Behind every good robot lies an even better human. As technology continues to impact even the most fundamental aspects of our daily lives – getting our annual medical checkup, watching TV, communicating with our parents and children, applying for a job – we’re demanding more from the products we love. No longer are we satisfied with how a product looks and feels; we expect it to enhance our lives in a significant, memorable way.
Take Amazon’s Echo, whose success lies in its ability to make users feel in control of fulfilling their wishes through the power of their own voice. Alexa’s ability to warm up your car while you make a cup of joe is a perfect example of the brilliant intersection of product and service design. Service design has become king – and queen – and I would argue that a company that launches a tech product without supporting that car, phone, hotel, school, political candidate even, with a digital ecosystem is sure to lose money.
As the digital data that surrounds us grows exponentially, it will power advanced forms of artificial intelligence that, over time, will augment human capabilities to make us smarter, more productive and more effective in our personal and professional lives.
