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AI empowered doctors

Perhaps the more likely scenario will be a compromise between AI taking over the world and it failing—AI functioning as another valuable tool.

Benjamin Fels is the CEO of [macro-eyes](https://macro-eyes.com/), a company on the frontlines of AI’s deployment in medicine. Together with his small team of experts he is working out the challenges of making use of the present scattered medical data. As product manager, his work entails meticulous details of how the software interacts with physicians and patients alike. His daily decisions negotiate the relationship between human and machine. Our conversation makes it clear that as a society, we still have a long way to go before physicians can be fully replaced by AI/technology. 


**How are you convincing doctors to give up part of their jobs to a machine?**

Algorithms do things that we typically don’t understand. You need to trust that even if it’s going to make decisions which confuse you, on some basis, there’s some structural logic which you agree with. And that comes down to the interface, in terms of how you see and understand those decisions and that logic.

We want to empower all physicians to be able to observe decisions that a machine makes and understand why the machine identifies certain patients or events as similar. Then, the doctor can start to interact with higher levels of insight or abstraction. To some degree, doctora will even be able to jump to the future; even see what is likely to happen to the patient.


**Where is the “intelligence” in the technology you’re working on, versus it being simply a very sophisticated search engine?**

What we’re creating is an ability to find patients or medical events that are similar across hundreds of dimensions [blood type, medical history, etc.], and where any one or many of those dimensions could be missed by the human eye/by a human. What we’re really thinking about is the common essence of the patients or events we’re taking into consideration.

“Similarity”, at a mathematical and conceptual level, is a challenging problem to solve. One of the first things that we built was a way for the doctor to say, “Okay, this match you showed me is particularly good or bad”; and then the machine is able to “learn” based upon the input of the physician.

It seems like the critical element to keeping trust is to keep the doctor physicians feeling like they’re the decision maker. And indeed, they are the decision maker. I have no interest in building some kind of robot doctor, because there are several reasons why that wouldn’t even be useful. And I also believe the technology and infrastructure is not even really there yet. 

This is exactly where I’m highly critical of AI. I want to emphasise that I’m building technology for an environment in which an expert, the physician, interacts with an intelligent system, the AI; and the expert is bringing knowledge and insight that the system doesn’t have. It’s important to understand that I’m not saying data; I’m saying information, which is one step up.

We humans observe things and know things which are not captured in data and that’s because we luckily don’t yet live in a world where every particle of reality is monitored. 

Doctors always talk about gait—the way a patient walks or how they show pain—and that is one example of all-important information in the form of clues, which are hard to get from just looking at data, at least, the data we are currently able to capture.

In the end, what truly matters is whether the data reflects the ground truth. Then, it’s a question of how to bring into our intelligent machine what we humans know, see or understand and that a machine doesn’t. For me, that is the Holy Grail. A paintbrush plus a human using that paintbrush in an expert fashion can have tremendous impact in the real world.

**What’s are some of the biggest limitations to AI’s progress in healthcare?**

If you have bad data and you feed it to the world’s smartest machine, the machine is going to spit out something that is gibberish. That’s also where we have to get back to this interaction between humans and machines. Even getting a machine to clean data by itself can be an extremely tricky task, because the machine needs to understand what data is—what’s correct data, what’s incorrect data, what variables or values there could be and when something is an anomaly that makes sense or an anomaly that’s entered incorrectly.          

The analogy I always give is that we have a customer whose refrigerator breaks, so he calls us on the phone and says, “My refrigerator just broke but you can’t come see it. Can you fix it?” It’s hard to fix a problem without being able to see it in depth, but that’s necessary because our customers often work with data that contains protected health information. 

The most important point I want to make is that data itself has to reproduce reality. When you start to think about even very small instances of data not reproducing reality, it’s altering the truth. If decisions are made based upon data that has affected reality, we stumble into dangerous scenarios—extremely dangerous, medically speaking.


**Would you say people are over-excited about AI?**

There is so much hype around AI and machine learning; when that hype meets industrial and enterprise customers, and it doesn’t produce the desired results in three seconds, I am worried that they will become frustrated. They might say, “Screw this. We thought you guys could predict the future in two hours and solve all our problems. Obviously, you can’t and we aren’t interested anymore.” 

Look back to 20, 25 years ago when we saw the first boom in machine learning and AI. We basically had a drought because customers of technology said, “Yeah, we tried it, it didn’t work.” So when you overhype things and downplay the incredible difficulty of getting the technology to work, you make people think it’s plug & play.

Even software we run on our computers has a learning curve—we must understand that it doesn’t work immediately, right out of the box.

Employment is a sensitive subject in the current competitive and uncertain landscape. Tell any student that the university degree they’re 3 years into earning is going to be worthless before they can pay off their student loans, and you can easily ruin their oh so great dinner party. Job automation can impact real people’s lives, but it also isn’t a guarantee—maybe after all, Artificial Intelligence is not all that it’s cracked up to be (or maybe: maybe after all, we must break down the hype of AI / maybe after all, AI is overhyped / maybe after all, we must break down the stigma around AI).

"I have no interest in building some kind of robot doctor."

Generation AI-empowered physicians

« Concevoir un robot-docteur, ça ne m’intéresse pas. »

Quand l’intelligence artificielle prête main-forte aux médecins

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Simply put, live commerce entails “[linking up an online livestream broadcast with an e-commerce store to allow viewers to watch and shop at the same time.](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/its-showtime-how-live-commerce-is-transforming-the-shopping-experience)”. It’s a livestream shopping event initiated by brands and most often hosted by individual brand ambassadors, influencers or even knowledgeable employees. Its objective is to empower consumers to participate through reaction buttons and chat functions as well as instantly purchase items/products. Amazon, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook are some of the platforms leading the way in livestream shopping. And brands such as Sephora and Petco are already leveraging those platforms’ new functionalities by frequently hosting shoppable livestream events.


Live commerce has two major benefits: it enables brands to increase conversion rates while improving brand image and positioning them as in-the-know with the latest trends. This ultimately fosters meaningful brand-consumer interactions and helps build long-term relationships.

With technology and the pandemic changing the way people shop, consumers are valuing experiences more than ever. Using live commerce, brands can entertain consumers & keep them highly engaged, providing them with unique experiences that are memorable.  

The new sales channel empowers businesses to go far beyond marketing and showcasing products; they can illustrate ease of use, describe how products are produced, or showcase creative ways to benefit from them. Best of all, as consumers are immersed into the livestream shopping event, brands can smoothly lead them through the entire customer journey—from awareness to purchase—in a way that has never been available to them in the past.

By embracing this emerging sales channel, brands can improve their positioning and better differentiate themselves, strengthening their existing customer base as well as attracting new shoppers. And since Gen Z tends to be most attracted to innovative shopping features and unique brand experiences, live commerce will be especially valuable to brands currently targeting or planning to target this younger consumer segment. 


The potential power and influence of livestream shopping is endless. Here are three tips on how brands can best leverage the live commerce revolution: 

**1) Effectively use your influencers**

Consumers often perceive influencers as more trustworthy and credible than brands themselves. An inspirational influencer that’s aligned with the brand messaging and positioning in your next livestream shopping event.  

**2) Accurately track the Return on Investment of your Influencer Marketing**

There is less of a need to set KPIs to track ROI over time. The direct connection between a livestream shopping event hosted by an influencer and viewership rates, number of completed orders, revenue generated, etc. will enable your brand to track ROI immediately and optimize more effectively.  

**3) Strategically apply scarcity tactics**

People often desire what is high in demand and hard to get. Creating exclusive products or promotions, such as shopping codes only valid for purchases made through the livestream shopping channel, can boost conversion rates tremendously.


Live commerce means a new era of sales and has the potential to change the way consumers interact with brands while revolutionising the retail industry. Strategically leveraging influencers for live commerce can help your business gain traction in this emerging field, significantly driving website traffic, increasing overall sales, and creating meaningful connections with customers. Collectively this helps your brand build sustainable growth for long-term growth.


New sales channels are constantly evolving—from ecommerce to social commerce to the emergence of livestream shopping.

How livestream shopping is transforming the way consumers interact with brands.

The live commerce revolution

Comment le live stream transforme la façon dont les consommateurs interagissent avec les marques.

La révolution du commerce en direct

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It is clear that consumers increasingly want to shop locally, whether that be for access, convenience, higher quality products, and/or to support local small businesses. The “Support/Shop Local” movement has been booming for a few years now, but patriotic consumption has become even more meaningful during the pandemic as global supply chains are being disrupted and the Canadian economy is hurting. What better way to show solidarity and boost the economy than through a local-first mindset? 


Several retailers have already adapted to the new consumer behaviour, leveraging the movement by offering “Support Local” features. Shopify, Canada’s answer to Amazon, launched “[Shop](https://shop.app/)”; the new consumer app contains a sorting feature that allows people to browse and shop businesses through location filters. This innovative feature is catering to consumers’ increased desire to support others in order to feel part of a country-, city- or neighbourhood-wide community. Buying presents from local artists on Etsy rather than giant sellers on Amazon might be people’s new way of connecting in the midst of isolation and social distancing brought about by the pandemic. 

Besides Shopify and Etsy, many other organisations as well as government bodies continue to leverage the potential of the localism movement by adapting more traceable production strategies, marketing to communities & Co. Recognizing that commerce is becoming more human-centric and all about community, the Gouvernement du Québec (Government of Québec) launched “[Le Panier Bleu](https://www.lepanierbleu.ca/)”. The initiative is promoting local businesses and products to encourage people to shop from Québec businesses, aiming to help stimulate the local economy which has suffered tremendously during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with the provincial government, their agency supported Québec retailers’ digital transformation, empowering them  to use the “Le Panier Bleu” platform to showcase and access tech tools, while simultaneously enabling consumers to find thousands of local businesses through the search engine, as well as endless inspirations through the related blog articles and newsletters.


Fact is, people are always reevaluating how they want to spend their time and money. And for a variety of reasons, more and more consumers are now opting to shop locally. Some are doing it to support brands that are important to them (or: align with their values) and to drum up business for pandemic-battered retailers/brands. Others shop local as it tends to be better for the environment and still others simply do it to stay safe as they fear contracting the virus when shopping in large stores among big crowds of people. Regardless of the reason/motivation/intention behind shopping locally, the outcome is always beneficial for the local economy and local businesses alike. We can’t forget that buying small and local is still a privilege reserved for those people able to pay for those often higher priced products.

Organic, fair-trade, second hand, etc—how people consume constantly changes. Buying locally-sourced products has become highly relevant over recent years and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rate at which people are adopting this trend.

The present and future of commerce is local.

The continuing rise of localism

La proximité, ingrédient clé du commerce actuel et futur.

La popularité croissante de l’achat local

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The measures of success have changed and as a result thereof, brands are looking for partners that can bridge the gap between the plan and the delivery of strategy. In other words, brands desire/have a need for businesses that act as both the consultancy and production house, linking the strategic plan to the action and connecting those two dots with flexible frameworks, not just processes, that brings to life competitive advantage.

Traditional categories like retail have converted into complex markets. Consumer expectations, data security, compliance, and more have introduced new variables that need to be accounted for. With markets evolving at the speed of light, it’s key for brands to gain and maintain traction. That means having short and long term measurable plans that affect their top and bottom line. 

The current reality is that businesses are being disrupted by the second, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards the always-on digital (world). In these challenging times, global footprint, local knowledge and the speed at which solutions are launched to market are crucial. Most importantly, brands’ decisions (of what to digitize and what to support with human interaction) need to be insight driven choices, grounded in likely hypotheses that can be tested (or: backed up by research). New business models have the power/capability/ability to accelerate the go-to-market process to unlock market opportunities, while always keeping the human perspective in mind.

Another change we are observing in the market is the reduction of boundaries between brands and partners. Fostering hybrid teams is key to stimulate innovation and growth. With turnover being extremely high in the current business world/landscape—hello Great Resignation—this tight-knit partnership is more valuable than ever. Companies across all industries are struggling to keep information, data and knowledge internal. Highly integrated hybrid teams are an answer to this problem that we/firms are experiencing every day/daily. It’s easy to spot positioning versus actual activation and brands are getting better at seeing the signs of agencies and firms that are “faking” the proprietary talent that’s needed to drive value.

Ultimately, we believe whether we call ourselves a firm, agency or consultancy doesn’t really matter – what matters is why and how we do it! Collaborating hand in hand with brands every step of the way is the new working model. Everything we do has the mission of improving human interactions with brands and therefore generates that unique trust that helps companies to generate sustainable growth. Trust grows companies. We (work with clients in the retail and health industries), identifying the right human insights and activating them with technology that creates powerful digital products and services.

The relationship between brands, consultants and agencies continues to evolve. Expectations of the outcome of work have equally changed. In the past, brands turned to agencies to deliver compelling creative strategies and marketing to position them ahead of competitors. Today, things look much different.

The same way that trust is earned versus claimed, the role of a firm is awarded by WHY and HOW they do it, not by WHAT they claim they do.

Agency vs Consultancy — New business models

Tout comme la confiance doit être gagnée plutôt que réclamée, le rôle d’une entreprise dépend de ses actions concrètes (pourquoi et comment elle agit), et non de ce qu’elle prétend faire.

Agence ou consultant, un nouveau modèle d’affaires s’impose

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We all know the “old” saying that the customer is always king. But even in this day and age there are still businesses that focus solely on economic growth, forgetting about the customers who are at the core of all of it. We believe growth is only as good as the loyalty and trust a company can earn with the human on the other end. Without genuine customer relationships there really is no sustainable business growth. This is just one of the many reasons why firms must learn to place deliberate attention on building a culture that values creating relevant innovations with customers at the core. We believe, customer-centricity – looking at the world through a human lens (not consumer, not user) in order to solve their problems and fulfil their wants and needs – is the best way to build a competitive advantage and grow in today’s competitive marketplace.


Some brands and retailers still don’t put the customer first, because they believe that it’s impossible to focus on being customer-centric and win the market. But it’s not. Growth comes from unlocking insight and actioning it. In today’s market there are two major ways to win: convenience and access. Consider Amazon and Walmart with their unique fulfilment strategies that empower them to get ecommerce orders delivered to your door within a matter of mere hours. Or think about Restoration Hardware, and Nike Rise, and how they tap into experiential retail, connecting physical, social and programmatic experience. While the success stories of these brands might seem straight-forward, there really is an art to creating a consumer need, and then satisfying it, and immersing a user with something desirable.

Yes, it takes major capital commitment but what really will help you win in the market is having focus. Stop trying to do it all. Invest into unlocking one to two core insights relevant to your products or services. Then, start by simply doing one thing that is responding to a need which is memorable, and go from there. Understand that building brand loyalty will take time. 37% of consumers make at least five purchases before they consider themselves brand loyal – so have patience; it’s a marathon, not a race. 

It’s also important to not stop once you have built a loyal customer base, assuming that growth will come automatically from here. The key lies in innovation. Brands and retailers tend to see innovation as overwhelming, especially when they see global brands like Apple and Adidas reinventing experience on a massive scale. But don’t let it get to you. Chewy, a big ecommerce pet supply retailer, has the right idea; they are asking big questions without fear, then translating them into actions that inform their strategy and culture. Think about your firm’s why, what and how. Ultimately, the why and the how matter most because the what is hard to own. Innovation can be as simple as introducing one critical feature at the right time. The beauty of the state of technology today is that there are so many options in immersive tech and OOTB products that can be customised. Farfetch, for example, recognized that consumers don't feel like brands are personalising experience, so they introduced RFID technology in-store to populate customer wish lists that show up online through the app, and it even pulls from their browsing history. This means high value and high impact for customers – the secret ingredients to innovation.

This type of customer-centricity in terms of strategy and innovation is crucial and it must be balanced with growth to achieve long-term success. Brands must realise the importance of their greater purpose and start tapping into their north star, the driver of every aspect of the company. If you have a north star, a clear value, you can establish how you are relevant to the people you are looking to connect with. It’s about the combination of brand DNA (what you exist to do) and human need (a motivation, or fear that you solve) plus demand space (what are the cultural dynamics that are relevant). This formula can help brands achieve growth, as long as the content they are publishing is consistent, relevant and meaningful. Consider retailers like Seventh Generation, Goop, the Honest Company – these are all brands competing in saturated marketspaces, yet they are clearly responding to a white space with a curated set of consumers, and with a clear purpose across content, product and experience. These brands are so successful because they are owning their brand signals which work together to give the illusion of commitment to a brand promise.


In this era of customer-centricity, businesses must empower their employees to never lose sight of their customers – what is it they want, how are they changing, what are they saying, etc.? By focusing on your brand’s greater purpose and connecting the why and how to customers’ needs, firms can build loyal customers to grow beyond limits.

Human First

The importance of customer-centric culture for business growth.

Consumers are king 

L’importance d’une culture orientée sur le client pour la croissance des entreprises.

Le client est roi

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**1) Use their language of systems**

Health care practitioners are trained to create and digest information in systems. Today more than ever, when it comes to sales reps communicating with HCPs, effective targeting with relevant content is key. Know your clients as people better than anyone else; this goes far beyond someone’s birthday or family status. The golden rule for both virtual and face-to-face interactions is to always be human-centred and to always consider the unique needs of each individual HCP.

**2) Lead with digital solutions**

Even though some of them might not realise it yet, a digital first approach can make HCPs life much easier. Offer help to bring digital solutions for their practice, using multiple channels and fully integrated shopping experience from brick-and-mortar to online shopping, and even mobile. This will not only simplify HCP’s daily work but also bring us one step closer to a reality in which the healthcare system is more seamless and preventive.

**3) Foster knowledge exchanges**

Organise virtual events between sales reps, field experts and HCPs to exchange on common challenges and/or new industry innovations. Platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams will be your friend for this/for hosting such events. But always consider HCPs limited time; try to keep events short and ensure participants will gain relevant knowledge and value. Time is a currency, let’s respect it.


There is no doubt that the pandemic has created much uncertainty and complexity but it has also brought many opportunities for positive change. Pharmaceutical companies that are able to adapt their approaches to the current situation and reinvent the way they do business and connect with medical professionals will come out on top. The tips above will support sales teams in effectively targeting, meeting with as well as selling to HCPs.

Overcrowded hospitals & strained medical staff—this is nothing new for the healthcare system. But the situation has dramatically worsened since the outbreak of COVID-19. A lack of hospital beds and healthcare professionals struggling to keep up with the influx of patients seems to be the new normal. And there is no end in sight. This stress, and the addition of social distancing regulations and limitations to everyday life, has resulted in Health Care Professionals (HCPs) having understandably little time for meeting with sales reps. So how can pharmaceutical and healthcare delegates effectively communicate with them during these challenging times?

Innovative approaches to cut through the noise and effectively market your products to healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Overcoming the challenge of communication to overburdened healthcare professionals

Découvrez de nouvelles approches pour capter l’attention des professionnels de la santé et faire connaître vos produits, pendant et après la pandémie.

Communiquer avec des professionnels de la santé surchargés : un défi à surmonter

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La diversité est une force que nous cultivons

# Connecter humain et raison d'être

Les motivations subconscientes déterminent le comportement humain. L'utilisation des _insights_ humain pour éclairer la stratégie est au cœur de ce que nous faisons.

## L'importance des _insights_

Insights Matter

L'importance des insights