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NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF DESIGN AND MARKETING
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💀 Klarna is All-In on AI, Plans to Slash Workforce in Half
Klarna has announced its intention to leverage AI for increased efficiency, cutting its workforce significantly while enhancing operational output.
• AI-Driven Job Reductions: Klarna plans to reduce its headcount from 3,800 to 2,000, attributing the cuts to AI’s ability to perform tasks with greater efficiency.
• Enhanced Customer Service: AI chatbots have reduced customer query resolution times from 11 minutes to just 2, effectively replacing the work of 700 employees.
• My Take: This is the story that scares people. When companies tell you exactly how they're going to eliminate the jobs of their employees to raise profits, it shows where companies are putting their priorities.
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✅ Test Yourself: Which Faces Were Made by A.I.?
The New York Times has a new quiz that lets you run through a series of images and guess if they're real photos or AI-generated images.
I got 7 out of 10
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䷂ WPP Unveils AI-Powered Production Studio
WPP announces the launch of its AI-powered production studio, highlighting a significant leap forward in content creation and production capabilities for marketing professionals.
• Efficient Content Creation: The AI-powered studio can automate and accelerate the content creation process, allowing marketers to produce high-quality materials at a faster rate.
• Enhanced Creativity and Personalization: By leveraging AI, the studio offers tools for creating more personalized and creatively rich content, tailored to specific audience segments and preferences.
• My Take: Another example of a company relying on AI to reduce the need for people.
Originally shared by Tau Kapow in the RISE community
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🔮 Confronting Impossible Futures
Ethan Mollick explores how organizations are failing to adequately plan for the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, despite its transformative potential.
• Lack of Preparedness: Many organizations with long-term planning horizons are not actively strategizing for continuous AI advancements.
• Uncertain Trajectories: Predictions for AI’s future vary widely, from imminent breakthroughs to skepticism about reaching Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) soon.
• My Take: Listen to Ethan Mollick. Companies aren't doing enough, so I hope you're spending time to learn how to integrate AI on your own.
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🖥️ The next phase of interface design? How AI could streamline the way we use our devices
Design studios, Modem and Mouthwash, want to build an AI layer on top of all of our applications
• Versatile Interface Design: The project showcases how adaptable interfaces can streamline diverse tasks, allowing users to switch contexts seamlessly and improve overall efficiency.
• Human-Centered Technology: Modem and Mouthwash emphasizes creating technology that prioritizes human needs and experiences, fostering more intuitive and user-friendly digital interactions.
• My Take: We're already seeing this trend where AI is layered into all applications. Pretty soon, the first-mover advantage will disapate.
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👩🏼🎨 Adobe Adds New AI Tools to Photoshop and Illustrator
Adobe has introduced new AI-powered features to its Photoshop and Illustrator applications, enhancing creative workflows and efficiency.
Photoshop Enhancements:
• Selection Brush Tool: Allows users to select areas by brushing over them, eliminating the need for Quick Mask mode.
• Adjustment Brush Tool: Enables painting adjustments to brightness, saturation, and more, with fine-tuning options.
• Generate Image Feature: Utilizes text prompts and reference images to produce multiple ideas rapidly.
Illustrator Enhancements:
• Generative Shape Fill: Fills shapes with detailed, color-matched content based on text prompts, aligning with existing artwork styles.
• Text to Pattern: Simplifies the creation, editing, and scaling of seamless vector patterns, offering crisper graphics and new UI controls.
These updates aim to streamline design processes, allowing creators to focus more on their artistic vision.
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🖐️ Five Ways AI Can Augment User Experience Design
Consultancy.eu explores how AI is transforming user experience (UX) design, offering innovative solutions that enhance the way users interact with digital products.
• Personalized Experiences: AI can analyze user behavior and preferences to create highly personalized experiences, tailoring content and interfaces to individual users for greater engagement and satisfaction.
• Predictive Analytics: By leveraging predictive analytics, AI can anticipate user needs and actions, allowing designers to address potential issues and optimize the user journey proactively.
Read about the other three ways
Design Quote of the Week
“The best way to accomplish serious design…is to be totally and completely unqualified for the job.”
– Paula Scher
My AI disclaimer: I write the main stories by hand (with occasional assistance from Grammarly). The quick news hits are articles I've found, which I run through a ChatGPT prompt to generate the synopsis and bullet points. However, I write the My Take bullet. If AI generates the images, I include the prompt so you can see how I got to that image. Nothing in this newsletter, or anything I publish anywhere, reflects the views of my employer.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great New Year!
–Jim
