[Miscellany] Lack of originality, lack of empathy, and the upside of competition

This is another one of those blog posts where I put together some interesting stories that I have come across, recently. I will go chronologically (i.e., by date in which that blog post was published).

Same old, same old 

One of the worries about generative AI is that it will result in the end of original ideas. After all, if technology such as ChatGPT, Bard or Dall-E produces output by learning from previous, similar examples, we are likely to see a rehashing of old ideas. 

However, as Alex Murrell demonstrates so well in “The age of average”, our idea of art, home décor, city landscapes, product design and even faces do tend towards homogeneity. Murrell see this as an opportunity:

“Whether you’re in film or fashion, media or marketing, architecture, automotive or advertising, it doesn’t matter. Our visual culture is flatlining and the only cure is creativity.

It’s time to cast aside conformity. It’s time to exorcise the expected. It’s time to decline the indistinguishable.

For years the world has been moving in the same stylistic direction. And it’s time we reintroduced some originality.

Or as the ad agency BBH says.

When the world zigs. Zag.“

At more than 6,000 words, this post is quite a long read. But every single example discussed is great. Do check it.

Efficiency vs. empathy; inflexibility vs. empowerment

Last week, a wonderful lady called Ester, helped me changed some flight bookings. I had already spent a lot of time on British Airways’ website; then, with the chatbot; followed by a live chat with a human agent who told me that I would have to call a certain phone number. I called said number and, after a series of menus and time on hold, finally managed to talk with Ester who told me that I would have to call a different number. However, when I explained my fruitless journey thus far, she decided to help me, even though it was not straightforward for her.

I was very relieved that she had solved my problem. But, most of all, I was delighted that Ester had cared about my situation (empathy), and that she had been able to help me (empowerment). 

My situation was very much the opposite of the situations described by JP in the post “Of Cheap Day Returns and Kletskassa”. JP reflects on how poorly designed systems (from train fares to airport scanners or digital tickets) can make life very difficult for users, when their behaviour deviates from the script:

“Devices will fail. Lost, stolen, out of range, battery dead, screen shattered, microphone or camera not working, Bluetooth disabled, whatever.

Processes will not work as intended. The connection with the mother ship may be down. The mother ship may itself have problems. Stuff happens.

The conditions in which the failure happens are usually the least helpful. Inclement weather; a time when no one is around; a time when everyone is around and everyone is frustrated; long queues here, deserted halls there.

Stuff happens.

(…)

Not everyone is digital-savvy, not everyone has the wherewithal to work around the obstacles formed by failing systems, processes and connections.“

Such problems can usually be solved by empowered and empathetic humans. However, the continued increase in service automation results in fewer and fewer opportunities to work around the limitations of systems. I really wish HMRC would read JP’s post, and rethink the decision to limit all customer support for Self-Assessment to online channels until the start of September. Try explaining to a chatbot that there is an error in your tax records.

Competition is not always bad for business

As many merchants may tell you, there are advantages of being co-located with others that sell products that compete with yours. For instance, gold souks, spices’ traders, farmers’ markets…

A very recent example of this is #Barbenheimer: i.e., the simultaneous release of the movies “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”.

In the post “On #Barbenheimer and competition”, Josh Bernoff shows that the timing of the release is actually good for both studios, even though the movies are competing for viewers’ limited time, budget and attention. I am saving this blog post for future teaching sessions.

What caught your attention, recently?