Low-Fi Data, Belgium Future Proof? & Vibrators data - CWI#73

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing everything, and the Design industry is no exception. As AI enters our design toolkit, the opportunities are exponential and unknown. Well-established heuristics, design language systems and user interface toolkits will make it possible to train AI to learn the basic principles of designing a great digital product. Some time-consuming design processes will increasingly be automated, others may become obsolete.

With the help of AI, datasets become rich sources for innovation. Design-forward companies like Airbnb and Netflix have long been integrating AI into their products and services to personalize experiences. Photography platform EyeEm is using machines to assess image data by training AI to define qualities like ‘beautiful.’ By deploying AI across all phases of a project, designers can take a much broader and more meaningful perspective on their creations.

Meanwhile, as AI becomes embedded into our products and services, designers are tasked not just with creating machines for humans, but creating machines that are human-like. In the process, we’re dissecting what it means to actually be human ourselves. As more consumers demand their AI not just have a personality, but a charismatic one that they want in their lives, we enter into an unprecedented level of intimacy between human and machine. To succeed in this world will require a human-centered touch.

Looking forward, the way we think about capturing data will change. Along with rich, high-fidelity datasets that reveal a lot about users, there will be a need for a new class of data rich in something else: anonymity. Low-fidelity audio data capture will focus on the quality of a conversation, not the subject matter. With location and heat-mapping sensors, we’ll be able to draw conclusions about people’s behavior, but not who’s behaving. Sensors that capture low-fidelity images enable us to know someone’s there, but not who it is.

We all know big data is big business. It’s why our smartphones measure nearly every aspect of our existence, from how far we walk to how long we sleep. It’s why sensors are embedded in our devices and installed in our spaces to track our movement, then connect to the web to enable smart services. The trouble is they measure too much and collect unnecessary, potentially intrusive information. Concerns around privacy and security are inhibiting the development of data-driven experiences. Enter instead a focus on low-fidelity inputs: collecting the data that is needed and only the data that is needed. Sensors certified and branded as “Lo-Fi” will be welcome everywhere and trusted by all.