Pairing people & AI

While algorithms are improving forecasting performance, human interventions are still needed to contextualise market changes and bring other attributes, like responsiveness, to the table. One hurdle to developing demand forecasting models today is the widely varying characteristics of different product categories. Short life cycle products, such as those in the fashion, beauty, and high-tech industries, have little to no historical data, making forecasting demand a challenging task. These products also pose a higher risk to companies because they are susceptible to higher stockouts or excess stock levels, as seen in the case of Barbie merchandise. Long life cycles products, such as furniture and basic household appliances, on the other hand, benefit from an extended presence in the market and thus provide ample historical data to forecast their demand.

(Adapted from “Pair People And AI For Better Product Demand Forecasting,” by Devadrita Nair and Maria Jesus Saenz, published on January 29, 2024, by MIT Sloan Management Review)

Hashish suppliers boycotting Israel

Moroccan hashish sellers are refusing to sell their wares to Israeli criminals in protest at the war in Gaza, according to Israeli media. A report in the Mako news site cited a number of Israeli drug dealers complaining about the drop-off in trade. “The hashish dealers in Morocco are not willing to sell us more hashish either directly or through intermediaries,” said one dealer. “They decided that because of the war, they are boycotting us. Since the war, we have lost a lot of money. Tens of millions of shekels at least.” “Why is it possible for Israelis to make a living selling Moroccan hashish when our Palestinian brothers are suffering from hunger and living in inhumane conditions?” said the dealer, based in the Rif Mountains, a hub for hashish growing. “Go buy it somewhere else. We no longer sell hashish to Israelis.”

(Adapted from “Moroccan Hashish Suppliers ‘Boycott Israeli Dealers’ Over Gaza War,” published on February 9, 2024, by Middle East Eye)

The ‘cute’ trend

Scroll through any social media feed, and before long, a cute video will appear. Perhaps it shows a giggling baby or a rabbit nibbling strawberries. A red panda might be throwing its paws in the air, like a furry thief being apprehended, or a kitten may sit astride a tiny motorcycle. The supply of these endearing clips is huge. On TikTok there are 65m videos tagged #cute. The demand is even greater: those videos have been viewed more than 625bn times. An interest in the adorable has long been derided as girlish and frivolous. But cuteness has recently become a subject of serious inquiry, inspiring scientific research, academic literature — dubbed “Cute Studies” — and a recent book, “Irresistible: How Cuteness Wired our Brains and Conquered the World”. In America, a puppy has advertised beer, and an endearing gecko helps Geico sell around $39bn in car insurance a year.

(Adapted from “Small, But Mighty: How Cuteness Has Taken Over The World,” published on February 2, 2024 by The Economist)

ChatGPT billions

The runaway success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has put it among the fastest-growing technology companies in history.The San Francisco-based start-up’s yearly run rate — a measure of the previous month’s revenue multiplied by 12 — hit the $2bn milestone in December 2023. Despite ructions at the company in November, when chief executive Sam Altman was ousted by OpenAI’s board only to be reinstated days later, the group continues to capitalise on the AI boom it kicked off. OpenAI’s extraordinary growth is set to put the Microsoft-back company among a handful of Silicon Valley companies — including Google and Meta — to have posted revenues of $1bn within a decade of being founded. The Microsoft-backed company believes it can more than double this figure in 2025 on the back of strong interest from business customers seeking to use OpenAI’s technology to adopt generative AI tools in the workplace, sources say.

(Adapted from “Openai On Track To Hit $2bn Revenue Milestone As Growth Rockets,” by Madhumita Murgia and George Hammond, published on February 9, 2024, by the Financial Times)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, February 19th, 2024