Last week our talented designer, Bonnie Cook led a seminar on UX for Machine Learning as part of our Next Matters Most series.It was a very educational evening for the 30+ designers, developers and ML enthusiasts. We engaged the content, asked great questions of Bonnie and each other, and moved the topic to the forefront of what matters most.Check out Bonnies UX & Machine Learning presentation and also our live Periscope feed on Twitter.A highlight of the evening for me was this great description of the stages of Machine Learning & Design Thinking and how they are so similar.

"Machine learning is a method of data analysis. In machine learning there are algorithms we use to make the machine learn iteratively through data collection and analysis and enable it to find hidden insights from the data. In this manner, the machine itself can make decisions without being explicitly programmed what to do in each case.Design thinking is a process for creative problem solving. As Artificial Intelligence is becoming more advanced, future business leaders must know how to use design thinking with Machine Learning in order to create better and more effective solutions."

Some other highlights for me included:

   
• The idea of curation vs. algorithms in the ever popular online music world. "Designers need to be able to design BOTH algorithmic data and curated data - they’re equally important personas."
   
• Learning how Disney is using data and Machine Learning to completely transform the user experience and control our lives.
   
• Seeing how AirBnB used Machine Learning to create a customized regression model for dynamic property pricing.

It was a great evening overall, and we were glad to continue on our Machine Learning journey. We left attendees with some resources to continue on their Machine Learning journey, and share them with you here as well.If you want to hear the presentation for yourself, Bonnie will reprise her talk at the January 23  Women in Tech Allies Meetup here at Smashing Boxes!Continue to check this space for more content the rest of this quarter and to see what our future Next Matters Most topic is going to be.David Shepley is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Smashing Boxes, overseeing client success and helping craft our marketing strategy.