在所有關于人工智能的熱議中，有一點是十分正確的：人工智能確實能做一些非常了不起的事，它能正確解讀消費者看電視或聽音樂的品味，在高峰期找到最不堵車的回家路線，人工智能的可能性簡直無窮無盡。但這項技術卻無法取代人的交往和人的心靈，如果搞人工智能的企業忽略了這一點，那么人工智能可能將成為一種威脅，而不是一種機遇。

因此，關鍵是要用人工智能增強和提高人的因素，而不是取代人的因素。這一點在高端美容行業尤為明顯。現在這個行業的一些企業已經將產品開發技術與AI中“人的因素”結合了起來，從而幫助人變得更美麗。

比如在我工作的資生堂公司，我們就使用了AI技術定制和加深消費者的體驗。同時我們秉承尊重、信任、無私的“以心致誠”理念，在方方面面都添加了“人的因素”。

我們最近收購了加州帕洛阿爾托市一家名叫MatchCo的創業公司，這家公司開發了一款移動應用，消費者可以用它掃描自己的膚色，為自己制定一款量身打造的粉底。在這個案例中，AI技術并沒有削弱每個人的固有特質，而是加強了與客戶的情感聯系。

人工智能經常能精確地發現我們的偏好，并據此提出建議，但目前它能精準預測的東西并不算多。在有些情況下，比如當你試圖與消費者建立真正的情感聯系時，AI的預測能力有時甚至會成為一種負擔。而與消費者建立情感聯系，正是消費者服務的核心。

首先，人是偶爾需要一些驚喜的，它會將普普通通的一次購物變成一種更深的、更愉悅的體驗。在這方面，AI只能提供一個框架。而當消費者意外挑中一種自己喜歡的顏色或香氣時，這種情感效果絕對是AI無法比擬的。

與消費者建立親密關系對任何主營奢侈品或生活方式的公司都是十分重要的。在這方面，科技是永遠無法取代人類的情感的。比如蘋果公司和愛馬仕合作推出智能手表，達美航空為精英會員推出了保時捷上門接機的驚喜服務（但是該服務是無法提前預約的），這些令人愉悅的體驗只有通過人際交付才能實現。

在各種推銷算法和大數據的狂轟爛炸下，消費者買不買一種產品，往往取于他們的情感需求，而不是理性選擇。這也解釋了為什么經濟危機期間口紅的銷量不降反升。當世間的一切貌似都無法掌控時，嘗試一種新的口紅顏色也就成了一種合理的人性沖動。對于這種沖動，機器既不能理解，也無法預測。

換言之，科技的目的是要深化人與人的關系。現今世界，科技的變革速度越來越快，個人往往會有被時代拋棄的感覺，人與人的情感聯系則更顯得無比重要。（財富中文網）

本文作者Marc Rey是資生堂美洲分公司董事長兼CEO。

譯者：樸成奎

For all the hype about artificial intelligence, this much is true: AI can do some pretty amazing things. Whether correctly predicting consumer tastes in television shows or music, or finding the best route home in rush hour traffic, the possibilities seem endless. But technology still can’t replace the human touch or the human heart, and for the businesses that lose sight of this, AI may be a threat rather than an opportunity.

The key is using artificial intelligence to augment and enhance the human element, rather than replace it. This is especially apparent in the luxury beauty industry, which has successfully married the technical science of product development with the human ability to make people feel beautiful.

For example, Shiseido, the company I work for, uses AI to customize and deepen the consumer experience. But we also apply a human touch to everything we do, adhering to the Japanese philosophy of omotenashi, which describes the subtle connection between respect, trust, and selflessness.

We recently acquired MatchCo, a Palo Alto, Calif. startup that developed a mobile app enabling consumers to scan their skin tone to identify and create a personalized foundation, and then order the customized blend. Rather than diminish the unique qualities inherent in every person, like technology sometimes does, in this case, AI actually intensifies the emotional relationship with the customer.

AI can frequently pinpoint our preferences and make suggestions as a result, but there are very real limits to what it can get right. What is more, in some cases, the ability to predict can be a liability when it comes to building a genuine emotional connection to consumers, which is at the very heart of serving them.

The need to surprise is one example, and this can be crucial to help turn an everyday purchase into a deeper, more pleasurable experience. Here, AI might provide a framework—but there is no match for human emotion in picking out an unexpectedly pleasing color or fragrance.

Similarly, when it comes to creating an intimate connection with consumers, which is essential in any luxury or lifestyle industry, technology will never replace human sensitivity. Note Apple’s teaming up with Hermès to create a smart watch, or Delta’s surprise-and-delight service that transfers elite customers from gate to gate in a Porsche but can’t be requested or scheduled beforehand. These aspirational experiences are made possible only through human curation.

Because for all the power of algorithms and big data, the decision to buy a product is often rooted in emotional need rather than rational choice. This explains why lipstick sales increase in times of crisis. The pleasure of trying out a new color when everything else seems out of control is a human impulse that machines can neither comprehend nor anticipate.

To put it another way, technology needs to be at the service of deepening human relationships. In a world where technology is evolving at a faster and faster pace, and individuals can feel like they are being left behind, human connections put us back at the center of the equation.

Marc Rey is the president and chief executive officer of Shiseido Americas.