| | MARCH 20188CIOReviewWHY AN INTEGRATION OF DIGITAL+HUMAN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS SMARTBy Hilary Hahn, VP, Customer Experience Innovation, Sykes Enterprises [NASDAQ:SYKE]Smart world, smart cities, smart vehicles, smart robots--these are no longer sci-fi visions of the future, instead, they have become daily headlines updated in mainstream newsfeeds.Like the opening of George Orwell's futuristic novel, 1984: The `clocks are striking 13,' not for military time, but to signal that there is a new event that calls into question everything previously believed. In 2018, we are living in an unprecedented time of accelerating and disruptive, innovation and technology that is part of our brave new world.As we engage more seamlessly with technology, we must think hand-in-hand about humans.Fortunately, we have visionary thought leaders at the helm of innovative global brands, including Ford, LYFT, Airbnb, and Amazon, and along with the majority of today's `Unicorns,' these leaders and brands are passionate about enabling technology to improve human existence.How humans and technology will continue to co-exist is of immense interest to me in every sense, but especially with my professional lens, to anticipate how customers will continue to experience the brands they love.With the convergence of machines to support customer's needs, Gartner analyzed that in 2017, customers experienced an 11 percent increase in interactions with emerging technology, such as machine learning applications, chatbots or mobile messaging; they predict that by 2022, this will amount to 72 percent of interactions for customers. So how do we move from robotic to empathetic when these interactions occur?Mark Sagar, a brilliant technologist and artist, (academy award winner for Avatar and King Kong), is now building human-like avatars for his company called Soul Machines who support customer interactions with the most realistic, non-humans in a dynamic 1:1 digital:human experience. Human inflection is the differentiator that Sagar has successfully incorporated in his machine, seen via expressive eye contact. Sagar proclaims that the eyes are the reflection of the soul.So, while we are watching HBO's Westworld, and questioning the potential for robots, which are almost indistinguishable from humans, to live amongst us, it is probably not that far off.As billions of investment dollars for artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) are being funneled into customer care, brands want to know how it can be applied today.From a brand perspective, human support is costly and customer needs keep expanding. AI/ML is being harnessed Hilary Hahn
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