Verge's Report Card for AI in 2018

Nicely put piece in the Verge gives it a B grade.   Refers to some its own writing.  Not enough about how internal company work is improving efficiency and thus resource use.  And also not much about the resulting change in labor needs for specific industries. Or about how the very definition of AI influences how it is with used with other 'Automation'.    And yes:   Its still not magic.   Or  even very creative yet.  Still a very good read:

The Verge 2018 tech report card: AI   By James Vincent   @jjvincent

As for much of the tech industry, 2018 has been a year of reckoning for artificial intelligence. As AI systems have been integrated into more products and services, the technology’s shortcomings have become clearer. Researchers, companies, and the general public have all begun to grapple more with the limitations of AI and its adverse effects, asking important questions like: how is this technology being used, and for whose benefit? ... 

Looking over the year as a whole one lesson stands out: AI is not magic. It is not a two-letter incantation that can be used to summon venture capital and institutional confidence at a whim; nor is it fairy dust that can be sprinkled over products and institutions for instant improvements. Artificial intelligence is a process: something to be examined, deliberated, and — if all goes well — understood. In other words, long may the reckoning continue.

Disney Magic via Big Data and MagicBand

Interesting examples of a company providing magic via big data.  Disney, quite an entertainment colossus now, is known for leveraging emerging technology. Only one example:

" ... Enter: The MagicBand. It's the magic potion, so to speak, for Disney's MyMagic+ initiative. A wearable piece of technology, customized with your color preference and name, and equipped with RFID as well as a (rumored) long-range radio transceiver. While donning the band on Disney property, your to-the-minute behaviors are collected, processed and activated in real time so that Disney can respond more efficiently and relevantly than ever before. It eliminates the need for room keys, parking tickets and credit cards, thus creating the ultimate convenience for park-goers while also providing Disney with critical data on the behaviors of it's customers. ...  " 

IT Driving Employee Passion

Good IT is a magical thing that can drive employees to do new things.  My reaction to the title here. Why else does everyone have a smartphone and/or a tablet, and refers to it constantly?.  You could not have imagined old technology ... a Rolodex, Adding Machine, a tethered phone or a Sears Catalog would have been quite the same thing.  It can be obsessively used, but at the same time the opportunities are endless.  Just create the right App.   Now we have much more, in a nice compact form.  Use it wisely.

Future of Physical Retailing: Magical Experience

GigaOM writes about showrooming, the increasing tendency of shoppers to experience a product at a store, and then buy it online or elsewhere by searching or scanning it to compare prices and features.  We saw this tendency early on during experiments with a major retailer.  The example of Best Buy  is used in the article since electronics and computers are a typical example where the practice is common.  Good statistics are provided.

Is there a solution for the physical retailer?  One suggestion is that store create better experiences, akin to the Apple Store, that engage the shopper with the experience, and more naturally lead to purchase.  How is the magic best introduced in physical locations?  Augmented reality experiences?  Or online?  Show happy people interacting.  Trust and followup support and service are other key components of expensive and complex purchases.  So making these aspects as seamless as possible is another component that can differentiate the interaction.  This works best for some products, less for others.

Once in the store the shopper should also be advised of all the associated capabilities, add-ons and  accessories needed to make the purchase successful.  And afterwards need to be reminded of where they made the purchase and the magic of the experience.

Following the issue and potential solutions closely.