It’s not just developers and data scientists that are involved with AI. Don’t forget about the designers.
For long, designers make interfaces for flows and content that we as humans have full control of. However, with the rise of AI, we are giving away (a portion of) control away to machines.
When it comes to composing human-like experiences, designers are expected to not be able to live without.
How about this tool TheGrid.io? Instead of designing a website yourself, TheGrid does it for you. It aims for businesses that want microsites and landing pages up and running faster, easier and smarter. The concept involves consistent A/B testing and refinement layouts. However, it has received plenty of criticism from the design community. To many it felt like as feeding the platform with content that just chooses a template with colors that differ. It didn’t feel like building a custom site in an intelligent manner. Eventually, all websites made with TheGrid.io would look similar to each other. Hence, it is said that designers do believe in the potential of AI driven tools to help them build websites, but not in its current state. When designers would get their hands on a tool that’s truly intelligent being able to customize and personalize websites in a data-driven way, it would definitely benefit them.
Often designers need to create visuals and their variations, that can be a time-consuming process. AI can step in here and take over these creative but repetitive tasks. Netflix its system is able to do this via a set of rules. With a standard image asset, original movie posters and banner units are produced automatically through AI. This way, designers can focus on other things, like the customer experience.
ReFUEL4 is a tool that applies predictive analytics to get your ads automatically redesigned. The system recognizes when a campaign is about to perform less and acts accordingly. The AI engine can predict the performance of ad creatives and can refine your ads by replacing the creatives with ones that are expected to perform better. Also, this helps to understand the online journey of users and segment users.
References
Ismail, K. (2017). The Grid AI-Powered Website Builder Doesn’t Check Enough Boxes. [online] CMSWire.com. Available at: https://www.cmswire.com/digital-experience/the-grid-ai-powered-website-builder-doesnt-check-enough-boxes/ [Accessed 19 Oct. 2017].
Krishna, M. (2017). The Future of Artificial Intelligence in UX Design. [online] SitePoint. Available at: https://www.sitepoint.com/artificial-intelligence-in-ux-design/ [Accessed 19 Oct. 2017].
Lyonnais, S. (2017). The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: How AI Will Affect UX Design. [online] Adobe. Available at: https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/the-rise-of-artificial-intelligence-how-ai-will-affect-ux-design/ [Accessed 19 Oct. 2017].
ReFUEL4. (2017). ReFUEL4 – Build, Analyze and Optimize Ad Creative Powered by AI. [online] Available at: https://www.refuel4.com/ [Accessed 19 Oct. 2017].
Technology Of The Week – Disruption Of The Education Industry [Group 50]
6
October
2017
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Platform-mediated networks are disrupting the education industry. Nowadays, education is highly institutionalized, bound to physical locations and costly. Internet changes this. Key innovation for education are digital platforms.
E-learning describes learning situations with the use of IT. Students and teachers are connected through a digital medium.
These developments have led to massive online open courses (MOOCs). Platforms offering MOOCs enable teachers to place their courses including videos, readings, presentation slides and exams that can be accessed by students. These platform-mediated networks connect participants in a two-sided market, the course providers (universities / education institutions) and students (or anyone who wants to learn something).
Van Alstyne et al., (2017).
The platform-mediated networks has built an eco-system on its own, consisting of four different players: producers, consumers, providers and owners. Producers are the parties creating content, e.g., universities. Consumers are the buyers on the platform, in this case students. Providers are devices enabling you to access these platforms and owners are organizations that legally own the platform.
Coursera is an example, where universities offer online courses through a digital platform, with verified certificates upon completion as a main revenue source.
Another example is edX. In contrast to Coursera, edX is a non-profit institution and an open source platform. Its producers are different than what Coursera has. This is because it allows both education institutions and any other party to offer courses. edX allows universities to create courses for its platform for free, and keep the first $50.000 of revenue and a 50% share after this.
We show how platform-mediated networks offerings MOOCs are disrupting the education industry by applying the theory of Newly Vulnerable Markets. The market is newly easy to enter because of reduced entry barriers regarding necessary investment to enter. Furthermore, it is attractive to attack because education is profitable. It is difficult to defend as potential competitors could enter by building their own digital platform.
Besides decreasing costs, MOOCs also enable customization regarding what and when to learn. Teacher-centered learning would become student-centered learning. Higher education becomes more affordable and accessible for students. Consequently, education would be more efficient.
By suggesting new courses based on the student’s study history, positive spillover effects are created. Platforms can rapidly increase the volume of interactions leading to an increasing network effect.
Additionally, the feedback systems embedded in these platforms ask students to evaluate themselves and the course. Students would be more motivated and empowered in terms of improving the course.
The challenge for education institutions is how students could earn academic credits or entire academic degrees equivalent to as they today.
AI and applications such as Gradescope could aid in assessing a student’s progress, which forms another challenge. Moreover, deep learning engines are expected to analyze, interpret and grade assignments without human involvement.
Another challenge is how MOOCs can be personalized and tailored to the needs of a student. A solution would be intelligent systems that facilitate customizable approaches and autonomously develop micro-content. Moreover, gamification and VR could play a role.
Future growth of platform-mediated networks and MOOCs in education is certain. The question is how and when these challenges will be overcome.
References
Coursera. (2017). Coursera | Online Courses From Top Universities. Join for Free. [online] Available at: https://www.coursera.org/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Guisepi, R. (n.d.). The History of Education. [online] History-world.org. Available at: http://history-world.org/history_of_education.htm [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Hicks, K. (2015). The State of the Education Industry in 2015 | Edudemic. [online] Edudemic.com. Available at: http://www.edudemic.com/whoa-education-is-a-7-trillion-dollar-industry/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Kolodny, L. (2016). Coursera expands into corporate learning and development. [online] TechCrunch. Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/31/coursera-expands-into-corporate-learning-and-development/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Kontzer, T. (2016). AI Grading Application Gradescope Shortens Grading Times | NVIDIA Blog. [online] The Official NVIDIA Blog. Available at: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/09/02/gradescope-brings-ai-to-grading/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Kurshan, B. (2016). Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarakurshan/2016/03/10/the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-in-education/#795647642e4d [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Miller, L. (2017). 7 tech innovations that are drastically changing the way people learn. [online] The Next Web. Available at: https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2017/09/11/7-tech-innovations-drastically-changing-way-people-learn/#.tnw_0zRakh9b [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Nces.ed.gov. (2017). Fast Facts. [online] Available at: https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372 [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Seufert, S. (n.d.). Rethinking Management Edition. St. Gallen.
Van Alstyne, M., Parker, G. and Choudary, S. (2017). Pipelines, Platforms, and the New Rules of Strategy. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rules-of-strategy [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Watters, A. (2012). The Problems with Peer Grading in Coursera | Inside Higher Ed. [online] Insidehighered.com. Available at: https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/hack-higher-education/problems-peer-grading-coursera [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Virtual Teams = The Future of Work?
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October
2017
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The internet and other technological developments in cloud services and communications enable more and more companies to shift from having teams physically present in a brick and mortar office to virtual teams consisting of individuals who could be, well, anywhere in the world. This year, Entrepreneur.com reported that 64% of employees at international companies participate in virtual teams of which 54% of these teams were outside of the company’s home country.
Richard Branson forecasted a few years back that “One day, offices will be a thing of the past”. While many companies are still far away from realizing this, others acknowledge the world that’s changing: the rise of millennials, the aforementioned tech developments, visa regulations and ease of travel all play their part.
I am actually a member of a virtual team myself. Studio XID, producing prototyping tool ProtoPie, lets its employees choose where they’d like to work from. Hence, half of the team works in an office space in Seoul and the other half remotely, myself included. As I am based in Rotterdam for now due to studies, this is just ideal for me.
The common reaction I receive is:
Working remotely, is that even possible?
Uh, yeah! There are tons of tools that can help you. Slack is perfect for team communications. For a lot of teams, it’s nearly a religion! The full force of G Suite is something that we can’t live without. As we are in SaaS, GitHub (dev) and Abstract (design) are indispensable regarding version control. JIRA helps us working according to the Scrum framework. The list goes on and on. I think you get the point now.
According to Harvard Business Review, it turns out that virtual teams are more engaged as proximity breeds complacency and absence encourages people to try harder connecting. A study from MIT Sloan showed that dispersed teams can actually be more productive than ones that are co-located. Moreover, working remotely increases flexibility and freedom, boosts morale, reduces costs, benefits work-life balance and grants easier access to an international talent pool.
Virtual teams don’t come without drawbacks and challenges. As costs for office space and commute could be reduced, costs for communication technology would rise. Furthermore, there could be less cohesiveness and lack of social interactions. In some industries, there would be security and compliance risks when working remotely. Also, virtual teams would have to adjust their schedules to overcome time zone differences.
In my opinion, the advantages of virtual teams and working remotely outweigh the disadvantages. Personally, I have been reaping the benefits while being able to deal with challenges of working remotely. However, it really depends on your needs and your industry as well.
Companies like Buffer, InVision and Zapier all have teams that operate completely remotely and more are expected to follow.
Would you see yourself working in a virtual team?
References
Bibby, A. and Rozier, A. (2017). 10 Stats About Remote Work – Remote.co. [online] Remote.co. Available at: https://remote.co/10-stats-about-remote-work/ [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
Bloch, R. (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of a Virtual Workforce. [online] Thehartford.com. Available at: https://www.thehartford.com/business-playbook/in-depth/virtual-workplace-advantages-disadvantages [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
Ciotti, G. (2016). How Remote Teams Are Becoming the Future of Work. [online] Helpscout.net. Available at: https://www.helpscout.net/blog/virtual-teams/ [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
D’Alessio, F. (2017). Top 20 Remote Working Apps – The Mission – Medium. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/the-mission/top-20-remote-working-apps-12f00011d4e [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
Dua, A. (2017). Why Virtual Teams Are The Future Of Workplace Culture – Inc42 Media. [online] Inc42 Media. Available at: https://inc42.com/entrepreneurship/virtual-teams-future/ [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
Edinger, S. (2012). Why Remote Workers Are More (Yes, More) Engaged. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2012/08/are-you-taking-your-people-for [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
Eugenio, S. (2017). 3 Ways Virtual Workers Make Organizations More Effective. [online] Entrepreneur. Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/289316 [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
MVT. (n.d.). Advantages and Challenges of Virtual Work Teams. [online] Available at: http://managing-virtual-teams.com/en/virtual-teams-articles/project-management/advantages-and-challenges-of-virtual-work-teams.html [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
Pinola, M. (2017). 25+ Fully Remote Companies That Let You Work From Anywhere. [online] The Zapier Blog. Available at: https://zapier.com/blog/companies-hiring-remote-workers/ [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
Shin, L. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/03/31/at-these-125-companies-all-or-most-employees-work-remotely/#3fefe8f6530c [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
Wright, C. (2017). Are Virtual Companies Our Future?. [online] HuffPost. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/are-virtual-companies-our-future_us_59104cb3e4b046ea176aed10 [Accessed 2 Oct. 2017].
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