Generative AI is transformative tech. It’s changing how we interact with the world around us, creating experiences that would have been relegated to science fiction just a few years ago. But as with any technological transformation, it's critical that the tech being deployed serves everyone and provides opportunities for all communities to grow and thrive.
And that applies not just to those who use the tech but also to those who build it.
So it's in that spirit that we wanted to produce a series of posts highlighting women's contributions to the development of AI. In this first post, we’ll be shining a light on some of the women shaping the experiences big brands are making possible with AI today as well as tomorrow. The women featured in today’s post will be also speaking at Modev's upcoming Voice & AI conference, taking place September 5th through the 7th, at the Washington Hilton, in Washington, DC.
Let's look at what they have in store for you.
Store Nº8 and the Future of Conversational Commerce
Kicking off the day, on September 7th, Dominique Essig, VP and GM of Conversational Commerce at Walmart will share her informed insights into the world of conversational commerce - a topic she knows a thing or two about.
Dominique (who also goes by Dom) is currently in charge of Walmart's Conversational Commerce team, overseeing all aspects of Walmart's conversational experiences, including both Voice and Text Commerce. Dom is dedicated to transforming the way people shop and interact with Walmart. Prior to this role, she held the position of Chief Product Officer at Jetblack, a members-only shopping service that was the first portfolio company in Store Nº8, Walmart's incubation arm.
Dom will be sharing her experiences within the conversational commerce space and build upon the lessons learned throughout that journey to look at where the tech is headed in the future and the transformative experiences it’s poised to bring.
Dom’s vision around conversational commerce is definitely impactful, shaping the experiences some of the world’s biggest brands bring to you. We’re proud to have Dom on our roster and we’re sure you’ll benefit from her knowledge, experience, and understanding.
Innovating Healthcare with Conversational AI: The Future of Empowering Patients in Disease Management
Paulina Lewandowka, Conversation Designer and Product Owner at Roche, is another woman making a meaningful impact in the world of AI. Striving to transform the healthcare industry for better outcomes for all, Paulina has been passionate about improving people's lives through technology for over twenty years. She’s dedicated the last three years of her career to experimenting with multimodal conversational interfaces to enhance patients’ healthcare journeys. And that’s exactly what she’s accomplishing with her work at Roche.
With global healthcare systems experiencing numerous challenges around financing, availability of services, and costs - to name just a few - providing patients with tools that lead to better disease management and achieve better health outcomes faster is not a luxury, it's critical. That's the outcome she's working so hard to provide and she passionately believes that the way we get there is through conversational AI.
In her talk, Paulina will discuss how conversational interfaces can act as a bridge between doctors and patients, facilitating better communication between various staff members as well as patients, while providing more data to inform and improve treatment decisions.
The 3 Intents
Conversation Designer at Capital One, Taylor Merriam will be joined by Capital One’s Manager of Content and Conversation Design, Jason Frank, to discuss what they call the three intents. Sound cryptic? Maybe. But if you take the time to listen to what they have to say, the lessons are crystal clear.
Capital One being one of the world’s biggest brands in the financial space, it’s probably safe to assume the folks they hire know what they’re talking about. So what are the three intents? Taylor and Jason believe that conversational interface design can be greatly simplified by understanding that their interactions are underpinned by three key intents. And that by determining what those intents are, you stack the odds in favor of a successful interaction.
They are:
- User intent
- Business intent
- Service intent
User intent is understood as determining what the user really wants (cut through the noise), given their request and its context. The business intent determines the output, what is provided to the user once their request has been understood. Finally, the service intent builds upon the latter two by determining how the output is provided to the user and the execution of the request. This modelization of the interaction heightens can enable organizations to build better and more successful conversational experiences, by measuring the delta between user intent and business intent to guide them as they design the conversation.
Impacts of Digital Humans on Chat and Voice Interactions
Then, Conversation Designer at General Motors, Gillian Eiserman, will be talking about digital humans. Digital humans are a subcategory of digital avatars designed to look human. Their human likeness combined with the capabilities of generative AI makes communication feel real. And it's that realism that has the potential to radically reshape the way we communicate online.
Building voice and chat applications for one of the world’s biggest automotive brands means Gillian is eminently qualified and her impact on the industry will be transformative. Building upon her experiences, she will focus her talk on four critical aspects of the use of digital humans:
- The impact of digital humans on traditional voice and chat experiences - What will change? How will those experiences be reshaped?
- How digital humans participate in providing personalized and human-like exchanges - What are the core elements of digital humans that make these interactions possible?
- The ethical considerations surrounding the use of digital humans in a voice chat context - What should developers keep in mind when building these systems?
- A bird's eye view at the many ways digital humans are transforming how businesses provide customer service and manage user engagement.
And finally, she will share her views on the future of voice and chat experiences in a world that has embraced digital humans - providing attendees with insights into the state of digital humans today, tomorrow, and beyond. So if you're wondering if digital humans are a good fit for your organization's voice and chat experiences, you won't want to miss this one!
Wrap Up
So that was a sample of some of our remarkable women speakers behind the world’s biggest brands. And we’ll be following up with other posts on women transforming the AI landscape. All of the women featured in this post will be speaking at this year's VOICE & AI conference - but there are many others - men and women. Have a look at our complete conference program for a breakdown of all our speakers. You're bound to find a compelling talk!
At Modev, we're proud to have such an impressive roster of women in AI speaking at our conference. And we hope to see you in Washington, DC, from September 5th through the 7th to share in the insights and the fun! Register today at https://www.voiceand.ai/. Register by July 7th and get a 50% discount using the code SUMMER50.
About Modev
Modev believes that markets are made and thus focuses on bringing together the right ingredients to accelerate market growth. Modev has been instrumental in the growth of mobile applications, cloud, and generative AI, and is exploring new markets such as climate tech. Founded in 2008 on the simple belief that human connection is vital in the era of digital transformation, Modev makes markets by bringing together high-profile key decision-makers, partners, and influencers. Today, Modev produces market-leading events such as VOICE & AI, and the soon to be released Developers.AI series of hands-on training events. Modev staff, better known as "Modevators," include community building and transformation experts worldwide.
To learn more about Modev, and the breadth of events offered live and virtually, visit Modev's website and join Modev on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
