Page 113 - Fortune-November 01, 2018

ar tifi c i al intelli gence + life and lei sure
MONEYBALL 2.0
WHEN NHL SCOUTS looked at Sean Durzi (above) in
2017, they decided to pass on the 19-year-old de- work better in what part of Media research giant
fenseman. Just one year later, Durzi went second
round to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The difference
was powerful new A.I. software by Montreal-based
startup Sportlogiqthat parsed terabytes of data
to uncover his powerful playmaking ability—call
it Moneyball 2.0. Sportlogiq is just one of several 50 stores that scan shelves at key points. “We were really
companies using A.I. to help teams spot the next
star. “It’s all about identifying talent in hidden products placed back in the it was Kaepernick’s message
pockets and finding that diamond in the rough,”
says Cam Potter, cofounder of BrooklynDynamics,
an Australian data-analytics company that has
worked with several Major League Baseball teams
and even developed a machine-learning A.I.
system for the 2017 Tour de France that collected in-store tech, companies positively, and with surprise,
real-time data points and spit out race predictions. like Navii and Simbe that to women players featured in
Brooklyn Dynamics is developing an app
that will soon allow time-crunched scouts and
coaches to run machine-learning analytics on
both prospects and current players, creating a
centralized database that can be accessed by
college and pro teams around the world. “It’s a
unique tool to add to the recruiter’s repertoire,”
Potter says. “Other members of the organization
can then look at [the stats] and join in on the draft
discussion to eventually decide who’s going to
bring value to the club.” —C.K.
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FO R T U N E. CO M // N O V. 1 . 1 8
CHANGING WILL THIS AD
HOW YOU SHOP MAKE YOU SMILE?
BRICK-AND-MORTAR MARKETERS DON’T ALWAYS
stores have a new calling: hit the mark—we’re looking
They’re perfect A.I. data col- at you and that Kendall
lection labs. Home Depot is Jenner spot, Pepsi—but
using data from millions of increasingly, they’re leaning
transactions to figure out on artificial intelligence to
what else you—the DIY-er make those misfires less
grappling with, say, a big likely. Emotion A.I. firm
kitchen renovation—might Affectiva says a quarter
need and provide detailed of Fortune 500 companies
home project guides as well use its tech in their creative
as hyper-targeted cross- development processes,
selling. Sephora has used testing the reaction to po-
A.I.-powered facial recogni- tential ads in A.I.-enhanced
tion by ModiFace (recently survey research. Affectiva’s
bought by L’Oréal) to help system, which has been
shoppers select that exact trained on images of 7 mil-
right makeup shade: The lion faces (and 3.8 billion
software analyzes millions facial frames) from 87
of other past users to better countries, decodes the
predict what will look good facial expressions of indi-
on you. And MIT-spinoff viduals—the tech identifies
20 specific ones as well as
Celect uses machine learn-
ing to forecast how shop- eight emotions, including
pers behave, determine “disgust”—moment by mo-
what kinds of promotions ment as they watch ads.
the store, and figure out KantarMillward Brown,
where products should be which has deployed Af-
placed for optimal results.
fectiva’s product since
As for that price check 2011 (30,000 ads’ worth)
in aisle 10? Walmart, for found Nike’s lauded Colin
one, has tested robots at Kaepernick ad scored smiles
for out-of-stock items, able to pinpoint the fact that
wrong spot by custom- about sacrifice and dreams
ers, and incorrect prices that triggered the positive
—all time-consuming response,” says Graham
and cumbersome jobs for
Page, the firm’s managing
humans. Though retail- director. They also found
ers are tight-lipped about that viewers responded
make A.I.-powered robots World Cup ads.
are attracting attention and Page noted that beyond
investors, according to CB helping clients sharpen
Insights. —Phil Wahba their campaigns, Kantar has
gained broad insights that
benefit all clients. Ads that DURZI: DAV ID K IROUAC —ICON SPOR T SW IRE V IA GE T T Y IM AGES
viewers describe as “pro-
gressive,” with protagonists
featured in modern roles
(rather than traditional ones)
are 25% more effective, ac-
cording to the firm. —E.F.