murder that destroys all one has strived to produce in the past. It is those dangerous, heart-stopping departures that catapult the artist beyond the limits of what he or she recognises as their known self.
“This is part of the authentic creative struggle that precedes the invention of a unique lyric of actual value; it is the breathless confrontation with one’s vulnerability, one’s perilousness, one’s smallness, pitted against a sense of sudden shocking discovery; it is the redemptive artistic act that stirs the heart of the listener, where the listener recognizes in the inner workings of the song their own blood, their own struggle, their own suffering.”
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/17/this-song-sucks-nick-cave-responds-to-chatgpt-song-written-in-style-of-nick-cave
Traditional economic indicators can’t predict the timing of a downturn, but newer forecasting methods are untested.
“The signals are mixed in a way that we haven’t seen before,” says Claudia Sahm, an economist and the founder of Sahm Consulting in Arlington, Virginia. “People say, ‘Historically when this happens, that happens, and then we go into a recession.’ That’s a good starting place, but that shouldn’t be the end place for the analysis.” The former Fed economist came up with her own real-time recession test. Called the Sahm Rule, it holds that when the three-month moving average of the unemployment rate rises by 0.5 percentage point or more relative to the low in the previous 12 months, a downturn has begun. (The current reading doesn’t indicate a recession.)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-25/how-close-is-the-us-to-recession-why-experts-are-struggling-to-predict-it
Why leaders are missing the point of trendwatching
We often feel the need to arm ourselves with these trend tomes to give us a glimpse into what many believe is absolutely going to happen and hence prepare for it. It strikes me as somewhat ironic then, that this year there are more trends reports than in any previous year and yet we seem to be less prepared than ever.
https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/why-leaders-missing-point-trendwatching/opinion/article/1811151?utm_content=buffer0bb0b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Digital Twins Are Set For Rapid Adoption In 2023
The idea of digital twins — digital representations of physical systems, products or processes that serve as indistinguishable counterparts for purposes such as simulations, testing, monitoring and maintenance — has been around for some time. But indications are the concept’s time has come for wider adoption to support business applications.
https://frankdiana.net/2023/01/24/digital-twins-are-set-for-rapid-adoption-in-2023/
Related Report: Pre-emptive Culture Mapping: Exploring a System of Language to Better Understand the Abstract Traits of Human Interaction | presentation slides
Black Pilled – Seeking new relationships with technology
Today, most people use computers more like television. Mostly consuming software and content other people have made.
https://www.thebestsubstack.com/p/black-pilled
50-ish words you can use to show that you care without incriminating yourself.
AI researchers often say good machine learning is really more art than science. The same could be said for effective public relations. Selecting the right words to strike a positive tone or reframe the conversation about AI is a delicate task: done well, it can strengthen one’s brand image, but done poorly, it can trigger an even greater backlash.
The tech giants would know. Over the last few years, they’ve had to learn this art quickly as they’ve faced increasing public distrust of their actions and intensifying criticism about their AI research and technologies.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/04/13/1022568/big-tech-ai-ethics-guide/?utm_medium=tr_social&utm_campaign=site_visitor.unpaid.engagement&utm_source=Twitter&s=09
Building Trust with the Algorithms in Our Lives
Consumers are wary of the recommendations made by algorithms. But according to new research co-authored by Yale SOM’s Taly Reich, showing that an algorithm can learn—that it improves over time—helps to resolve this distrust.
https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/building-trust-with-the-algorithms-in-lives
What do we mean by flexibility? (developing a new language for the future of work)
Flexibility is often used loosely to mean not working in the office. We’re all still having those, ‘How many days are you in?’ conversations as hybrid working continues to evolve. Post-pandemic, however, expectations of flexible working are much broader than before. Recognizing this, Unilever’s approach is more holistic.
External data and commentary suggest that most people look for what we call ‘everyday’ flexibility – the ability to manage and adjust start and finish times, the freedom to manage work commitments in and around life commitments and for work to be measured in outputs delivered, rather than hours worked.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/flexible-working-productivity-and-growth-davos23?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social_scheduler&utm_term=Davos+2023&utm_content=24/01/2023+05:00
Related report: Work in the Pandemic Age
Analyzing Trends with Tim Stock 