Category Archives: Human Behavior

Human Behavior

Implement AI and Design Thinking Strategies to Grow With Technology – Northdallasgazette

Tech giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon are spending nearly $20 billion collective dollars on AI products and services annually. Photo by Franck V. on Unsplash

By Gilbert Salazar

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around since the 1950s, but not until the last two decades has it impacted the daily lives of some consumers. Many industries such as healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and banking are now going through dramatic evolutions in how they incorporate AI. Many companies are still trying to figure out how this new frontier can potentially add value to their organizations. There is no doubt the list of uses for AI will continue to grow as data scientists and AI engineers discover new opportunities to incorporate it into the business structure. The first step towards understanding the benefits of AI in your industry is to evaluate its value and determine how implementing this technological innovator can lead to growth.

Like any other technology, AI requires thorough road mapping, planning, and a design-centric approach, especially if the intent of the AI solution itself is to interact with humans a common challenge that often arises with the execution of AI. Tech giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon are spending nearly $20 billion collective dollars on AI products and services annually, leading the way for mid-level technology companies to start considering how AI can benefit their products and services. Locally, in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, companies such as Softweb Solutions, SparkFish and Retrocube are using AI and design thinking strategies to develop innovative services that connect with consumers.

Considering your consumer is key when developing AI technologies for human use. While evaluating AIs benefits, it is important to understand how poor execution can hinder growth. A very basic example of poor AI execution is to imagine a chatbot that continues to ask the same question after youve already answered. A more complex example would be facial recognition AI that cant read your face because perhaps youve grown a beard or cut your hair. If at its core, the idea of AI is to mimic human behavior, then shouldnt humans be considered? In other words, dont forget humans when creating AI for humans.

The Interaction Design Foundation defines design thinking as an interactive process that challenges assumptions and redefines problems to identify alternative strategies and solutions that might not be instantly apparent. It is a way of thinking and working, including hands-on methods, that provides a solution-based approach to solving problems.

By adopting the principles of design thinking, AI Experience Engineers can tackle problems that are undefinable. They can also dissect potential challenges through the lens of the user, resulting in much more refined experimentation and exploration of concepts and ideas. Pairing design thinking with AI can add tremendous value by reframing problems and coming up with innovative solutions to determine the best way to enhance and perfect a users interactions and intents.

There is no doubt that AI is here to stay. That said, the key to giving your technology a competitive advantage is to apply a design thinking approach and considering the who and why behind your AI design.

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Implement AI and Design Thinking Strategies to Grow With Technology - Northdallasgazette

Human Behavior

Inside the Fight to Keep an Abuse Apologist Off the Church Stage – Sojourners

If you stand up to sexual abuse, you must remain standing, Susan Codone recently told me. Shed said the same thing on Twitterin response to news that Paige Patterson, former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, was slated to preach at the Great Commission Weekend at a church in Immokalee, Fla. Patterson was fired from SWBTS in 2018 after trustees learned that he planned to meet privately with a rape survivor because, I have to break her down and I may need no official types there.

Susan Codone, a professor at Mercer University, is a sexual abuse survivor and Southern Baptist. Despite being abused in a Southern Baptist church, she has remained steadfast in her commitment to the denomination and has become a much-needed voice calling for reform. She recently called on Timothy Pigg, the pastor of Fellowship Church Immokalee, to disinvite Patterson because of Pattersons history of allegedly covering up abuse. Pigg earned his bachelors degree, master of divinity degree, and is a current doctoral student, at SWBTS.

Codone said that Pigg, who could not be reached for this article, refused to speak with her privately about Pattersons presence at his event as did every other Southern Baptist in Florida that she contacted except for Tommy Green, the states executive directortreasurer, who withdrew from the event soon after talking with Codone.

I was reaching out the right way, Codone said, but they were not responding.

So, Codone took to social media, where she posted Piggs professional contact information (publicly available at the churchs website), and asked other Southern Baptists to urge Pigg to rescind Pattersons speaking invitation. Pigg, for his part, reported Codones activity to Twitter, which briefly suspended her account. It has since been reinstated.

I am standing on the platform of belief in local-church autonomy, along with cooperation, Codone said. Local-church autonomy is the idea that each church within the Southern Baptist Convention is accountable only to the members of that church, and not to any sort of ecclesiastical hierarchy. Local-church autonomy has often been cited in discussions of why the SBC has not taken action in the sexual abuse crisis it is facing.

Cooperation, though, is the other side of local-church autonomy, and Codone sees focusing on cooperation as a middle-of-the-road way that can also gain traction if enough people will stand together cooperate to make their voices heard.

Immokalee residents where Piggs church is located will likely be familiar with the middle way that Codone has modeled. Nearly 30 years ago, a group of farmworkers and activists founded the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to improving wages and working conditions of migrant farmworkers. That group soon discovered that slavery was alive and well particularly in Immokalee and it became a leading anti-slavery group that helped the U.S. government prosecute nine cases of modern-day slavery in the United States. That small group cooperating together to make their voices loud enough so people had to listen led to significant, meaningful change for a large group of people.

Regarding Codones call on social media for others to contact Pigg, she said, There was a grassroots effort but I didnt expect it to go very far. There has been some movement, though. Two of the events sponsors, including the Florida Baptist Convention and Crossroads Church, have dropped out, as have two of the speakers Tommy Green and Wayne Briant, who, like Green, holds a position with the Florida Baptist Convention. The two speakers have been replaced by Scott Colter, a former employee under Patterson whose wife posted onlinethe private records of survivor Megan Lively, and Brad Jurkovich, a frequent speaker at Louisiana College, where last yearin a chapel sermon the dean of the school of human behavior compared women to crack houses and advised them to mow your lawn.

In addition to the withdrawal of sponsors and speakers, SBC president J.D. Greear spoke out against Patterson last week, telling Houston Chronicles religion writer RobertDownen, Trustees terminated Paige Patterson for cause, publicly disclosing that his conduct was antithetical to the core values of our faith, and adding, I advise any Southern Baptist church to consider this severe action before having Dr. Patterson preach or speak and to contact trustee officers if additional information is necessary.

In language that echoes what Codone has been saying, Greear highlighted the need for cooperation among Southern Baptists to protect church members against abusers and enablers of abuse: Southern Baptist churches must take our mutual accountability to each other more seriously than we have in the past If our system of governance means anything, it means exercising due diligence and heeding what those whom we put in positions of trustee oversight have reported about official misconduct.

While Greears condemnation has no disciplinary effect for churches that choose to host Patterson or otherwise embrace disgraced leaders, given church autonomy, his words do carry weight and people are paying attention.

This is perhaps not the monumental change abuse survivors and advocates hope for, but it is proof of Codones concept. Like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, perhaps grassroots organizing is just the effort needed to rid Southern Baptist churches of evils of abuse.

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Inside the Fight to Keep an Abuse Apologist Off the Church Stage - Sojourners

Human Behavior

Threadless and Strange Planet Viral Webcomic Creator, Nathan W. Pyle, Lead a New Wave of Wearable Art – Cherokee Tribune Ledger News

CHICAGO, Jan. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Threadless, leading ecommerce apparel company and online artist community, in partnership with Nathan W. Pyle, cartoonist and New York Times best-selling author, announces the sale of over 300,000 unique items in Strange Planet merchandise thanks to Threadless Artist Shops.

Pyle, who launched his Strange Planet webcomic series in early February 2019, experienced rapid and viral success, gaining one million Instagram followers in the first five weeks. Within the comic's first year, Pyle amassed over 6.5 million followers and quickly turned to Threadless to open his Artist Shop to capitalize on the series' success.

Threadless' Artist Shops platform enables artists around the world, like Pyle, to effortlessly promote, add, fulfill, and deliver print-on-demand merchandise. In just six months, Pyle and Threadless sold hundreds of thousands of products, featuring his hilarious spin on human behavior through the lens of blue, interstellar beings. The top-selling item is t-shirts, priced on average at $20 each.

"Working with Threadless has been fantastic. I can focus on making my comics while Threadless makes high-quality merchandise available in my Artist Shop nearly instantaneously," said Nathan W. Pyle,cartoonist and New York Times best-selling author. "Being able to upload a design once and apply it to dozens of different Threadless products is super fun and easy. And they're always working on new product additions, which is super exciting to me!"

Threadless works with both amateur and seasoned artists to maintain their Artist Shops, add and promote new products and designs, support marketing efforts, and provide customer service to help artists both established and up-and-coming do exactly what Pyle has achieved.

"Threadless exists to support independent artists," said Threadless Founder and CEO, Jake Nickell. "We make it simple for an artist to get their work in the hands of their fans by opening up access to our nearly 20 years of experience in ecommerce merchandising, branding, marketing, product manufacturing, order fulfillment, and technology."

Threadless launched their customizable online merch platform, Artist Shops, in 2016 to allow artists like Pyle to monetize their art as their own brand. With Artist Shops, individuals upload their art and transform it into merch-ready, tangible products their customers can buy. Threadless handles logistics for Artist Shops owners like manufacturing, order fulfillment, and customer service. Currently, the platform hosts over 250,000 unique Artist Shops.

For more information on Threadless and Nathan W. Pyle's Strange Planet webcomicwatch the brand's interview with Nathan on http://www.youtube.com/ThreadlessXNathanPyle, visitartistshops.com/strangeplanetand nathanwpyle.threadless.com, and follow @nathanwpylestrangeplanetand @threadless on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

About Nathan W. Pyle Nathan W. Pyle is the #1 New York Times best seller of Strange Planet and best-selling author of NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette and 99 Stories I Could Tell. He is a former staff writer and illustrator for BuzzFeed. Though based in New York City, Nathan also travels the country speaking about creativity and storytelling.

About ThreadlessFounded in 2000, Threadless is an ecommerce apparel company and online artist community. Consumers vote on artist-submitted designs that become purchasable catalogue products. In 2016, Threadless launched the print-on-demand Artist Shops platform to make selling art online easier. The turnkey merchandise solution allows individuals, companies, and nonprofits to create their own custom-branded online store for free.

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Threadless and Strange Planet Viral Webcomic Creator, Nathan W. Pyle, Lead a New Wave of Wearable Art - Cherokee Tribune Ledger News

Human Behavior

Oxford study explores links between personality and the gut microbiome – New Atlas

A new study out of Oxford University is suggesting there is a strong link between individual personality traits and gut microbiome composition. The research does not claim gut bacteria directly determines a persons personality, but instead reveals a distinct and perhaps bi-directional, association between behavior and the microbiome.

There has been growing research linking the gut microbiome to the brain and behavior, known as the microbiomegutbrain axis, says the studys author, Katerina Johnson. Most research has been conducted in animals, whilst studies in humans have focused on the role of the gut microbiome in neuropsychiatric conditions. In contrast, my key interest was to look in the general population to see how variation in the types of bacteria living in the gut may be related to personality.

The new research grew out of a number of recent studies linking gut bacteria with autism. Not only have specific gut bacteria been associated with autism, but fecal transplants have been found to influence autistic behaviors in both animal and human studies. Johnsons study hypothesized that if certain types of gut bacteria had the capacity to influence autistic behaviors, then those same bacteria may be linked with certain basic personality traits such as sociability or neuroticism.

The studys conclusions did indeed back up the initial hypothesis. A number of species of gut bacteria previously linked with autism also correlated with sociability traits in healthy adults. Individuals with high sociability presented abundant levels of Akkermansia, Lactococcus and Oscillospira bacteria. All three genera have been identified in lower than average levels in autistic subjects.

On the other hand, Desulfovibrio and Sutterella were two genera found in high levels in those less sociable individuals with tendencies toward introversion. Again, both genera of bacteria have been identified in abundance in subject with autism.

More neurotic personalities could be detected by correlating lower levels of Streptococcus and Corynebacterium bacteria. Corynebacterium in particular has been linked to depression in animal models.

In general, the study detected a consistent correlation between gut microbiome diversity and individual sociability. So essentially, the larger a persons social network, the more diverse their gut microbiome. On this point Johnson hypothesizes a certain degree of social transmission of some micro-organisms may be at play.

The relationship between gut microbiome diversity and human social networks has not previously been explored but the positive relationship found here suggests that social interactions may also influence the microbiota of human societies, Johnson writes in the study. Interestingly, a study of gut microbiome composition and temperament in infants reported an association between gut microbiome diversity and sociability.

Other more general, and somewhat unsurprising, findings in the study suggest greater microbiome diversity is associated with frequent international travel. And, greater diversity was also linked with diets high in fermented and prebiotic foods.

Interestingly, probiotics taken in the form of supplements correlated with decreased microbiome diversity. Johnson points out this unexpected correlation is most likely due to the tendency of persons with gut health problems to be taking probiotic supplements.

Ultimately, the study does not intend to imply direct causation between gut bacteria and personality traits, but instead Johnson stresses the relationships seen here are most likely bi-directional. As she notes in the studys conclusion, gut bacteria can affect behavior and behavior can in turn influence the composition of the gut microbiome.

Still, this fundamental, almost symbiotic relationship, between a persons microbiome and their overall behavior or well-being is what Johnson suggests is the takeaway from the comprehensive study. If we accept a growing body of research associating extreme traits seen in psychiatric disorders with gut bacteria, then it is not unreasonable to link moderate behavioral variations in general healthy adults with the microbiome. However, it certainly isnt as simple as a single bacterial species causing a person to exhibit an extroverted personality.

Our modern-day living may provide a perfect storm for dysbiosis of the gut, says Johnson. We lead stressful lives with fewer social interactions and less time spent with nature, our diets are typically deficient in fibre, we inhabit oversanitized environments and are dependent on antibiotic treatments. All these factors can influence the gut microbiome and so may be affecting our behavior and psychological well-being in currently unknown ways.

The new study was published in the Human Microbiome Journal.

Source: Oxford University

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Oxford study explores links between personality and the gut microbiome - New Atlas

Human Behavior

Automation Anywhere, But Should It Be Automation Anything? – Forbes

Finding the intersection point between the worlds of digital intelligence and human empathy is ... [+] surely the biggest challenge on the automated road ahead.

The world is obviously going through some changeable times. The United Kingdom is about to ride through the (many would argue) uncertain period of post-Brexit independence and global geopolitical swings continue to have an impact upon international trade and investment.

The technology industry thinks it can help, well, when doesnt it? In particular, the tech business is keen to extol the virtues of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as key tools to help manage the things that humans shouldnt be troubling themselves with.

The question we need to ask is: can automation technologies really change lives when such massive socio-economic change is happening and at what point should we stop applying algorithmic intelligence?

Digitally evangelical

VP and digital worker evangelist at software bot (short for RPA robot) development company Automation Anywhere is James Dening. Arguing that by 2021, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) will be a $2.9 billion industry, Dening says that 85% of the market is still untapped.

According to research conducted by Goldsmiths University, businesses augmented by automation achieved 31% higher financial performance and 30% greater business performance than their non-augmented counterparts. But for augmentation to yield the maximum return on investment (ROI), businesses must take a holistic approach not one that simply focuses on short-term gains to the bottom line, said Dening.

So there are caveats here and Automation Anywheres Dening agrees that AI initiatives should not be thought of as just a technology investment. To make them work in practical pragmatic real world ways for real human beings, organizations need to understand how people, processes, technology and digital workers all come together. In order to do that, we have to look at the end-to-end customer journeys, that state of current processes in play... and human behavior. Only when we do that are we able to create a new work process, reformulated and optimized for both human and digital workers.

Stop - Dont Automate Me!

For want of a real world example, imagine if a user booked a flight and received an automated upgrade because the airline booking system recognized the individuals mileage membership status. But, what if that person had friends on the flight who were sat back in coach? What if that person could see the seat allocation and wanted to try their luck at bagging a row-of-four middle section to make themselves a seat bed? A users choice might be overridden because the software system works on the basis of programmed logic, but we humans dont always think and behave logically do we?

Software automation and database algorithmic power can be more powerful than user choice; so as we start to apply these increasing layers of intelligence into our lives we must also think about the nuances of human behavior that machines wont initially be able to understand. Okay, this is hardly an answer to geopolitical unrest... but does illustrate how careful we need to be when adding automation to our world.

Automation Anywheres Dening likes to talk about the perhaps more finessed use of digital augmentation, where repetitive and low-value tasks are shifted onto automated systems to free humans to think creatively and strategically. This will be key if the machines of the future will be able to understand our personality nuances and behavioral idiosyncrasies.

New jobs are likely to involve very different skills, and this will require a commitment from organisations to provide access to training and development, to prepare the workforce. In the UK, companies are reporting that highly skilled AI professionals are hard to find and expensive to hire, driving up the cost of adoption and slowing technological advancement. Organisations that make a conscious decision to use automation in a way that enhances current employees skills and complements their working style may be able to mitigate some of these obstacles, but ultimately business need to move faster now on upskilling and reskilling their workforce for the augmented future, said Dening.

Intersecting empathy-to-digital

Automation Anywhere advises on what it calls the targeted use of automation technology and says that its research has pointed to a heightened ability of augmented companies to operate bimodally so that they can prioritize both present and future, tactical and strategic, goals.

The World Economic Forum believes that new technology will create twice as many job opportunities as are lost. Simultaneously, it says, there will be growth in so-called low automatability sectors such as human health, social work and education, as these jobs require social skills, empathy and creativity.

Finding the intersection point between the worlds of digital intelligence and human empathy is surely the biggest challenge on the automated road ahead.

Automation Anywhere's James Dening: It's time to look at upskilling and reskilling the workforce for ... [+] the augmented future.

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Automation Anywhere, But Should It Be Automation Anything? - Forbes

Human Behavior

UCLA researchers find success with preventative therapy for bipolar disorder – Daily Bruin

A UCLA-led study found that involving family members in therapy for children and adolescents with early indicators of bipolar disorder may help delay depressive episodes.

A team of researchers from UCLA, the University of Colorado and Stanford University studied 127 children and adolescents between the ages of 9 and 17 who showed early signs of bipolar disorder. Each patient was randomly assigned to one of two therapies: 12 sessions of family-focused therapy or six sessions of standard psychoeducation therapy, both over the course of four months.

Family-focused therapy helped the patients stay well for longer durations compared to standard treatment options, according to the study.

People with bipolar disorder experience extreme moods, said David Miklowitz, lead author of the study and professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. The moods change from high-energy manic episodes, characterized by being overly happy or excited with a sense of grandiosity, to low energy or depressive episodes, characterized by lack of energy, disinterest in daily activities and suicidal thoughts, Miklowitz said.

The children and adolescents involved in the study were at risk of developing bipolar disorder because they had a parent or grandparent with the disorder and showed symptoms such as depression, Miklowitz said.

During family-focused therapy sessions, clinicians teach the family more about bipolar disorder and help them form plans in the case of a relapse. Families learn to recognize when the childs symptoms worsen and are taught ways to help by forming better communication and problem-solving skills, Miklowitz said.

The therapist is kind of like a director, but the actual acting is done by the family, Miklowitz said. For example, when we teach them about listening, we dont just say Heres what good listening is nodding your head and keeping good eye contact. We actually have them do it in the session, so you speak and someone else in the family practices listening, and then we have them rehearse it.

The psychoeducation therapy was a combination of three family meetings and three meetings with just the patient, focusing on identification of bipolar symptoms, talking about different treatments and developing a plan the family could use to handle future symptoms, said Aimee Sullivan, a co-author of the study and a psychologist at the University of Colorado Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center.

Though psychoeducation is beneficial because it educates the patient and parents about the disorder and available treatments, it does not change the factors that contribute to earlier onset or more severe symptoms, such as tension at home or the child feeling isolated, that make it difficult for the individual to respond or improve with treatments, said James McCracken, director of the division of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Semel Institute.

In the study, 77% of the children and adolescents in the family-focused therapy experienced a recurrence of a depressive episode after an average of 87 weeks, while 65% of the children and adolescents in the psychoeducation therapy experienced a recurrence after an average of 63 weeks, Miklowitz said.

What this means is that we may be able to identify kids who are at risk of developing bipolar disorder early and give them a brief course of family therapy in 12 sessions, Miklowitz said. That may help them from having future episodes, or at least elongate the periods in which theyre well between episodes.

The patients had the option to take medication alongside the therapy, but only about 60% chose to use medication, Miklowitz said. After the four months of treatments ended, the participants episodes were tracked over the course of one to four years, depending on when they entered the study and how long they continued in it, he added.

It is common in other fields of health for individuals with an elevated risk of developing conditions such as heart disease or diabetes to receive information to delay or prevent the onset of the illness later on, Sullivan said. However, she said this practice has not been embraced in other fields.

But in the field of behavioral health, psychology and psychiatry, were just starting to look at this idea of preventative behavioral treatment for high-risk populations, Sullivan said. Given the strength of the impact of family-focused therapy on kids and adults who have bipolar disorder, we wanted to see if it would have this potential impact for high-risk kids in either delaying or preventing the onset of bipolar disorder.

Sullivan said she works primarily with bipolar patients and teaches skills from family-focused therapy often. The skills taught in the family sessions are especially applicable to families that have high levels of conflict, she added.

Both UCLA researchers and the team at Colorado have been trying to increase access to their research to people not affiliated with the research study, Sullivan said. She said she is visiting clinics in Colorado to train other clinicians to use family-focused therapy.

This study is important because it is one of several that show how important a childs environment and family is to their well-being, McCracken said.

Even though they are children at high risk for developing bipolar disorder, which people often presume is completely determined by their genetics, this study shows so strongly that the childs environment and their relationships with parents and their siblings are really important in determining their well-being and future, McCracken said.

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UCLA researchers find success with preventative therapy for bipolar disorder - Daily Bruin

Human Behavior

Its official: posting loads of selfies is linked to narcissism – Dazed

You know thatselfie-posting habit youve been cultivating on Instagram? Well, apparently its linked to some forms of narcissism, according to a new study by Computers in Human Behavior.

The new study aims to understand the relationship between selfies and narcissism, a personality disorder where a person has an inflated sense of self-importance and a lack of empathy for others mechanisms that are used to mask the individuals low self-esteem. These behaviours exist on a spectrum, meaning that a person can exhibit narcissistic traits without having a full-blown disorder.

For the study, researchers measured the narcissistic traits and selfie-posting behavior of 470 American and 260 Lebanese students, found a correlation between selfie-posting on Facebook and Instagram and grandiose narcissism, characterised by an overinflated ego and sense of self-importance.

However, displays of other types of narcissism leadership narcissism, entitlement narcissism, and vulnerable narcissism were not associated with selfies.

The researchers also found unshockingly that students from northeastern America tend to post more selfies than those from midwestern America and Lebanon. Capitalism, go figure.

Due to the scope of our study, we were only scratching the surface of community-based differences in predictive models for online behaviour. We desperately need more cross-cultural studies that investigate differences in online behaviour and the models that predict online behaviour. Research is needed to explore which elements of a geographic community (e.g., collectivism vs. individualism) might be linked with certain online behaviours, said Christina Shane-Simpson, who authored the study.

The findings from our study also suggest that personality predictors of online behaviour may differ across geographic community, and therefore, we should explore which personality traits are predictive within specific cultural communities.

Admittedly, the study should be taken with a pinch of salt. Just because you posted a thirsty pic last night doesnt make you a narcissist, but in the meantime, dont panic. Another study by Psychology and Aging found that boomers are more narcissistic than millennials, anyway.

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Its official: posting loads of selfies is linked to narcissism - Dazed

Human Behavior

Updated: Content moderation is hard, but there’s a new approach and it’s fueled by Spectrum Labs – Benzinga

San Francisco, CA, Jan. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yes, the internet has become the most transformative invention of the modern age it has forever changed technology, communication, gaming, marketing, banking, dating and more. But along with that change comes a dark side: The internet has also become a cesspool of toxic human behavior, poisoning the experience both for users and for the content moderators charged with safeguarding online platforms.

But, real talk: Faced with harassment or a disgusting experience online, many of us never report it. Instead, up to 30% of users decide to close their account or stop using certain social networks altogether. They just leave. All that focus on growth? Wasted.

Which begs a couple of questions: With all the transformation and dizzying innovations brought by technology, why do we still see daily headlines of online harassment, radicalization, human trafficking, child sex abuse, and more? And can online platforms manage growth while still keeping their communities safe?

Many companies think of "Trust and Safety" as just a compliance play a box to check, rather than seeing the connection to their platform's health and growth.

But Spectrum Labs, a San Francisco-based Contextual AI platform, thinks that's a mistake. Growth is directly tied to user experience.

Platforms like Facebook have faced backlash for outsourcing their content moderation services traumatizing lower-paid contractors with images and videos of shootings, violence and hate and only removing a fraction of toxic content on their platform.

Content moderation tools, while seeing some improvement over the last decade, are still flawed and need to be drastically improved. That's where Spectrum Labs comes in.

Spectrum Labs has developed an astonishingly accurate Contextual AI system that identifies toxic behaviors like hate speech, radicalization, threats, and other ugly behaviors which drive users away from online communities. They've also made it dead-simple, so that even people who don't understand code or datasets can know what's happening on their platforms any time. Spectrum Labs' approach is gaining traction with giant names in social networks, dating, marketplaces and gaming communities.

Legacy content moderation technologies typically use some form of keyword and simple message recognition (classification), which works best for interactions that occur at a single point in time. But most toxic behavior builds gradually; and Spectrum Labs' superpower is spotting those larger patterns of toxic behavior in context. Some customers have already seen a reduction of 75% or more in violent speech, heading them off before they ever reach users, while flagging the trickier, ambiguous cases to human moderators on the Trust and Safety team.

"Our customers put the safety of their community first and are seeing better retention rates and satisfaction. Our technology gives them the visibility and power to easily know what's happening on their platforms, any time, and in real time."

"In 16 years of working in tech, this is the first company I've been with where we are actually saving and improving lives users, players, kids, and moderators. We never forget that online experiences can have offline impact, so we're excited to continue helping companies make the Internet safer and healthier for their users," Davis added.

Spectrum Labs has built a library of large labeled datasets for over 40 unique models of toxic behavior, such as self-harm, child abuse/sexual grooming, terrorism, human trafficking, cyberbullying, radicalization and more, across multiple languages. Spectrum Labs centralizes its library of models across languages and then democratizes access so that each client can tune the service to their own specific platform and policies. No one-size-fits-all because a) it doesn't exist and b) it doesn't work (see: headlines every day of one-size-fits-all keyword recognition failing, with disastrous consequences).

This collaborative approach solves the "cold start" problem of launching new models without training data, and brings together a fractured and siloed data landscape, giving online platforms the ability to automate their moderation needs, at scale, while allowing for human judgment to be the final arbiter of what to allow on their platform.

Additionally, the ethical use of AI, in combination with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, and transparent data sets are just a few of the critical elements needed in order to operationalize automated AI systems that can recognize and respond to toxic human behaviors and content on social platforms at scale without causing harm to employees, contractors and users.

Tiffany Xingyu Wang, Chief Strategy Officer of Spectrum Labs said, "Whether it's the content children are watching, the dating apps adults are on, the gaming done by both children and adults, enjoying the experience safely is the priority." Wang added, "Internet safety is no longer just a nice-to-have. We're getting closer to a world where investments in trust and safety are differentiators that drive topline revenue."

Contact:

Tiffany Wang tiffany@getspectrum.io

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Updated: Content moderation is hard, but there's a new approach and it's fueled by Spectrum Labs - Benzinga

Human Behavior

This Is What You Need To Focus On To Reshape The Future Of Work, Says LinkedIn Report – Forbes

Getty

Last week,LinkedInreleased its annual Global Talent Trends report for 2020, which explores the big trends fueling the future of the workplace. Underlying all four trends is a key theme that will change the way you hire and retain talent:empathy.

The report, which combines survey results from more than 7,000 talent professionals in 35 countries, LinkedIn behavioral data, and 40 interviews with experts, states that putting human experience at the center of HR and hiring is crucial and includes actionable advice for leaders to turn insights into action.

According to the report, the 2020s will be all about putting people first:

Companies will work to understand their talent more deeply than ever before in order to better serve them. Many are well on their way. In late 2019, nearly 200 CEOs signed on to a Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation. Instead of putting shareholder value over all, they say, a companys purpose now includes investing in employees. Companies are becoming more empathetic not only to attract candidates but to retain their workforce amid increasing expectations of what employers owe to their people.

Of course, the idea of putting people first isnt new. VaynerX Chairman Gary Vaynerchuk attributes his success to his empathetic approach, even naming his head of people Chief Heart Officer. Simon Sinek believes its the most important instrument in a leaders toolbox. And Oprah Winfrey cites it as fundamental to leadership.

Yet for years, the soft skill of empathy was viewed as too squishy for business or confused with sympathy, which is feelingcompassionfor somebody. Empathy is about putting yourself in someone elses shoes and seeing things from their perspective.

In this case, your talents.

Heres a peek at how empathy factors into the years top four trends:

Companies will work for their employees (instead of just the other way around) and find new ways to cater to them. The report cites a whopping 96% of talent professionals say employee experience is becoming more important, with 77% of companies focusing on employee experience to increase retention.

This means that HR teams are going all-in on employee experience to attract and retain talent, mapping and making manageable an employees whole journey, regularly collecting feedback, and actively collaborating with employees to create an experience that works for all.

Or, as summed up by Mark Levy,former Head of Employee Experience at Airbnb and Allbirds: Employee experience is about doing things with and for your employees, not to them.

The LinkedIn report cites a 242% increase in HR professionals with data analysis skills over the last five years. And no wonder: with the proliferation and ease of accessing people analytics, companies will focus on better understanding and capitalizing on human behavior, a must-have skill in HR.

Indeed, the more a company knows about its people, the more strategic it can be in its workforce planning, predicting attrition, and evaluating employee performance. Providing insights to support better decision-making is the key purpose of people analytics, says David Green, global people analytics expert. By bringing data to the conversation, you can be more confident about your recommendations.

Talent professionals are rediscovering a key talent pool: their own people.

According to LinkedIn data, role changes within organizations (via promotion, transfer, or lateral move) have increased steadily by 10% over the last five years, and workplace learning is helping to build skills internally, so theres less need to import them from elsewhere.

Internal recruiting can be more cost-effective for organizations and one key to retaining talent. The report states a 41% longer employee tenure at companies with high internal hiring compared to those with low internal hiring.

For all the focus on mapping the external talent marketplace, the irony is that theres not enough focus placed on the talent underneath ones own roof, says Chuck Edward, Head of Recruiting at Microsoft.

The workforce is expanding like never before, heralding a new frontier for age diversity. The report states that 89% of talent professionals say a multigenerational workforce makes a company more successful, and inclusive companies stand to benefit by embracing everyones strengths, proving that good work is ageless.

To attract and retain Baby Boomers, Gen-Xers, Millennials, and now Gen-Z workers, some companies are getting creative, carving out new career paths, flexible benefits, and ways to share intelligence. The key, cites the report, is for companies to eliminate generational bickering among age-diverse teams and to create conditions that encourage collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Perhaps generational expert and author Jason Dorsey sums it up best: Organizations that take the time to break through stereotypes and myths can create tremendous trust, teamwork, communication, and openness that unlock the potential of every generation.

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This Is What You Need To Focus On To Reshape The Future Of Work, Says LinkedIn Report - Forbes

Human Behavior

Content Moderation is Hard, But Theres a New Approach and its Fueled by Spectrum Labs – Yahoo Finance

San Francisco, CA, Jan. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (via Blockchain Wire) Yes, the internet has become the most transformative invention of the modern age it has forever changed technology, communication, gaming, marketing, banking, dating and more. But along with that change comes a dark side: The internet has also shown toxic human behavior, poisoning the experience both for users and for the content moderators charged with safeguarding their online platforms.

Faced with harassment or a basicallybad experience online, many of us never report it, instead choosing to close our account or just avoid that platform altogether. We simply leave. All that focus on online platform growth? Wasted.

Which begs a couple of questions: with all the transformation and dizzying innovations brought by technology, why do we still see daily headlines detailing online harassment, radicalization, human trafficking, and more? Can online platforms manage growth while still keeping their platforms safe?

Many companies think of Trust and Safety as just a compliance play, a box to check, rather than seeing the connection to their platforms health and growth.But Spectrum Labs, a San Francisco-based Contextual AI platform, thinks thats a mistake. Growth is directly tied to user experience. Platforms like Facebook have faced backlash over outsourcing their content moderation services -- traumatizing their lower-paid contractors with images and videos of shootings, violence and hate -- yet still removing only a fraction of the toxic content online.

Content moderation tools, while seeing some improvement over the last decade, are still flawed and need to be drastically improved. Thats whereSpectrum Labs comes in.

Spectrum Labs has developed an astonishingly accurate Contextual AI system that identifies toxic behaviors like hate speech, radicalization, threats, and other ugly behaviors that drive users away from online communities -- made dead-simple so that even people who dont understand code or datasets can know whats happening on their platforms any time.. Its approach is gaining traction with customers like Pinterest, Niantic, and giant names in social networks, dating, marketplaces and gaming communities.

Legacy content moderation technologies typically use some form of keyword and simple message recognition (classification), which works best for interactions that occur at a single point in time. But most toxic behavior builds gradually; and Spectrum Labs superpower is spotting those larger patterns of toxic behavior in context. Some customers have already seen a reduction of 75% or more in violent speech, heading them off before they ever reach users, while flagging the trickier, ambiguous cases to human moderators on the Trust and Safety team.

Our customers put the safety of their community first and are seeing better retention rates and satisfaction. Our technology gives them the visibility and power to easily know whats happening on their platforms, any time, and in real time.

In 16 years of working in tech, this is the first company Ive been with where we are actually saving & improving lives users, players, kids, and moderators. We are excited to continue working with the passionate Trust & Safety community and are looking forward to making big strides in Internet Safety, Davis added.

Spectrum Labs has built a library of large labeled datasets for over 40 unique models of toxic behavior, such as self-harm, child abuse/sexual grooming, terrorism, human trafficking, cyberbullying, radicalization and more, across multiple languages. Spectrum Labs centralizes its library of models across languages and then democratizes access so that each client can tune the service to their own specific platform and policies. No one-size-fits-all because a) it doesnt exist and b) it doesnt work (see: headlines every day of one-size-fits-all keyword recognition failing, with disastrous consequences).

This collaborative approach solves the cold start problem of launching new models without training data, and brings together a fractured and siloed data landscape, giving online platforms the ability to automate their moderation needs, at scale, while allowing for human judgment to be the final arbiter of what to allow on their platform.

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Additionally, the ethical use of AI, in combination with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, and transparent data sets are just a few of the critical elements needed in order to operationalize automated AI systems that can recognize and respond to toxic human behaviors and content on social platforms at scale without causing harm to employees, contractors and users.

Tiffany Xingyu Wang, Chief Strategy Officer of Spectrum Labs said, Whether its the content children are watching, the dating apps adults are on, the gaming done by both children and adults, enjoying the experience safely is the priority. Wang adds, Internet safety is no longer just a nice-to-have. Were getting closer to a world where investments in trust and safety are differentiators that drive topline revenue.

Contact:Shazir MucklaiImperium Groupshazir@imperium-pr.com

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Content Moderation is Hard, But Theres a New Approach and its Fueled by Spectrum Labs - Yahoo Finance