Tomorrow's customers will interact with intelligent technologies like talking toasters, intelligent sequins that change color based on tweets, and AI assistants. AI is advancing to become more human-like through technologies like conversational agents, virtual storefronts that understand customer intent, and predictive analytics in healthcare. However, challenges remain around potential job losses to automation, privacy concerns from extensive personal data collection, and ensuring AI remains helpful rather than making autonomous decisions without human oversight. The future of customer service is shifting as AI and robotics are applied to areas like logistics, transportation, and retail to improve efficiency and experience.

1. From talking toasters to intelligent sequins:
How tomorrow’s customers will interact with their world
By Nicola Strong
@nicolastrong
2017

2. https://www.earlytech.com/earlytech/item?id=32&image=1004
We have been
designing machines
for a while.
This is a Negretti
Orrery designed and
built in 19th Century

3. Karakuri puppets have been
part of Japanese culture
since the 18th Century
http://www.britishmuseum.org/

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRq_SAuQDec
Would
anyone like
some toast?
Looking into the future the popular UK TV series, Red Dwarf, features a
series of helpful assistants… such as the Talkie Toaster

5. Narrow AI Broad or
General AI
Does one
specific task
better than
a human
A computer
“mind” that
can think like
a human

6. Narrow AI in action
Does one specific task
better than a human

7. The march of the algorithm
Humans would
write all the
programmes or
machine code
Automation
Humans present a
requirement or
issue and AI can
design the
algorithms
Machine Learning
Where humans and
AI work together
Augmentation

8. Artificial Intelligence software
revenue to reach $59.8 Billion
worldwide by 2025
https://www.tractica.com/newsroom/press-releases/artificial-
intelligence-software-revenue-to-reach-59-8-billion-worldwide-by-2025/http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS42439617
Worldwide Spending on
Cognitive and Artificial
Intelligence Systems
Forecast to Reach $12.5
Billion This Year, According
to New IDC Spending
Guide
Investment and spending in 2017

9. What about the
use of AI in
customer
service?
Loyal suitcases?

10. Virtual storefronts that
adapt their products as
you browse through a
visual catalogue,
figuring out your intent
in real time just like a
shop assistant
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11939
915/Worlds-most-funded-AI-company-Sentient-
Technologies-launches-online-shopping-product.html
Clothing

11. https://youtu.be/qjOnPw85HTw
Introducing
Janela™
Smart
Products
Platform
BORN
DIGITAL
https://youtu.be/AZXjwZJqgyM http://fashnerd.com/2017/01/born-digital-technologyfashion-brands/

12. Intelligent
sequins
Cognitive dress
designed by
Marchesa and IBM
Watson. Met Gala
in 2016.
The dress is linked
to the IBM tone
analyser service.
This causes the
lights to change
colour according to
the emotional
content of the
tweets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Jry6UPNP8

13. Stitch Fix
“Stitch Fix is the
personal style
service for men and
women that evolves
with your tastes,
needs and lifestyle”

14. Jeroen Tas, Chief Innovation &
Strategy Officer at Philips, offered
some examples of the volumes of
data recorded to make it work.
AI Summit 2017
https://www.philips.com/a-w/about/company/our-
management/executive-committee/jeroen-tas.html
What about
using AI
powered
predicative
analytics in
healthcare?

15. That is a lot of explicit and implicit data about us
http://www.igyaan.in/115491/facial-recognition-the-new-national-security-weapon-of-other-countries/

16. Population
health
management
using AI:
the results
Presentation by Jeroen Tas
Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer
Philips
AI Summit in London 2017

17. Robots and AI reading human’s behaviour
• Human behaviour tracking
• Expression
• Body language
• Behaviours systems
• Task-based interactions
• Gaze
• Ethics
• Personality
Source: Heather Knight: Are robots the new vampires?
Empathy,
intuition and
imagination?

18. AI Chatbot, Nadia, uses EI to support 500,000 people with disabilities to
interact with the Government run National Disability Insurance Scheme

19. In your home…
should your
virtual assistant
fulfil your needs
before you ask?
Or even
anticipate and
prevent you from
making mistakes?
Human
bias v
AI bias

20. McDonald’s plan to replace
2500 staff in their outlets in
2017. With a further 3000
staff going in 2018
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-
23/mcdonalds-replacing-2500-human-cashiers-
digital-kiosks-here-its-math
Food retail:
The changing
shape of
customer
service

21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRq_SAuQDec
Would
anyone like
some toast?

22. Source : VIV.ai - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=016w517R1Hw
Can do more complex personal assistant functions.
Here is a visual illustrating how VIV makes a hotel
room booking in line with specific personal criteria.

23. Meet Marvel Comic’s super hero, Iron Man.
Seen here in his personalised flying armour suit managed by his personal AI assistant called Jarvis
Copyright:

24. Mark Zuckerberg
has been designing
is own JARVIS

25. Uncanny Valley
Do You
Speak
Human?

26. Permission given by Geminoid HI-4 was developed by Osaka University
Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro has built
his geminoid HI-4 to study what it
is to be human
“In the not-too-distant future, Genius
Machines will walk among us. They will
be smart, kind, and wise. Together,
man and machine will create a better
future for the world”.
Permission given by Hanson Robotics

27. BERT2 (Bristol University)
BERT2 robot has emotive
eyes, eyebrows and lips.
The study found that, even
though the BERT2 was less
effective, people preferred
the communicative, emotive
bot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoF43XWAGzo

28. http://www.britishmuseum.org/
“all parts of the logistics operation to work as an integral part of the supply chain: cargo ships will
be connected directly to port infrastructure, as too will rail and road services; and all connected to
each other and importantly to factories, depots, to warehouse management systems, retailers’
and wholesalers’ systems”
Japan to launch
self-navigating
cargo ships 'by
2025'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-
40219682
https://ts.catapult.org.uk/2017/02/07/autonomous-vehicles-freight-logistics/

29. Amazon delivered its first
package in the UK on
December 2016
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazons-first-drone-
delivery-our-exclusive-interview-184441128.html

30. UBER is looking at creating an “Elevate” network of
flying cars in Dallas-Fort Worth and Dubai by 2020
http://uk.businessinsider.com/aurora-uber-air-elevate-vtol-flying-car-vehicle-2017-4
Eight projects have been awarded £20 million in funding
to develop the next generation of autonomous vehicles
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driverless-cars-technology-receives-20-million-boost

31. http://ideas.ted.com/gallery-an-intriguing-sci-fi-vision-of-a-megacity/?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=ideas-blog&utm_term=art-design
An intriguing
sci-fi vision of
a megacity

32. Moving from personality based engaging individuals through
true one-to-one marketing using implicit and explicit data
In 2017 is will be worth keeping an eye on:
A personal assistant will be part of our decisions across all our
devices that scales across different platforms
More voice and visual interactions
An obsession with collecting data on you that builds your
unique profile for authenticity, customer service and security

33. • I anticipate having to mediate between my various outfits
• Be more straightforward with ANY assistant
• Be gently assertive in airports
• Be prepared to duck at a moment’s notice
• Buy all cakes and chocolates with cash
Personally…

34. Thank you
Nicola Strong
Strong Enterprises Limited
@nicolastrong
2017