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在所有关于人工智能的热议中，有一点是十分正确的：人工智能确实能做一些非常了不起的事，它能正确解读消费者看电视或听音乐的品味，在高峰期找到最不堵车的回家路线，人工智能的可能性简直无穷无尽。但这项技术却无法取代人的交往和人的心灵，如果搞人工智能的企业忽略了这一点，那么人工智能可能将成为一种威胁，而不是一种机遇。
因此，关键是要用人工智能增强和提高人的因素，而不是取代人的因素。这一点在高端美容行业尤为明显。现在这个行业的一些企业已经将产品开发技术与AI中“人的因素”结合了起来，从而帮助人变得更美丽。
比如在我工作的资生堂公司，我们就使用了AI技术定制和加深消费者的体验。同时我们秉承尊重、信任、无私的“以心致诚”理念，在方方面面都添加了“人的因素”。
我们最近收购了加州帕洛阿尔托市一家名叫MatchCo的创业公司，这家公司开发了一款移动应用，消费者可以用它扫描自己的肤色，为自己制定一款量身打造的粉底。在这个案例中，AI技术并没有削弱每个人的固有特质，而是加强了与客户的情感联系。
人工智能经常能精确地发现我们的偏好，并据此提出建议，但目前它能精准预测的东西并不算多。在有些情况下，比如当你试图与消费者建立真正的情感联系时，AI的预测能力有时甚至会成为一种负担。而与消费者建立情感联系，正是消费者服务的核心。
首先，人是偶尔需要一些惊喜的，它会将普普通通的一次购物变成一种更深的、更愉悦的体验。在这方面，AI只能提供一个框架。而当消费者意外挑中一种自己喜欢的颜色或香气时，这种情感效果绝对是AI无法比拟的。
与消费者建立亲密关系对任何主营奢侈品或生活方式的公司都是十分重要的。在这方面，科技是永远无法取代人类的情感的。比如苹果公司和爱马仕合作推出智能手表，达美航空为精英会员推出了保时捷上门接机的惊喜服务（但是该服务是无法提前预约的），这些令人愉悦的体验只有通过人际交付才能实现。
在各种推销算法和大数据的狂轰烂炸下，消费者买不买一种产品，往往取于他们的情感需求，而不是理性选择。这也解释了为什么经济危机期间口红的销量不降反升。当世间的一切貌似都无法掌控时，尝试一种新的口红颜色也就成了一种合理的人性冲动。对于这种冲动，机器既不能理解，也无法预测。
换言之，科技的目的是要深化人与人的关系。现今世界，科技的变革速度越来越快，个人往往会有被时代抛弃的感觉，人与人的情感联系则更显得无比重要。（BT365的网址是多少）
本文作者Marc Rey是资生堂美洲分公司董事长兼CEO。 译者：朴成奎
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For all the hype about artificial intelligence, this much is true: AI can do some pretty amazing things. Whether correctly predicting consumer tastes in television shows or music, or finding the best route home in rush hour traffic, the possibilities seem endless. But technology still can’t replace the human touch or the human heart, and for the businesses that lose sight of this, AI may be a threat rather than an opportunity.
The key is using artificial intelligence to augment and enhance the human element, rather than replace it. This is especially apparent in the luxury beauty industry, which has successfully married the technical science of product development with the human ability to make people feel beautiful.
For example, Shiseido, the company I work for, uses AI to customize and deepen the consumer experience. But we also apply a human touch to everything we do, adhering to the Japanese philosophy of omotenashi, which describes the subtle connection between respect, trust, and selflessness.
We recently acquired MatchCo, a Palo Alto, Calif. startup that developed a mobile app enabling consumers to scan their skin tone to identify and create a personalized foundation, and then order the customized blend. Rather than diminish the unique qualities inherent in every person, like technology sometimes does, in this case, AI actually intensifies the emotional relationship with the customer.
AI can frequently pinpoint our preferences and make suggestions as a result, but there are very real limits to what it can get right. What is more, in some cases, the ability to predict can be a liability when it comes to building a genuine emotional connection to consumers, which is at the very heart of serving them.
The need to surprise is one example, and this can be crucial to help turn an everyday purchase into a deeper, more pleasurable experience. Here, AI might provide a framework—but there is no match for human emotion in picking out an unexpectedly pleasing color or fragrance.
Similarly, when it comes to creating an intimate connection with consumers, which is essential in any luxury or lifestyle industry, technology will never replace human sensitivity. Note Apple’s teaming up with Hermès to create a smart watch, or Delta’s surprise-and-delight service that transfers elite customers from gate to gate in a Porsche but can’t be requested or scheduled beforehand. These aspirational experiences are made possible only through human curation.
Because for all the power of algorithms and big data, the decision to buy a product is often rooted in emotional need rather than rational choice. This explains why lipstick sales increase in times of crisis. The pleasure of trying out a new color when everything else seems out of control is a human impulse that machines can neither comprehend nor anticipate.
To put it another way, technology needs to be at the service of deepening human relationships. In a world where technology is evolving at a faster and faster pace, and individuals can feel like they are being left behind, human connections put us back at the center of the equation.
Marc Rey is the president and chief executive officer of Shiseido Americas. |
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