The Human Side Of AI
HWM Singapore|November 2019
Collected stories from the Expedia Group Research Summit
Zachary Chan
The Human Side Of AI

It’s hard to believe that any company involved in technology isn’t just run by robots and AI by now. It’s all we ever hear or read about anyway. So it was a very refreshing turn of events when I attended the inaugural Expedia Group Research Summit 2019. Far from just talk of big data and how some machine learning algorithm is just harvesting and churning out analytics, Expedia Group—which comprises travel brands such as Expedia, Trivago, Orbitz, Vrbo and Hotwire among others—employ human research teams that run human research and experiments. Sounds ominous, but it’s not.

One of the better-known examples is Expedia’s Innovation Lab where researchers, led by Senior Director of User Research, Tammy Snow, use real-time eye and emotion tracking technologies learn about how real people use their apps and websites. And that feedback helps them optimise the experience.

BUILDING BETTER AI THROUGH CUSTOMER RESEARCH

Take a Hotels.com booking as another example. Regular old machine learning algorithms might be able to learn your preferences over time and serve up images that feel more important to you, but with the addition of research data, they’ve been able to expand to providing hyper-local information that address specific customer pain points that machine learning alone wouldn’t have understood. Joss Crossick, then VP of Product Design said that their research showed it was important for Japanese travellers to know if the Japanese language was spoken at the front desk; in Germany, breakfast choices were important.

This story is from the November 2019 edition of HWM Singapore.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 2019 edition of HWM Singapore.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM HWM SINGAPOREView All
BETTER, PRICIER
HWM Singapore

BETTER, PRICIER

I had high hopes for the Iskur V2 gaming chair, which Razer says has been armed with significant enhancements over the original Iskur (launched late 2020).

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
SPEED UP, PRICE DOWN
HWM Singapore

SPEED UP, PRICE DOWN

The GeForce RTX 4080 raised eyebrows for its price tag that was closer to the RTX 4090, but a performance closer to the RTX 4070 Ti.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
SUPERSIZED HANDHELD GAMING
HWM Singapore

SUPERSIZED HANDHELD GAMING

This transition towards handheld PC gaming platforms has been notably marked by the emergence of the Steam Deck.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
TITAN ON A DIET
HWM Singapore

TITAN ON A DIET

ON A D Like many companies, Secretlab has faced supply chain challenges due to the pandemic. This has impacted their pricing structure, particularly for the Titan Evo chairs.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
In the Age of Software and Al, are Mega Tech Events like CES still relevant?
HWM Singapore

In the Age of Software and Al, are Mega Tech Events like CES still relevant?

IN THE AGE OF SOFTWARE AND AI, ARE MEGA TECH EVENTS LIKE CES STILL RELEVANT?

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2024
DUAL SCREEN, PERFECTED?
HWM Singapore

DUAL SCREEN, PERFECTED?

For notebooks, the most common trade-off is between display size and portability. ASUS, however, appears to have broken this immutable rule with the Zenbook Duo UX8406.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
ULTIMATE FLAGSHIP
HWM Singapore

ULTIMATE FLAGSHIP

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, a device that promises to redefine the premium smartphone experience.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
Take Even Better Photos With The iPhone 15 Pro And 15 Pro Max
HWM Singapore

Take Even Better Photos With The iPhone 15 Pro And 15 Pro Max

We already covered the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro Max's photography capabilities rather extensively in our review, but the general idea is that Apple has done a great job improving the software side and offering better sharpness, detail and a new 5x telephoto zoom lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
WHAT IS VESA CLEARMR3
HWM Singapore

WHAT IS VESA CLEARMR3

AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT IT

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
GUIDE TO DISPLAYPORT 2.1
HWM Singapore

GUIDE TO DISPLAYPORT 2.1

01 What is DisplayPort?

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024