The rise of free shipping: 8 moments that transformed e-commerce
The “pain of paying” is a behavioral economics theory that refers to the negative emotions humans feel when making a purchase. Humans are a loss-averse species and we react more strongly to losses than we do to equal wins or gains. So, while some purchases hurt more than others, spending money will, on some level, always inflict a bit of psychological pain.
This is the reason so many consumers abandon their shopping carts at checkout—online, anyway. Extra fees like taxes and shipping costs added to online purchases make an already painful transaction that much tougher to swallow. Many companies, starting with Amazon, have figured out that offering free shipping is an effective way to offset the pain of paying and usher consumers down the last levels of the e-commerce conversion funnel.
Consumers have come to expect perks like free or fast shipping—both, ideally. Without the guarantee of either, people are unlikely to complete a purchase. And with free shipping came the advent of free returns, and then refunds without returns. These expectations and efforts to mitigate the pain of paying have made us, on the whole, more irrational and wasteful consumers. When we are more inclined to buy because of a perceived no-cost service, we are wasteful at every step along the supply chain. ...
See the full story here: https://www.wfmz.com/entertainment/coffee-break/the-rise-of-free-shipping-8-moments-that-transformed-e-commerce/collection_f1e094f4-3ae5-52ca-85a2-b70000b8c606.html#2
Startup MyndVR inks partnership to expand virtual reality solutions for seniors
... "We are providing digital health and happiness to this booming audience of older adults using VR," Chris Brickler, CEO and co-founder of MyndVR, told Fierce Healthcare. While VR companies to date have focused on younger audiences, there is an opportunity to leverage the tech to engage a dynamic aging population, he said. ...
Through MyndVR's immersive programs, older adults can attend a Broadway show, go skydiving or scuba diving and travel to cities around the world.
MyndVR's catalog is a blend of licensed content and originally produced content, Brickler said. As one example of homemade content, the company developed a travel series based on Route 66 that features iconic stops along the famed highway.
"For an 85-year-old person with mild cognitive impairment who has done the trip, the experience can unlock memories," Brickler said. "The beauty of VR is that it teleports older adults out of their four walls to a different time, place and experience. For someone who hasn't done the trip, they get a chance to have this as a bucket list experience." ...
See the full story here: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/health-tech/startup-myndvr-inks-partnership-expand-virtual-reality-solutions-seniors
Holoride’s in-car VR tech is coming to Audi this summer
... The Holoride system intertwines backseat passengers’ physical world with augmented reality for a motion-synchronized journey as the car moves along. The system is brand-agnostic, which means other automakers can support it, too. ...
For now, the only additional cost to use the VR system is a headset, but there is limitless potential for carmakers and developers to generate revenue from car owners by selling subscription services or charging for certain features. The global automotive AR and VR market is projected to reach $674 million by 2025, according to an Allied Market Research report. ...
Holoride and Audi, which owns part of the Munich-based VR company, hope to stake an early claim in the tech stack of autonomous cars — and the nearer-term prospect of capturing more revenue from its human-driven vehicles. ...
Being first also allows them an opportunity to establish a new media category Holoride calls “Elastic Content.” Whether you’re operating a flying saucer or a submarine from behind the headset, the VR system adapts to the car’s movements so that your VR journey mimics the acceleration, turns and stops of the car. ...
A new computational method for faster development of AI systems
...To reduce this learning time, the team of scientists sought to combine these two steps into one, using what they called a “forward gradient.” The idea is to pass the data only once through the neural network and calculate a direct approximation of the gradient from that path. Inevitably, since the entire network is not tracked, this reduces computation time.
The first calculations made in this way seem rather encouraging to them: “ From the point of view of automatic differentiation applied to machine learning, the ‘holy grail’ is whether the practical benefit of gradient descent can be achieved using only the forward gradient, thus eliminating the need for backpropagation. This could change the computational complexity of typical machine learning training pipelines, reduce training time and energy costs, influence the design of devices for machine learning, and even have implications with respect to the biological plausibility of backpropagation. “. ...
See the full story here: https://theinformant.co.nz/a-new-computational-method-for-faster-development-of-ai-systems/
Ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger’s next step: Investing in a metaverse start-up run by a 29-year-old
... The start-up says its goal is to “create a universal avatar system that can be used across an open metaverse.” ...
See the full story here: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/14/ex-disney-ceo-bob-iger-on-why-hes-investing-in-the-metaverse-genies.html
Business schools look to AI and VR to enhance digital courses
... Betty Vandenbosch, chief content officer at online learning platform Coursera, which hosts MBAs from several business schools, studies learners to find out which teaching techniques work best. She argues that the concept of the “sage on stage” is outdated, and points to the iMBA offered by the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: although it can have up to 4,000 students, they are still able to build connections with peers and faculty, and receive vital feedback. She also cites the online MBA offered by Australia’s Macquarie University, which allows students to take the course in blocks that “stack up”, reducing the risk that they will feel overwhelmed. “The beauty of that is you have stop-off points if you need them,” she says. ...
Such courses will be enhanced, she thinks, by artificial intelligence systems that know when to “nudge” learners. “Folks do best when they learn every day or every couple of days,” Vandenbosch says. “Nudges say: ‘Hey, maybe you should get back to it’.” ...
In any case, she adds, technology is only one of the factors that make for a good course. “It’s the tech, the team behind its creation, and the faculty.”
See the full story here: https://www.ft.com/content/25aa54ff-21ec-4639-b0ea-37d24e50560e
Augmented reality’s half-decade of stagnation
... Few startups have been publicly subjected to corporate humiliation quite as drastically as augmented reality goggles maker Magic Leap has been in recent years. It’s a saga that has slowed the progress of an industry — hyped as the inevitable successor to mobile phones — to a crawl. ...
The headlining feature of the device is its expanded field of view, which now nearly doubles the visual area inside the glasses where digital content can be displayed. It’s an impressive feat and makes the headset a clear improvement over its predecessor. ...
“In the space we’re going after … it’s really just us and Microsoft,” Johnson concedes.
As Microsoft seems to run into hiccups with its multibillion-dollar military contract, and reports say is perhaps even losing interest in launching a new version of HoloLens, it’s clear that Magic Leap is in a lonely position. ...
“I still don’t understand what the consumer scenarios are that get you outside of gaming which is a small and contained niche. … What are those scenarios? Certainly for me, it’s not notification glasses; I don’t need more things distracting me. But, I’m excited to see what Apple thinks it is.”
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/13/augmented-realitys-half-decade-of-stagnation/
Malta launches Marija, the country’s first Virtual Citizen, a World’s first
PhilNote: New Zealand did a government-sponsored AI assistant for public information 2-3 years ago. David Usher is a canadian rockstar and AI thought leader.
VisitMalta has today launched the first-ever Virtual Citizen at a conference organised by the Ministry for Tourism and Consumer Protection on the Digital Tourism Roadmap 2030. Marija will bring together, in perfect synergy, the infinite possibilities of artificial intelligence, incorporating them with a new immersive experience allowing everyone to access a wealth of information about Malta. Marija is an interactive AI-powered virtual being ready to help all tourists who want to learn more about Malta's rich history and everything happening on the Maltese Islands. ...
AI is the future of storytelling, and Malta is at the forefront of it all," says David Usher, President of Reimagine.AI. ...
See the full story here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/malta-launches-marija-the-countrys-first-virtual-citizen-a-worlds-first-301500155.html
