The Wrap #6 | Keeping out of digital harm’s way
A shot of thinking fuel, brought to you each month by Futurestate Design Co.
It’s hard to avoid clichés at this time of year. We’re still under the thumb of the cold snap, waiting for spring. Sounds about right, doesn’t it?
Let’s distract ourselves with some recent news of interest, which we hope will spark ideas for your business.
Does air conditioning exist if no one’s there to argue over temperature?
What’s going on?
A large proportion of offices are still being air conditioned – or heated, as is more apt in these temperatures – though they have been largely vacant for the past year. This is all because landlords are often contractually bound to ensure temperate indoor climates for their tenants
Why it matters?
It’s easy to do what you’ve always done for no other reason than because you’ve always done it that way – or due to a prevailing contractual 'requirement'. At worst, this can be a huge drain on resources: no-one's really winning except the energy companies. It’s not the absent tenants; it’s not the landlords, who could be lowering their overheads; and it’s not the environment. Scrutinising the we've-always-done-thats is an easy win for any digital transformation strategy. If you can’t think of a valid reason why you do, in fact, do that, it’s time for a change.
Read the original article on Fast Company
From harm to harmony
What’s going on?
Sara-Jayne Terp makes the case for businesses to implement harm reduction as a top-level priority, alongside growth interests.
Why it matters
A step further than Google’s former ‘don’t be a d***’: this is about designing to mitigate potential harm, rather than reacting after-the-fact. It can be terrible PR to be associated with – and have to try to dissociate from – abusers of your service of course, but it's really about being the right kind of company for digital age consumers. Facebook have long since been trying to claw back trust after being co-opted as a tool for election rigging. What if they’d safeguarded themselves against such activities by design? Rather than being seen as a platform for connection, they’re now seen as a tool for division. Whether to design in harm reduction shouldn't even be a question for an ethical digital business.
Read the original article on Sara-Jayne’s blog
Getting along with AI
What’s going on?
The MIT Taskforce on the Work of the Future has released a report outlining how AI will be incorporated into the workplace and how we can prepare for it. Crucially, they see AI and humans as symbiotic: when working as a team we can create a “supermind”, capable of more together than in isolation.
Why it matters
It’s refreshing to read a grounded article about AI, where it brings the technology into a near-future focus. We’re already seeing it move away from cutting-edge science into the hands and homes of us folk, but this report reasserts it as a practical tool that can free us from admin and give us more time for meaningful tasks. AI can be our friend, especially if we’re prepared to educate and train; match jobs to job seekers; create new jobs; and provide support to people as they transition from old jobs to new, according to the MIT Taskforce. Of course, if an AI wrote this article...
Read the original article on the MIT site