 |
|
|
|||||
Companies try all sorts of waysfrom paint nights to escape roomsto foster creativity among employees, but Pixars approach is likely unique: The animation studio hosts regular mean caricature nights, in which employees draw really nasty pictures of one another. To some degree, we make cartoons, so were starting out in a good place, but we really try to foster as much play as we can, said Pete Docter, Pixars chief creative officer, speaking at Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies Summit in New York last week. Lowering the fear level and encouraging a playful and fun environment, he said, has a tangible benefit: That seems to produce the best work. It may seem ironic that a creative powerhouse like Pixar has to schedule in time for employees to be funny and creative, but Docter said its necessary because of the nature of workdays, which are tightly packed into 15-minute increments. Creative Risks Embracing creativity is also important because the studio must take risks when creating original worlds to potentially build new film franchises from scratchand thats especially true in a time when audiences havent fully returned to movie theaters post-COVID and still have a decided preference for sequels, Docter said. Its a rough time, and all we can do is try to make movies that I think are led by uswe have to believe in them, Docter told the audience. And Pixar will soon test whether audiences agree: Its new original film, Elio, opens in theaters on June 20. This marks the studios 29th film in three decades and follows Inside Out 2, which was released last summer and became the Disney animation units biggest box-office hit ever. The massive success of that film was a surprise, Docter said, as making new original films requires a degree of hoping for the best. It takes as much work and effort to make something that doesn’t make money as it does for something that does. And you can’t really plan on this stuffsometimes you just hit the right little combinations of things. While the studio has to take risks, Docter said, these films also take five years to make and, by the time moviegoers see one in a theater, about eight different versions have already been made in prototype form. To mitigate some risks, Pixar has landed on a cadence of one original film followed by one sequel, more or less, he added. We have to find out what people want before they know it, Docter said. Because if we just gave them more of what they know, we’d be making Toy Story 27. Embracing AI While Hollywood more broadly has been trying to contend with the implications of AI in recent years, Pixar has already been using the technology in various ways for almost 10 years, Docter said. One such way: To render a single frame of filmof which there are 24 every secondcan take 30 to 40 hours, but the studio developed software in which AI finished off the task in much less time. That’s been very productive, it’s not jeopardizing anybody’s job or anything like that, Docter said. And the studio is exploring other use cases for AI as people are starting to better understand the really cool ways it could be used, he added. As I look at it, it’s an exciting new tool. Finally, Docter likened some of the current fear around AI to worries back in the mid-1990s that computer-generated actors were going to replace real actorssomething that has yet to happen. Its not going to replace all of us because there is something about the human conditionthat’s the reason we go to movies, it’s why we read or sing or listen to musicwe’re trying to connect with each other, he said. And I think you can just sense that when it’s not there.
Category:
E-Commerce
If you or someone you love has faced a medical mysterya child with unexplained symptoms, a diagnosis that never quite fitsyou know the agony of waiting for answers. For many families, the search for a diagnosis can take years, filled with uncertainty, frustration, and fear. But today, something remarkable is happening behind the scenes: Artificial intelligence is quietly transforming how quickly and accurately we can find those answers. The data dilemma Over the past decade, the rise of genetic testing has given us unprecedented power to diagnose rare and complex diseases. However, sequencing a genomes worth of information generates a staggering amount of data. Imagine trying to find a single typo in a library of books. For doctors, making sense of this information can be labor intensive and time-consuming, and for families waiting for answers, every minute matters. AI is helping us solve this data dilemma by reducing the manual burden on clinicians, increasing diagnostic yield, and making advanced genetic testing more accessible. What this means for patients In my time as a clinical geneticist, I’ve interpreted thousands of genome sequences. I can testify firsthand to how much efficiency we gain by leveraging AI in the process. At GeneDx, we’re experimenting with AI tools that help us extract key clinical clues from patient records, prioritize which genetic variants are most likely to matter, and deliver faster, more precise answers for families searching for a diagnosis. This isnt some futuristic practice we expect to impact in the future were using this technology to help patients, today. GeneDx CEO Katherine Stueland shared more information about how our laboratory is leveraging AI to improve patient care at the recent Fortune AI Summit. AI tools are working to put genetic diagnoses into the hands of families sooner by decreasing the amount of time it takes to interpret a genome sequence. We can support genetics providers so they can work more efficiently and serve more patients. For families, the impact is profound. A faster diagnosis can mean earlier access to therapies, more informed medical management, andperhaps most importantlyrelief from the uncertainty that so often accompanies rare diseases. Ive seen parents shoulders drop in relief when they finally get an answer, and Ive seen how that clarity can change the trajectory of a childs care. There is real hope in knowing that technology can bring comfort, direction, and a sense of community to families who have often felt alone in their search for answers. The future is now AI cannot replace the human touch offered by a team of experts, and thus, it’s important to use a human-in-the-loop approach, where every AI-generated insight is reviewed and validated by expert medical geneticists. This partnership between human insight and machine learning means medicine can move faster, delivering diagnoses in days instead of monthswithout sacrificing accuracy or patient care. The key is to keep patients at the center of every innovation. Technology should empower, not overshadow, the human relationships that define great healthcare. With every advance, were reminded that hope is not just a byproduct of progressits the reason we pursue it. From diagnosis to discovery The journey doesnt end with a diagnosis. AI is helping patients move faster toward new treatments, clinical trials, and discoveries. By partnering with biopharma and researchers, were turning todays answers into tomorrows cures. As we celebrate the progress weve made, I encourage patients, doctors, and policymakers to look beyond the headlines. For patients and families, that might mean asking your doctor about genetic testing or sharing your story to help others on a similar journey. For clinicians, its about staying curious and open to new tools that can enhancenot replaceyour expertise and compassion. And for those shaping policy or developing technology, its a call to champion innovation that is transparent, equitable, and always centered on the needs of real people. AI in healthcare isnt a distant dreamits a reality thats improving lives today. The future of medicine is here, and its more hopeful, more human, and more connected than ever before. Britt Johnson, PhD, FACMG, is head of medical affairs at GeneDx.
Category:
E-Commerce
AI is significantly impacting software development. Programmers write code. Their job is to translate product specifications into text a computer can understand, compile, and execute. There is some room for programming creativity to architect an application to simplify future maintenance or improve performance. However the most creative aspects of digital product development (e.g., mobile, wearable, web, and desktop apps) involve humans, from identifying their challenges when contemplating a product to gathering feedback when refining it. Successful digital products require a team of creative, critical thinkers. A typical team includes product owners, designers, developers, project managers, quality assurance specialists, and marketers. In recent years, low-code and no-code tools have become more capable, making it possible for non-developers to create prototypes and proofs of concept. AI is taking that to another level with its ease of building and the capabilities of the resulting product. Quantity versus quality in this new era Firebase Studio and tools like it generate code, not a black box. Suppose the product fails to meet requirements for any reason. It can then either be regenerated from an altered prompt or maintained like a traditional software project by engineers skilled in the projects programming language. That kind of troubleshooting and maintenance will benefit from a trained developers knowledge and experience. Im in favor of tools that help people get ideas out of their heads and onto a device where others can interact with it and provide feedback. Cocktail napkins may be relegated to their more limited wicking roles. But these new capabilities have the potential to rapidly expand the number of available digital products (web products, apps in the App Store, etc.). We could face a quantity over quality challenge with significantly more rough products obscuring the diamonds. Marketing teams will face a greater challenge boosting their product above the noise to be noticed. Technology and the role of human creativity The promise for non-developers is compelling, but what about professionals? Digital product professionals with extensive digital product development experience will benefit from advanced AI tools for design exploration, code generation, and test authoring. Drawing on experience, those professionals can direct AI tools to produce higher-quality results than someone with less experience directing the same tools. Lessons learned from prior experience should result in better prompts and, ultimately, better products. A powerful tool in the hands of someone who knows how to wield it can produce excellent results. A cautionary tale Decades ago, I was involved in the third rewrite of a struggling software product in the education market. The business owners were convinced their products problems were tied to their programming language choice. It was early in my career, and the migration was to a language I enjoyed, so I didnt think to ask questions. As with previous rewrites, the feature set remained essentially the same. The basic architecture remained the same. And the team driving the requirements remained the same. Not surprisingly, the rewrite results were also the same. The product was not noticeably faster or easier to use, and customers didnt like it any more than the previous version. I learned an important lesson from the project. Technology by itself (in that case, a programming language) rarely moves the product success needle. Solving the right problem with the right basic approach, driven by user feedback and the marketing skills and budget to spread the word, has a far greater impact on the results. The same is true for AI. It is a fantastic tool that bestows the superpower on unskilled people to make really awful software products faster than they ever could before. Beyond programming: Solve the right problem with empathy While greater accessibility for non-developers and more powerful tools for skilled professionals are positive, the outlook isnt all rosy. Currently, AI is best at building products when specific instructions are given. The more detail we provide, the better the results. That is very similar to the programmers role. Businesses that currently thrive by turning detailed specifications into functioning software products have the most to lose when AI tools most closely match their skillset. There is much more to digital product development than programming. Our clients value creative thinking, critical thinking, empathy, and a passion for creating compelling user experiences. Those characteristics are vital in ensuring were solving the correct problems for our clients. Less programming effort will be required to build digital products. However, for the foreseeable future, there will still be a significant need for the distinctly human creativity and skills that make products great. Brad Weber is the founder and president of InspiringApps.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||