Category: Strategy

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Business Start-up Strategy

The 25th Hour: Supercharging Productivity

“The 25th hour: Supercharging Productivity”: our time is precious. Let’s stop wasting it!

The book : The 25th hour: Supercharging Productivity

For this blog post, I decided to do a summary of the book “The 25th hour: Supercharging Productivity” written by Guillaume Declair, Bao Dinh, and Jérôme Dumont. This book is one of my favorite books as it is straightforward and it is presented in a practical manner.

“The 25th Hour is a short, easy to read and yet incredibly actionable book. It reveals great productivity techniques that everyone can put into practice right away to win back an hour every day.”- David Cohen, Founder and CEO of Techstars

This book teaches how to get an hour back every day to use towards the things that really make people happy and fulfilled.

More than 300 entrepreneurs, startup founders, and investors share their best productivity secrets. Contributors include the founders of Product Hunt, Spotify, Techstars, Instacart, Casper, Zoom, Hired, Group Nine Media, OnePlus, MealPal, BambooHR, Made, Bolt, Zumper…

The authors of The 25th hour: Supercharging Productivity

Bao Dinh is the Europe, Middle East and Africa Director of the hotel booking app HotelTonight. Guillaume Declair is co-founder of the media Merci Alfred and of the responsible fashion brand Loom. Jérôme Dumont is co-founder of the mobile development agency One More Thing Studio.

    The tips I learned from The 25th hour: Supercharging Productivity

    The book is divided into 3 chapters: get organized, focus and accelerate

    From the first chapter get organized, I learned:

    • If a task takes less than 2 minutes I should do the task and count to 5 to really do it
    • The 3-Task Rule: I should write down 3 important tasks per day
    • I should give myself pleasant deadlines

    In the second chapter focus, I learned:

    • I should make a to-do list all the time
    • To keep an Inbox zero: sort directly emails after reading otherwise put them in the to-do list
    • Always keep a clean desk
    • To meditate
    • To check my emails less than 3 times a day

    During the third chapter accelerate, I learned:

    • That I should do a 20% effort to have an 80% of impact
    • I shouldn’t consume too much psychological energy, especially in the mornings
    • I should do a 7-minute workout every morning
    • Set up a sleep routine
    • My mornings should be about 3 tasks, a 7-minute workout, meditation, and water
    • I should learn how to write more efficiently with Typingclub
    • I should create abbreviations to be more efficient in my work
    • I learned diverse shortcuts, but the ones that are most useful for me are: opening a tab (Ctrl T), closing a tab (Ctrl W), and opening a recently closed tab (Ctrl ⬆️T).

     

    You can also find my latest articles bellow:

    https://dmb-shanghai.com/news/european-space-agencys-new-astronauts/

    https://dmb-shanghai.com/platforms/spotify-key-statistics-of-2023/

    https://dmb-shanghai.com/mobile/digital-marketing-on-customers-purchase-decisions/

    Categories
    Marketing Réseaux sociaux Strategy

    CSR in Social Media Marketing

    CSR in social media marketing
    CSR in social media marketing

    More and more people are concerned about the future and corporate social responsibility, also known as CSR, is even more important today. It implies an obligation of commitment from everyone, whether individually or collectively.

    Companies are no exception to the rule, in fact, they must adapt their business model but also their marketing strategy. Firms have to keep up with the ever-changing needs of consumers who are increasingly looking to consume products that are manufactured in a more ecological manner and are themselves good for the environment. Nowadays, everything is becoming automatic, faster and simpler. This finally leads to a desire to also find the main needs such as the environment and the social aspect. Thus, companies must follow and show a positive behavior on the environment while also taking into account social issues. This willingness to pay more attention to CSR has been growing for years, laws have even been passed. However, CSR remains a contentious issue that is not entirely clear to everyone.

    Thus, there is an increasing  number of research dealing with the impact of CSR issues, and we can see different visions of CSR, sometimes even contradictory. However, a clear and general definition emerges: “[…] an ongoing commitment by companies to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while showing respect for individuals, communities, society as a whole and the environment“. In short, CSR combines the concepts of global citizenship, environmental stewardship and sustainable development, while keeping in mind the economic dimension at the same time.

    Numerous international organizations, non-governmental organizations and groups of individuals fighting for the respect of the environment and human rights, target and pressure companies. The firms had no choice but to adapt.

    CSR must be directly integrated into the values of the company but also into the general objectives in order to be effective. The standardization of CSR pushes companies to have the responsibility to implement sustainable actions aiming not only at increasing profit but above all at satisfying the objectives and expectations of the stakeholders. Stakeholders such as the company itself, the employees, the clients, the shareholders, the media and many others.

     CSR has 4 dimensions:

    When implementing CSR initiatives, companies are expected to have a real impact on the development of the economy while keeping in mind ecological issues, the well-being of employees, local communities, and society at large. Actions can be :

    –  partnerships that have a positive impact on the environment

    – participation in voluntary environmental programs

    – production methods that meet sustainable standards

    – marketing strategies that seek to improve the lives of all by actively involving stakeholders

    H&M, for example, hired the singer M.I.A., who is well known and loved by young people in China, to implement an online CSR campaign by making a music video promoting clothing recycling

    Companies must therefore integrate CSR into their marketing strategy, such as social media for example. Social media is an effective and inexpensive way to convey a message that can be personalized, such as a company’s CSR commitment. It is also possible to use crowdsourcing to implement a CSR campaign as Yahoo did with its “How Good Grows” campaign. Toyota is also one of the companies that shared a CSR marketing campaign on Facebook with their “Cars for Good” campaign. Or even Starbucks that organizes once a month the “Global Month of Service” event and promotes it on different social platforms.

    When a CSR marketing strategy is well executed, it allows, in the long term, to improve the reputation and the brand image of the company . Therefore, it could allow an increase in profits. Indeed, the communication of the CSR commitment allows the company to make public its vision of modern sustainable issues. Thus, firms can position itself on the subject. Communicating its CSR commitment via social media also allows the company to maintain a certain competitive advantage through differentiation. Furthermore, if the company implements good CSR initiatives, employees can be satisfied. This will be reflected in their behavior and attitude. And thus ultimately in their motivation and job performance. It is therefore a win-win situation.

    This CSR marketing strategy has its limits. In fact, the fact of communicating publicly on a subject as sensitive as CSR can lead to skepticism from consumers. They will expect a lot of transparency from the company regarding their initiatives.

    In addition, some companies proudly display their CSR commitment on their social media, but digging a little deeper, we notice that not all of them are fully transparent about their actions. One of the perfect examples of this is perceived greenwashing. It seeks to manipulate consumers into believing that the company is sustainable and implementing actions that are good for the environment and positive for employees and consumers, by also offering sustainable products and services when this is not always the case.

    Sources : 

    researchgate.net 

    growingscience.com

    cairn.info

    wiley.com

    Categories
    Alibaba alipay Applications Apps BAT Business comportement Digital Business eCommerce EU-CHINA FrenchTech Les tuto tech Marketing Mobile Réseaux sociaux Shanghai Strategy Travel Travelling WeChat

    How to develop your business thanks to Chinese tourists in 2023?

    Chinese tourist come back in France in 2022

    We are expecting 33 million Chinese tourists in 2022 (Le Monde). Finally, they will come back with an aspiration of freedom and most certainly an intention to spend. If you are looking for a solution to develop your business and diversify, you have to think seriously about it. In 2014, 2,2 million Chinese spent around 3,5 Billion USD in France. An interesting fact is, they aren’t only traveling in Paris and Île-de-France. They came in Normandy, French Riviera, in Pays de la Loire (daxueconseil). Throughout this article, you will see some tools like WeChat Pay and AliPay to help them have a great trip. Yet, the main idea you have to retain is empathy. What would you do in their shoes?

    Last tip before you go, we advise you to get to know the most powerful Chinese recommendation tool: Dianping. Thanks for reading, I hope this infographic will help you to start 2023 with the right experience at the right time. If you are a retailer, I also friendly recommend you this article about the social commerce, a practice already well established in China.

    Thanks to Xavier Brochart, if you want to explore this subject deeper, please contact me on Twitter @ALafeil or in LinkedIn. 

    Categories
    digital art Digital Business Fashion Luxury Marketing Strategy UX Virtual Reality

    Gucci, the luxury pioneer in the Metaverse

    Dusseldorf, Germany - August 20,2011: Gucci signage at store entrance. The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci, is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR. Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921.

    Gucci, the luxury pioneer in the Metaverse

    The Italian luxury house has chosen to invest in the new territories of luxury that are the Metaverse and NFTs. Indeed, the Group is undertaking numerous initiatives in Web 3, as illustrated by its collaborations with SuperPlastic, its private parties for its NFT holders, its creation of academies dedicated to gaming or its creations with digital artisans.

    On the other hand, the Kering Group house has presented several NFT collections, sometimes made with artists, to feed its new Web3 exhibition space. In June 2021, Gucci presented its first NFT collection to celebrate its 100th anniversary. This collection was titled The Next 100 Years of Gucci and was made in collaboration with SuperRare Gallery which specializes in crypto art.

    Afterwards, Gucci came up with a new NFT collection including GIFs, in collaboration with 11 artists such as Tyler Spangler, in order to develop the brand’s image in the NFT world. You can access this collection by clicking on this link: https://vaultartspace.gucci.com/gallery/room

    Finally, the Group has launched an experimental space for NFTs in The Sandbox, which is a Metaverse platform where users can create, buy or sell clothes as NFTs. The firm offers a virtual store with a collection of luxury clothing and accessories to dress up its users’ avatars. Gucci was inspired by Nike and Adidas who have already invested in this platform. Nevertheless, the Italian brand becomes the first fashion company to enter this universe.

    Reading these initiatives taken by the firm, we realize that Gucci has clearly taken a strategic shift in terms of digital and choosing to invest in new platforms.

    All of the above actions are designed to foster a sense of exclusivity within Gucci’s digital community. Indeed, it is common for the brand to propose new collections that are made available to its NFT community first. On the other hand, it allows the brand to better promote itself and its history. Finally, it allows the brand to revolutionize the experience it offers to its customers, as will be developed in this article. This phenomenon affects the majority of luxury players, not only Gucci.

     

    Luxury Brands’ digitalization

    Gucci’s example is not an isolated case. Indeed, the luxury sector has always sought to extend its points of contact, especially since Covid has accelerated the digitalization of its luxury brands. Luxury is therefore a sector that is constantly reinventing itself.

    Today, the Metaverse and NFTs are at the heart of the strategy of the luxury industry. Indeed, many luxury houses such as Givenchy, Louis Vuitton or Dolce & Gabbana have chosen to launch themselves into these new Universes. The example of the French leather goods house Louis Vuitton is particularly striking. Last year, the Group launched a video game called Louis: The Game to celebrate the 200th anniversary of its founder, which included 30 NFTs created with digital artist Beeple. In addition, the luxury house is a partner of the famous video game League of Legends and has created skins in its image for the characters of the game. These examples show that Louis Vuitton, and more generally luxury brands, are seeking to establish themselves in the Metaverse and NFT universe, as this provides them with numerous advantages.

     

    New ElDorados for brands  

    These new Universes are therefore emerging in the Luxury sector and constitute new ElDorados for brands. They constitute a way for these brands to maintain and strengthen the link between them and their consumers.

    On the other hand, these Universes are levers for engaging brand communities, creating new points of contact, rethinking the customer experience and reaching new audiences such as Generation Z.

     

    Sources

    https://journalduluxe.fr/fr/mode/gucci-pre-commandes-nft

    https://www.larevuedudigital.com/comble-du-luxe-gucci-propose-des-oeuvres-virtuelles-nft-creees-avec-des-artistes-synthetiques/

    https://journalduluxe.fr/fr/mode/louis-vuitton-jeu-nft

    https://www.laplume.mg/blog/actualites/metaverse-marketing-digital/

    https://www.journaldunet.com/media/publishers/1505507-conquerir-la-generation-z-c-est-maintenant/

    https://blog.smart-tribune.com/fr/enjeux-experience-client

     

     

     

    Categories
    A.I Digital Business News politic Strategy

    L’IA : une nouvelle priorité de l’UE

    L'IA : une priorité pour l'UE
    L'IA : une priorité pour l'UE

    L’Intelligence artificielle, une des nouvelles priorités de l’union européenne.

    L’IA : une nouvelle priorité de l’UE – Pourquoi l’Union et la Commission Européenne inclue l’IA dans sa nouvelle stratégie ?

    L’UE a défini 4 grands objectifs dans son programme stratégique pour la période de 2019 à 2024. Ces 4 thématiques sont les suivantes :

    • Protéger les citoyens et les libertés,
    • Mettre en place une base économique solide et dynamique,
    • Construire une Europe neutre pour le climat, verte, équitable et sociale,
    • Promouvoir les intérêts et les valeurs de l’Europe sur la scène mondiale.

    L’une de ces nouvelles grandes thématiques de l’union européenne pour les prochaines années est donc d’établir une base économique « solide et dynamique » ce qui passe par le support de plusieurs secteurs, d’investir dans les compétences et l’éducation et parmi ces différentes actions l’une d’entre-elles nous concerne : « s’approprier la transformation numérique ».

    En parallèle, la Commission Européenne a présenté pour la même période donnée ses 6 priorités parmi lesquelles nous retrouvons « Une Europe adaptée à l’ère du numérique ». Cette priorité est elle aussi présentée comment ayant pour objectif de s’approprier la transformation digitale en investissent dans les talents européens, dans la recherche ainsi que dans l’innovation. En parallèle la commission veut élaborer des règles adaptées à ces évolutions technologiques.

    « La stratégie numérique de l’UE a pour objectif de faire en sorte que cette transformation profite aux citoyens et aux entreprises, tout en aidant l’UE à atteindre son objectif de neutralité climatique d’ici 2050. »

    Livre blanc de la Commission Européenne

    Dans ce contexte, l’UE présente un livre blanc sur l’intelligence artificielle car l’IA fait partie des trois piliers qui viennent soutenir sa stratégie en ce qui concerne le digital. Si l’UE s’intéresse à l’IA, c’est parce qu’elle représente l’un des points sur lesquels l’UE souhaite investir pour rattraper le retard que les entreprises européennes ont pris face aux gens américains et chinois tout en mettant en avant l’importance du respect des droits des citoyens ainsi que la confiance du consommateur dans ces nouveaux outils.

    L’IA, un concept encore flou pour le consommateur

    En effet, aujourd’hui l’intelligence artificielle est un concept qui peut paraitre encore flou pour certains alors même que celui-ci est de plus en plus présent dans nos vies. Même si aujourd’hui l’intelligence artificielle est surement un terme qu’une majorité a déjà entendu auparavant, cette même majorité ne sait possiblement pas vraiment comment la définir. Il est même possible qu’une part significative des consommateurs n’ait pas conscience d’utiliser ou d’être confronté à des outils d’intelligence artificielle de manière quotidienne.

    Il n’est pourtant pas étonnant que définir l’intelligence artificielle puisse être complexe pour certains étant donné que le concept d’intelligence artificielle ne semble pas disposé d’une définition qui fait l’unanimité. Cependant, aujourd’hui on trouve de nombreuses définitions de qui sont plus ou moins exigeantes concernant ce que l’on considère comme une intelligence artificielle dépendamment des capacités de celle-ci comparées à celle d’un humain. En effet, à l’origine l’IA, comme son nom l’indique, avait pour but de désigner un programme ou un algorithme capable de venir s’approcher et d’imiter les capacités cognitives humaines en se basant sur les outils technologiques dont l’Homme dispose. D’un autre côté on trouve des définitions très générales qui viennent désigner comme intelligence artificielle comme un algorithme ou un simple programme capable d’effectuer des tâches plus ou moins complexes de manière automatique.

    Par exemple, Cédric Villani vient présenter l’IA comme un conglomérat de plusieurs disciplines tel que l’informatique, les mathématiques, les sciences cognitives, etc. ayant pour objectif aujourd’hui de « mettre au point des automates qui résolvent certains problèmes bien mieux que les humains, par tous les moyens disponibles ».

    D’un autre côté, l’Union Européenne, elle, définis un « système d’intelligence artificielle » dans son livre blanc comme un logiciel « qui peut, pour un ensemble donné d’objectifs définis par l’homme, générer des résultats tels que des contenus, des prédictions, des recommandations ou des décisions influençant les environnements avec lesquels il interagit ». Une définition plus large qui vient englober beaucoup plus de programmes différents et selon laquelle, le consommateur est effectivement en contact au quotidien avec des IA. Par exemple celui-ci est potentiellement confronté à de l’IA quand il utilise son smartphone ou simplement en surfant sur internet.

    Conclusion

    Avec ce livre blanc l’UE vient donc donner une définition à l’IA qui va lui permettre d’être, d’une part, plus libre dans les investissements qu’elle va effectuer pour soutenir les entreprises et instituts qui travaillent au développement des technologies d’intelligence artificielle sur le territoire européen. Et d’autre part cela lui permet de mettre en avant la réalité de la présence de l’IA dans le quotidien des consommateurs pour pouvoir par la suite assurer leur protection.

    Comme on peut le lire dans son livre blanc, l’Europe a pour but de « devenir un acteur mondial de premier plan en matière d’innovation dans l’économie fondée sur les données et dans ses applications », et ce, notamment grâce à l’IA ainsi qu’à ses applications dans différents secteurs et industries, à son application dans la vie des citoyens dans les domaines de la santé, des transports et des services publics et pour finir pour son application dans les services d’intérêt public comme l’éducation, l’énergie, la sécurité, etc.

    D’autres articles sur le thème de l’intelligence artificielle :

    • Can artificial intelligence replace human judging in artistic gymnastics ? – ici
    • The future of commercial aviation: Pilotless flight thanks to AI? – ici
    • The biases of AI in the hiring process – ici

    Categories
    A.I Digital Business Marketing Strategy Virtual Reality

    Le Metaverse futur des applications de rencontre ?

    Metaverse, futur ou fiction ?

    Et si le metaverse était le futur des applications de rencontre ?

    L’amour digital connaît un essor depuis la création depuis Match.com en 1995. Depuis, le marché de l’amour en ligne n’a fait qu’accroître, notamment avec l’arrivée des smartphones, et du grand nombre d’utilisateurs. Mais quel est le futur de ces applications de rencontre et de l’amour à l’ère du digital ?

    À quoi ressemble les rencontres amoureuses à l’ère du digital ?

     

    Les applications de rencontres téléchargeables sur smartphone ont inondé le marché de la rencontre. Le concept est simple : “mettre en relation des personnes avec des profils répondants au critères de son choix”. Chaque individu se crée un profil et y ajoute des informations, des photos ainsi que ses critères. L’algorithme propose ensuite des profils à l’utilisateur, il décide ou non de les accepter. Lorsque deux profils s’acceptent mutuellement, il y a alors “match”. La suite se fait au travers du chat, dans lequel l’application ne joue plus un rôle mais offre simplement un service de discussion en ligne.

    Les applications de rencontre permettent donc la facilitation des rencontres grâce à une sélection de profils sur la base de critères définis, mais également une plateforme de chat pour permettre aux utilisateurs de se découvrir et de se rencontrer.  Bien que la plupart de ces applications soient gratuites (avec des fonctionnalités payantes) comme Tinder, Bumble, Happn, etc. D’autres fonctionnent sur la base d’abonnements mensuels comme Meetic, Adopte Un Mec.

    Quelle est la suite ?

    La pandémie mondiale a permis une accélération du lancement des chats vidéos dans les applications de rencontre. Si certaines comme Match proposent des discussions vidéos en tête à tête, ce n’est pas le cas pour toutes les applications.

    Meetic a récemment lancé des “cafés vidéo en ligne”, cette possibilité aurait été très bien accueillie par les utilisateurs.

    Outre son objectif de faciliter encore un peu plus les discussions entre les utilisateurs, pour leur permettre d’avoir des discussions plus longues, plus intéressantes et plus spontanées, le chat vidéo apparaît comme un gage de fiabilité. Les problèmes liés à la fidélité des profils et la correspondance avec les photos constitue aujourd’hui un véritable enjeux pour les applications de rencontre. C’est pourquoi la vidéo permet de dissiper les potentiels doutes quant à l’identité.

    Le metaverse comme futur des applications de rencontre : fiction ou réalité ?

     

    Au-delà de la vidéo, la prochaine étape des applications de rencontre pourrait-elle se trouver dans le metaverse ? Avec le développement de cette technologie dans un monde virtuel, pourquoi ne pas imaginer créer un lieu de rencontre. C’est la question que va chercher à développer le groupe Match, qui possède Tinder et Meetic ainsi qu’une vingtaine d’autres applications. ” Ils imaginent déjà un monde virtuel avec des jeux, du divertissement et des « expériences partagées » dans le but de rencontrer de nouvelles personnes « comme dans la vraie vie ».” affirment les dirigeant du groupe.

    Cependant, il n’est pas certain que cette technologie soir pertinente quand on sait que “des hommes harcèlent déjà sexuellement des femmes”. Cette réticence des femmes marque un frein dans le l’accélération du développement de ce nouveau mode de rencontre.

    En conclusion, bien que la Covid-19 a prouvé au monde entier qu’il était possible de rester connecté grâce à Internet, elle a également montré l’importante des relations sociales dans la vie réelle. Le metaverse comme solution de rencontre n’est donc pas encore d’actualité bien que certains groupes se posent déjà la question.

     

     

    Sources

    https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/67248-le-futur-des-applis-de-rencontre-est-il-dans-le-metaverse/

    https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/binaire/2021/10/19/quel-est-le-but-des-applications-de-rencontres/

    https://dmb-shanghai.com/marketing/lamour-digital-une-romance-derriere-lecran/

    https://www.20minutes.fr/high-tech/1660367-20150803-20-ans-matchcom-lancait-ere-sites-rencontre-15

    Categories
    A.I BAT China Outils 2.0 Strategy Success in China Tech News

    Reading Sheet of “AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order”

    AI superpowers
    AI superpowers

    About the author

    Kai Fu Lee is born in Taiwan from Chinese parents, he emigrated to the USA at the age of 11, with a passion for mathematics. He did a PhD at Carnegie Mellon University, “the incubator of cutting-edge AI research” and became passionate about machine learning and voice recognition. After having held executive positions at Apple and Microsoft, he went to China and became the first Chinese investor in venture capital with his company Sinovation Ventures. He advised many students and trained more than 5000 specialists in AI, including several senior executives of Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent.

    His 30 years of experience makes him one of the world’s leading experts in AI. His book traces the evolution of AI from 1970 to 2017, when the Chinese government declares AI a top priority. “Sillicon Valley and China have an ecosystem born of very different cultural backgrounds” and this play a significant role in the approach and evolution of each country. China is known to have copied in many areas, often in low-end items, but these copiers have learned, assimilate with impressive speed and have launched into the creation of products and services tailored to the needs of the Chinese market. Indeed, China has been able to collect masses of valuable data that feed the algorithms in their purchases, their habits and their movements, ensuring a global advance compared to the rest of the world. The deep learning feeding on all these data to recognize the images, understand the spoken language, propose solutions after analyzing and cross-checking databases.

    To date, China has an undeniable lead in the collection of these data with Tencent (owner of WeChat), as well as Alibaba with e-commerce and strong of more than one billion users with the intensive use of mobile (mobile only). But AI will affect all industrial structures, all areas of life and its progress will harm the professional environment, massive unemployment, greater inequality and bringing social crises. “AI would replace 40 to 50% of US jobs within 15 years while fortunes would accumulate at the big AI companies.”

    The author makes a fine analysis and gives advice on the measures to be taken by the governments in all countries and asks them to think now about the sectors that will be affected.

     

    Revelation

    In 2016, 280 million Chinese viewers follow an Alpha Go confrontation with the best Korean player who succumbs to the machine. The Go is a 2500 years old game in China and still practiced in the 21th century. In 2017, the best player in the world, a young Chinese of 19 years old (Ke Jie) was beaten by the machine. With stupefaction and awareness, China governs immediately by mobilizing all its actors to meet the challenge of AI. The author compares this moment to the one experienced by the US when the first Soviet satellite “Sputnik” was launched in 1957. “This triggered the creation of NASA, the teaching of mathematics subsidized on a large scale and allowed 12 years later to send the first man to set foot on the moon: Niel Armstrong! ”

    It is thanks to deep learning and machine learning, that the capabilities of AI have allowed a machine to win the Alpha Go. The author specifies the need to have “a large mass of data, experts, engineers, calculation capabilities out of the ordinary, colossal sums to advance everything”. It is indeed in this race that all the means have been put in China, as a proof the current level of AI in China. After Alpha Go, China launches a major plan to develop AI. Objectives are set for 2020 to 2025, the stated goal is to be the world leader by 2030.

     

    The 4 waves of IA

    Each wave will spread out in time, each one will exploit in its own way the power of this technology to submerge us. The successive waves will each bring facilities in all fields, each of them feeding on the previous one, affecting all economic sectors and our daily life. Already online AI and professional AI are present; the financial field is an example with the algorithms at work on the stock markets.

     

    1st wave : AI online for more than a decade

    Around 2012, the internet has propelled us to it: our video choices, purchases, our questions in all areas have been recorded, this data allows to display the target of the company that will give a positive image to customers, and will know our habits, our preferences, while the customer will get among other things personalized offers, “the algorithms are transformed into a tool for recommendations. “This wave remains confined to the technological sphere and the digital world”, Chinese and US are equal according to the author, who sees China in the lead in 5 years.

     

    2nd wave : professional AI

    According to Kai Fu Lee, this is the only field where the US domination is unquestionable. All the labeled data accumulated over the years in the insurance, banking and hospital sectors will allow algorithms to make particularly effective optimizations.
    “As early as 2004, companies (Palantir – IBM) were advising companies and governments on big data”. The author sees a great evolution in China for the medical field, the algorithms would establish the dignostic which in the country would decrease the inequalities between big cities well equipped and countryside under equipped in this sector; similarly in the judicial sector to guide the magistrates, to pronounce the verdict and “to contribute to put in the right way the customary judges. At this stage, the US is in the lead (90/10) thanks to optimizations in banking and insurance among others. China will be in the lead within 5 years (70/30) by taking the lead especially in services.

     

    3rd wave : perceptive AI

    The digitization of the physical world will be implemented in the commercial sectors as a priority: it is necessary to rethink all human activity, to recognize objects, voice and sound data. The author warns that algorithms “will perform the bulk of interactions with the customer” and gives Exemples: Amazon Echo that digitizes the sound environment of the home, the city brain of Alibaba that digitizes the flow of traffic or Apple and Face ID cameras that do the same with the faces. In 2017, during the 1st visit of Trump in China, his speech in English on large screen began to speak Chinese. The AI is transforming the world. The Chinese company Yflytech had specialized in the field of AI to train its algorithms, respecting all the characteristics of the voice: intonation, pronunciation, all recalibrated in Mandarin. In the next few years, cities and supermarkets will be transformed, the author already cites KFC, associated with Alipay, which has installed in some of its restaurants a system that allows facial recognition, with a terminal recording the order, scanning the face, ensuring the presence of the person in the premises and debiting his account.

    Moreover, this process will be used to educate, to detect delays or talents, to follow each one and to take in hand the delays of the pupils. The AI will be in the homes, the teachers will ensure the lectures, or will make individual sessions and many other fields will benefit from this process. That implies to recover important data of the physical world. “the US is reluctant, china is more open and has passed a cyber security law. Europe having adopted a more restrictive approach with the RGDP.” From this perceptive, AI needs all kinds of devices with sensors. In anticipation, China has created “the made in Shenzen, by rallying in one place of the chain studies, researchers and manufacturers of intelligent devices; with the largest network: 85 Billion connected objects, various products, reduced prices, amassing important data and preparing the 4th wave of autonomous AI.

     

    4th wave : autonomous AI

    For the author, the impact will be more important, it is a culmination: the machines were automated and they will be autonomous. To quote the example: harvesting strawberries in California by a machine guided by an algorithm picking without damage the ripe strawberries, the autonomous robots that prepare the orders at Amazon and eventually drones that will be able to supply isolated populations or put out forest fires.

    On their side, Google and Telsa are working on autonomous cars, as well as Baidu, Uber, Didi and car manufacturers. Our daily life will be impacted: urban spaces, roads and already Chinese territories are modifying traffic lanes, adapting supply circuits. In the US, it is the new vehicles that will adapt to the existing roads. Indeed, he US have the most experienced specialists and have a 2/3 year lead over China. The observation made by the author at this stage comparing China/US is as follows: AI : online 50/50 ; pro 10/90 ; perceptive 60/40 ; autonomous 10/90 and the forecast 5 years ahead China/US: online 60/40 ; pro 30/70 ; perceptive 80/20 ; autonomous 50/50. China and US are moving forward, but in the long run developing countries will use them. US are trying to sell their standardized products while China chooses to finance native startups: Tencent or Alibaba in India and South East Asia or even Didi developing in US, Singapore, India or Middle East.

     

    How to react

    At the heart of this revolution, the new norm would become full employment for intelligent machines and eternal stagnation for the average worker because the faster, larger AI will surpass humans in physical and cognitive tasks. Solutions are studied taking into account the extent of the destruction of jobs, primarily among the most qualified and among workers, the author describes and gives examples: jobs concerning intellectual tasks in danger: technical translator, scientists etc. Those easy for AI alone : radiologists, accountants, trade unionists or those mixing AI and human as criminal lawyer, doctor and teacher. Similarly for jobs with physical tasks, would be preserved: home help, physiotherapist, hairdresser, aeronautical mechanic and in danger the easy jobs for AI : agricultural worker and truck driver for example.

    Different approaches are evoked by the US or by the silicon valley: requalify thanks to continuous training to adapt and bring the necessary competences to the workers, but this would be permanent because of the fast evolution of AI and very quickly arriving at saturation, or redistribute the jobs by decreasing the working time to 3 days per week or share a job which would be held by two people, it would be or partial unemployment or lower wages. Other concepts are debated: the universal basic income which is far from being unanimous, or the minimum income guarantee which would be reserved for the poorest accompanied by heavy taxes imposed on AI companies.

    Kai Fu Lee proposes rather a “social investment allowance, with guarantee of care, services, education” that the state would pay to associations “dedicated, creative, volunteers” all this of course after the completion of AI and takes appropriate measures before this time by paying “people caring for the elderly or parents of young children” for example and encourages the private sector to be “pioneer in the creation of human jobs that will be at the heart of this revolution”. The author also suggests to be inspired by other countries, to emphasize the craft knowledge, the culture of volunteering! “With AI, there can only be one winner. US and China will compete to make the most of this technology. Governments around the world must connect permanently to compare US/CHINA/EUR regulation policies and keep an open mind about the different ways to consider AI governance.

     

    Conclusion

    After this evolutionary assessment of AI and its disastrous consequences in the professional world (progress on the one hand, destruction on the other, questioning the life of everyone, our environment and our organizations), the author ends on a more optimistic note thanks to his personal experience and the questioning of his own life, due to the occurrence of cancer that has allowed him to become aware of a life other than the one he led. The presence and support of his family during his illness, the strength of love “which we know gives meaning to our lives” and the meeting with a Buddhist monk in a monastery in Taiwan, which led him with wisdom to rearrange the priorities of his life.

    As for the end of Kai Fu Lee’s convalescence, he gives us the content “I considered my recovery from two angles, one technical, the other emotional” the two pillars of our future AI.

     

    Categories
    A.I Alibaba Augmented Reality BAT Digital Business eCommerce entertainment GAFABAT Jack Ma Marketing New Retail Retail Strategy

    New retail: the phygital revolution in China

    New retail in China

    New Retail : A phygital revolution

    Economic development and a rising middle class consumer have made emerging markets an enticing location for many change-makers. Therefore, replacing the patterns of consumption in these regions has prompted retailers and shoppers alike to change their buying habits.

    Already the world’s largest e-commerce market, China’s e-commerce will reach $1.1tn at the end of 2021. However, there is still plenty of room for growth with just 38% of China’s total population shopping online. Indeed, China’s online retail sales are expected to increase steadily at an 8.5% compound annual growth rate through to 2022.

    Taking these factors into account, Alibaba’s founder (Jack Ma) has embarked on a “phygital revolution” dubbed “New Retail” recognizing that the future of the retail scene was not a matter of platform, but of experience.

     

    New Retail disruption

    Chinese expect to have a unique experience across all the brand’s interconnected platforms with a multiplication of online and offline touchpoints. Thereupon, it was in response to this growing demand that the phygital ecosystem is born, with New Retail as its first concept.

    This disruptive-looking term actually hides a very important social factor, which relates to the way people have consumed and experienced a growth boom, particularly for the past 20 years. Chinese have gone through a brutal transition. Indeed, it brought the smartphone and the IOT to the center of their concerns.

    As a result, companies have adopted the same pattern allowing unprecedented agility in developing their sales methods. New Retail is an integral part of these new practices. Theyare not really democratized in Europe, but they have become the new standard in recent years in China.

    If you would like to know more about “New Retail”, I invite you to read my LinkedIn article.

     

    Categories
    Digital Business GAFABAT Strategy

    Google 2021: Its new update of Page Experience

    This time, Google informs us about its next Page Experience Update. In May 2021, user experience will become a criteria for natural referencing.

    Google Page Experience Update measures the overall user experience on a website page. The optimization of the different elements of interaction with a web page, allows Internet users to enjoy a more pleasant user experience. By optimizing this experience, users will therefore be more engaged. Thus, offer more user-friendliness on websites. The user experience goes through criteria such as mobile-friendly site or if it runs on HTTPS for example.

    We now find a new criteria, which is the loading time of a website’s page. Indeed with the Core Web Vitals, which is composed in 3 parts:

    • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
    • First Input Delay (FID)
    • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

    If you want to know more, I invite you to read the full article on my LinkedIn.

    Categories
    Digital Business EU-CHINA Events FrenchTech Junior Consultant Project Life in China Marketing MBADMB Strategy Success in China

    Junior Consultant Project – Experience

    Junior Consultant Project – La French Tech Shanghai

    Since October, with the MBA Digital Marketing & Business Shanghai, we have had the mission to work for companies in China and France to support them in their communication strategy as Junior Consultant.

    Some of them had to revise the whole graphic charter, others had to realize computer graphics for events…

    With my team-mates, Clara Libert, Elosandra Gomes and Christilla Adjovi, we chose to work for French Tech Shanghai. At the beginning, we weren’t really enthusiastic about the missions that French Tech Shanghai was offering because they were still very vague. After a meeting with Constance Van de Walle (intern) and Eric Deltour, General Secretary of French Tech Shanghai. We clarified the different missions we will be carrying out during these 7 months.

    The main missions are :

    •  Reorganize the communication strategy so that it is reusable and generates a more efficient follow-up.
    •  Promote and increase the visibility of French Tech Shanghai: French startups, future and current partners and other French Tech companies.
    •  Federate the actors of the ecosystem
    • Accelerate the creation of synergies between its members

      For this, we have decided to:

    •  Create a communication kit
    • Realize a promotional video to enhance their visibility
    • Organize different events to federate French Tech players and make them known to future partners and startups,
    •  Benchmark of other French Tech companies present in the world,
    •  Benchmark of the 40 and 120 companies for the June event
    •  Make the newsletter visible on the French Tech Shanghai website
    • Creation of a blog tab: highlighting the articles of the members of French Tech Shanghai
    •  Creation of a computer graphics

    Before our first presentation to the members of COPIL, we first of all made an inventory of the social networks of French Tech Shanghai to know what we needed to improve. Then we looked at other French Techs present in the world by making a benchmark of their best communication actions (example: a presentation video, a computer graphics, a blog tab, etc.). Following this research, we also wanted to add to our communication strategy various events to federate the different actors of the ecosystem and make French Tech known to different targets. We therefore chose to set up 4 large events followed by 6 small events that will be present every year.

    Now 5 months old as Junior Consultant, we have had the opportunity to present our work to the members of COPIL during monthly meetings and to attend events organized by them. We worked hand in hand on different aspects of the new communication strategy to increase the visibility of French Tech Shanghai.

    Working as a Junior Consultant and being considered, allows me to be confident for the rest of my career in communication and digital.

    Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus, with my teammates, we had to leave Shanghai. We will therefore learn how to work remotely with the members of French Tech Shanghai.

    We have 2 months left and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for us!
    Thank you to French Tech Shanghai for their trust and to Emmanuel P. who is following us during this work.

    Anaelle Soret.