Ever wonder why Alexa, Siri, Cortana, and Google Home speak in female voices? Users find them “more cordial” and “sympathetic” than male voices, which enables us to see computers as “helpful” and “caring,” according to this story last year. This means they’re discernibly subservient and therefore contribute to sexism, according to Read more…
After reading the fact sheet on a client’s new product for the third time earlier this morning, I threw my hands in the air. I had no idea what they were talking about. The document was full of every conceivable buzzword, from deployment and integration to a half-dozen technologies and Read more…
A recent study of UK consumers found that “only 11% state that they enjoy advertising.” I’m surprised the number was so high. Advertising was never supposed to be entertaining; it was conceived as an interruption, or a necessary evil to be endured so that we could pay less for newspapers Read more…
BofA reports its use of algorithms that study language in earnings calls to inform buy and sell decisions yielded a 6+% improvement in performance. According to the Financial Times, “…unclear language is being identified as a consistent signal to sell a company’s stock.” In other words, BofA has invented a Read more…
The average industrial brand presence on social media is a highly crafted and tightly managed thing. There’s compelling theology that dictates what should and shouldn’t be shared, as well as how it must integrate with corporate messaging overall. It’s mostly wrong. Don’t believe me? Just name the industrial brand that Read more…
I just got back from Hannover Messe, and I’m evermore convinced that it’s the best trade show in the world. It’s not the sexiest — entire rooms were dedicated to valves and switches — and the brand names weren’t well-known, if not often unpronounceable. The attendees were shopping for stuff Read more…
The declared mission of Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence is “to advance AI research, education, policy, and practice to improve the human condition.” It makes me think we’re doomed. For starters, the phrase “human-centered artificial intelligence” is an oxymoron, since AI is based on silicon and code, not people. Read more…
Boeing’s 737 Max woes have the experts out in droves with opinions about what the publicity means for the company’s reputation. Here’s a shorthand answer: Nothing. Most of the blather about corporate reputation centers on contending with the vicissitudes of media coverage. Boeing should have said so-and-so, or said something Read more…
Earlier this week, scientists called for a ‘global moratorium’ on creating genetically modified babies. This, of course, is in contrast to the traditional way of mixing genes together, which I assume they still heartily endorse. The problem is that the same technology developed to prevent congenital diseases could be used Read more…
Facebook faces ongoing and growing scrutiny for its abuses of user privacy, not to mention of the truth. Last week, its CEO said it would explore offering communications tools that were private, secure, and then evaporated after being read or viewed (the quality is called ephemerality). “It’s a statement of the Read more…