Nov 25, 2020|
JDD Series: AI for a More Human World: MIT Professor Daniela Rus Speaks at JDD
by Kelly Dawson
For many, AI can evoke images of a less human world in which technology reigns— but for MIT professor Daniela Rus, AI actually enables more human experiences, carrying with it enormous potential for good.
Speaking at this year’s online JD Discovery conference, which gathered industry experts from around the world in all areas of technology, Rus posed a scenario in which a visually impaired individual dons a smart wearable device to take a walk on a summer day. The device might describe a beautiful window display through a brail buckle that spells out the description, vibrate gently on the user’s left to notify him of an obstacle; or communicate that a friend is walking by—or even alert him to the presence of a small cat. Later the person might find a bench where he can sit and feed ducks.
“Imagine the richness of a user who can take advantage of the AI robotics learning technologies that enable these kinds of capabilities, and how much richer this experience is than walking down the street using a white walking stick where all you get is one bit of information: Is there an obstacle in front of me, or not? This is extraordinary,” she said.
Beyond enriching people’s lives on a daily basis, AI is also playing a key role in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, she said. A team of students in her lab is currently developing ways to use robots to fight the spread of infection by disinfecting spaces and ensuring food security, an essential task during a pandemic. One project developed by the team is a robotic system that traverses the warehouse for the Greater Boston Food Bank, neutralizing any potential virus particles with UVC light. Computing its own speed and trajectory in order to cover every surface of the space, the robot is ensuring the safety of not only warehouse workers, but everyone who receives food from the project.
In this way AI actually enhances our humanity, opening the way for safer, more enriching experiences. But the public understanding of these technologies has often lagged, said Dr. Bowen Zhou, president of JD Cloud & AI, in an essay touching on similar topics earlier this year.
Some of this lingering squeamishness around AI is rooted in unfamiliarity, Zhou said. “Many people lack full understanding of AI, and therefore are more likely to view AI as a nebulous cloud instead of a powerful driving force that create a lot of value for society,” he said.
Additionally, the technology is proliferating faster than regulations can keep pace, he said.
Rus echoed Zhou’s thoughts, noting that it will be up to scientists and AI experts to proceed with deep consideration of how the technology should develop.
“We have to be thoughtful about the consequences of our work,” Rus said. “We have to ensure that advancements serve the greater good, and that everyone should have the opportunity to benefit from [such] a future.”
Zhou believes that as long as the AI community is willing to face these concerns head on, there is little to fear about the development of these technologies. Making AI more accessible through education and communication about its benefits will be key to helping people understand the potential value of AI, he said. JD is already focused in this direction, with research in visual IoT that enables AI to be more explainable and accountable, among other efforts, he said.
“[Building] trustworthy AI is a marathon, not a sprint,” he said. “But if we embrace AI innovation and regulation with an open, inclusive, principle-based and collaborative attitude, the value AI can create can far exceed our expectations.”
Rus noted that in light of the broader difficulties and challenges facing humanity—COVID-19, climate change, disease, inequality and more—it would be easy to feel disheartened.
“But I don’t,” she said. “I feel hopeful, because when I look around I see the many ways in which technology in general and AI in particular have made the world better. There are so many ways in which tech can help us with our greatest challenges, whether those are challenges faced by individuals or challenges faced by society.”
Rus envisions a future in which routine tasks are increasingly offloaded to machines, so that people can focus on cognitive, strategic tasks that allow them to do critical and strategic thinking.
“I imagine the doors that AI will open for the future,” she said. “It is so wonderful to be part of this revolution at this point in time.”
Apr 22, 2024|
JD.com Debuts AI Digital Representative of Founder Richard Liu During Livestream, Drawing 20 Million Views in Under One Hour
During a livestream on April 16th, JD.com introduced an AI digital representative of its founder, Richard Liu (Qiangdong Liu), nicknamed “procurement and sales manager Brother Dong (采销东哥).” Liu appeared in both JD Home Appliances and JD Supermarket’s livestreaming rooms, attracting over 20 million views within the first hour and generating RMB 50 million in sales throughout the entire livestream.
The digital representative almost perfectly replicates Liu’s facial expressions, body language, gestures, and voice, capturing even the subtlest movements of his fingers. Behind this technology is JD Cloud’s ChatRhino, an advanced large language model (LLM) that brings the avatar to life.
Behind the Technology
The LLM precisely mirrors Liu’s distinctive expressions and movements, naturally weaving in his occasional finger twiddles while he speaks, accentuating points with hand gestures, and adding nods at just the right moments for emphasis, creating a natural and authentic representation. Perfecting the voice proved to be a greater challenge. Those who have heard Liu speak are well-acquainted with the distinct inflections of his Suqian accent—a characteristic touch from his small-town roots in Jiangsu province. Observers will note the brisk pace of his speech, lighter enunciation, and his tendency to meld words in a seamless flow. His “sh” sounds carry a nasal quality, and he often addresses people as “brothers” to boost morale.
While programming the standard Mandarin dialect is relatively straightforward, teaching the AI to adopt the nuances of the Suqian dialect and Liu’s unique vocal patterns required a precise level of customization from the ChatRhino LLM. For example, the LLM had to provide accurate judgments on when to introduce the nasal tonality or the specific moments to merge words, ensuring the AI’s linguistic output mirrored Liu’s signature speaking style authentically.
Beyond replicating vocal characteristics, the AI’s voice must also be suitable for the casual, dynamic atmosphere of e-commerce livestreaming, such as adopting colloquialisms like “xiong di men” — a phrase comparable to “folks” or “guys” in English — to create a friendly rapport with the audience. JD Cloud’s ChatRhino team fine-tuned the model to focus on sociable nuances. The initial dataset for the LLM consisted predominantly of Liu’s formal speeches—spirited and compelling, yet too ceremonious for the interactive world of livestreaming. To cultivate a more congenial and approachable persona, the team utilized Liu’s recent casual conversations as the primary source material, rich with personal anecdotes and travel tales. This approach shaped the AI’s voice into one that is that is not only natural and approachable but also genuinely engaging for the end user.
As a fully self-developed technology product of JD Cloud, the ChatRhino Digital Representative solution has already served over 4,000 brand merchants, contributing to a 30% increase in order conversion rate during idle hours and helping merchants reduce livestreaming costs, enhance operational efficiency, and optimize user experience. Equipped with 50,000 hours of voice data, this technology enables digital representatives to intelligently adapt to various livestreaming styles dynamically.
The AI is also adept at managing 70% of routine live chat inquiries autonomously without any manual intervention, while also optimizing its responses with a self-improving algorithm. For instance, digital representatives can autonomously fields questions using product details and scripts, and post-livestream, and assimilate new information. Mirroring the acumen of seasoned sales professionals, it boasts a 90% accuracy rate in offering tailored product recommendations when solicited by customers.
The recent introduction of a cutting-edge livestream control console serves as the “brain” for the digital representative solution. It diligently monitors real-time inventory, adjusting the showcased products in the livestream and tailoring the script to ensure relevance—sidestepping items that are out of stock and spotlighting those in high demand. It also gauges and fine-tunes the frequency and style of interactions based on live audience engagement. With this advanced platform, businesses managing multiple livestreams can effortlessly operate thousands of sessions concurrently via cloud services, bypassing the need for intricate local setups. This innovation yields a substantial cost reduction of 30%.
Human-Machine Synergy
The intention behind digital avatars is not to outshine or compete with human talent but to harness the potential of technology to work in concert with livestreamers, maximizing overall growth. Essentially, the digital representative solution serves as a tool for brands and merchants to leverage long-tail traffic once real livestreamers conclude their broadcasts. JD’s analytics indicate this strategy can boost order conversion rates by 30% during off-peak hours, such as late into the night.
Digital representatives also excel in specific product categories that require detailed explanations, such as health products like nursing beds, electric wheelchairs, and oxygen concentrators. The solution can provide constant, round-the-clock guidance, adding substantial value to livestreams when traffic is typically lower.
Last week, JD.com announced an investment of one billion yuan into video content creation. This investment underscores JD’s commitment to leveraging the power of short videos and livestreams to transform the online shopping experience for its users and create new growth avenues for brand merchants.
Apr 20, 2024|
JD.com Unveils Ambitious Plans for 618 Grand Promotion: Aiming to More Than Double High-Performing Merchants
JD.com is gearing up for this year’s 618 Grand Promotion with an ambitious goal: to more than double the number of merchants achieving sales over one million yuan on its platform. At the recent Conference of Merchants and Ecosystem Partners on April 18, JD.com introduced a range of supportive initiatives aimed at achieving this ambitious target.
Sandy Xu, CEO of JD.com, noted at the conference that the company will dedicate significant resources to bolster traffic support, incorporate advanced AI technology, and enhance service capabilities. These efforts are particularly focused on empowering third-party merchants, including small and medium-sized enterprises in its marketplace.
Key initiatives include optimizing the platform’s traffic distribution ecosystem to prioritize highly-rated stores and products and competitively priced products through enhanced search and recommendation mechanisms. Additionally, JD.com will continue to offer merchants free access to high-traffic channels, which include significant incentives such as the popular 10-billion-yuan discount and free shipping programs.
To engage more content creators, JD.com recently announced that it will allocate over one billion yuan in cash incentives and traffic resources. This investment aims to cultivate a vibrant ecosystem that supports merchants’ traffic, business growth, and innovation.
At the core of JD.com’s strategy is technological innovation, which involves integrating AI-driven solutions into merchant operations. This includes the deployment of JD’s proprietary large language model, ChatRhino, and an AI-empowered merchant operation platform that offers are variety of free AI applications, and more. These technologies streamline various operations scenarios, enhance efficiency, and reduce costs for merchants.
For instance, On April 16th, JD.com unveiled an AI digital avatar of its founder, Richard Liu, as a sales host on its livestreaming platform. This event attracted 20 million viewers in just one hour and generated sales exceeding RMB 50 million ($6.9 million). This AI-driven virtual host technology, developed by JD Technology, is now supporting over 4,000 brands on the platform. Additionally, merchants such as a sashimi knife seller can utilize JD.com’s AIGC content generation tool to quickly produce high-quality demonstration images, bypassing traditional costs associated with product photography.
JD.com also continues to enhance its service capabilities, particularly for small and medium-sized merchants. This includes personalized business guidance, comprehensive training programs, and upgraded after-sales services, ensuring a seamless shopping experience for customers.
As of March 2024, JD.com has seen a significant increase in active third-party merchants on its platform, surpassing one million. This growth is a testament to the platform’s effectiveness and its appeal to both new and established merchants.
JD Health and CTTQ to Explore Cooperation On Pharmaceutical Industry
