What’s In This Issue?
This Week’s Main Stories
Story 01Amnesty International Uses Hypnosis To Create Empathy For Refugees
Story 02Can "RoboTherapy" Through A Chatbot Actually Work?
Story 03Google Ads Predictive Data To Help Travelers Choose FlightsEven More Stories
- IKEA Tests Renting Furniture As New Eco-Friendly Business Model
- Garbage Collectors Save Books To Create Their Own Library
- The Ultimate Time Tracking Device You Might Actually Like
- Yale's Popular Course On Happiness Makes Other Professors Sad
- New Survey Reveals Multiple Reasons Why Icelanders Are So Creative
- Lambda School Lets Students Pay With Job Income Instead of Tuition
Amnesty International Uses Hypnosis To Create Empathy For Refugees
Just as the virtual reality experience Clouds Over Sidra powerfully helped people understand the plight of refugees, this new campaign from Amnesty International is a perfect example of how this trend which I call "Virtual Empathy" has evolved well beyond only VR experiences. Participants in this simulation feel the anguish of being a refugee in a deep and real way with hypnosis and seeing them undergo this transformational experience is a powerful reminder that the most powerful way to build empathy is to find a way to experience something for yourself -- even if it requires a hypnotist.
Can "RoboTherapy" Through A Chatbot Actually Work?
The journalist behind this article spent two weeks texting a bot about her anxiety, and found it surprisingly helpful. The idea that technology and bots will take over more repetitive blue collar work has become something of a truism, but could a robot really do the job of a therapist? The Woebot does not aim to replace a therapist, but rather to augment ... and according to early reviews, it does it rather well. Though it seems odd, reading the conversation transcript gives you a useful sense of just how this might just be one of the earliest examples of how we might use technology to offer instant always-on assistance for those suffering from mental health in particular.
Google Ads Predictive Data To Help Travelers Choose Flights
Imagine if you could see the full historical performance of a flight at the time of booking, including how often it is delayed and why. That is exactly what you get with Google's new flight search tool and the implications are significant because it adds a whole new layer of transparency to booking flights. The tool will also show you up front what isn't included in the fare you're about to buy and better options. Of course, the machine learning may not always be right, but it's interesting to see just how much data we can now get immediately at the time of booking a flight.
