Rethinking AI’s impact
Welcome back to [re]frame what's trending — expert weekly perspectives on what’s happening in business, design, and technology.
Looking for more? Subscribe to our [re]frame newsletter for monthly insights delivered straight to you.
🧐 A reality check for the AI-driven energy rush
The concerns around AI's escalating electricity demand and the hype about its supply miss the nuanced complexity behind it. Multiple interconnected factors, from increased efficiency to infrastructure limitations, constrain the International Energy Agency's AI-related projections. They suggest that while AI will drive growth in data centres, the increase in energy demand is expected to be much smaller than feared.
By 2030, computing hubs will account for only 3% of global electricity growth, dwarfed by other more critical needs like air conditioning and mobility. Ensuring stable and affordable energy provision for AI will be a challenge, but one that shouldn't get more attention than meeting the broader energy demands of a warming world.
– Miguel Sabel Pereira , Global Director of Strategy and Sustainability at Designit
🤝 Microsoft and Be My Eyes collaborate to make AI models more inclusive
Microsoft’s partnership with Be My Eyes is a powerful step toward a future where accessibility-first design becomes the standard. By providing Microsoft with unique datasets reflecting the lived experiences of people who are blind or have low vision, Be My Eyes helps close the ‘accuracy gap’ in AI models.
Recommended by LinkedIn
This collaboration pushes the boundaries of inclusivity, ensuring that AI solutions better serve all users, not just the majority. It’s a reminder that designing for accessibility isn’t just a feature – it’s the future.
– Abhimanyu Sirothia , Design Director at Designit
⚖️ Cancelling subscriptions has to be as easy as signing up, the FTC says in a new rule
A new FTC ruling in the US means companies will now have to ensure that cancellation experiences are as seamless as sign-up experiences. Too often, businesses add unnecessary steps to make it difficult for customers to cancel services in hopes of retaining them, but this tactic only creates frustration and undermines trust.
Now, it will be just as crucial for service providers to design off-boarding experiences that are effortless and transparent, ensuring customers can leave as easily as they join. This shift marks an important move towards a more customer-friendly landscape.
– Conor Gallagher , Lead Insights Analyst at Designit
👋 Thanks for reading – subscribe below for more fresh ideas next week.
In the meantime, check out some of our top stories: How to reimagine mobility in a world obsessed with cars || Design the future: An interview with Anita Gorgin, Global Marketing Strategy Manager at Lufthansa Group || Navigating the complicated relationship between social media users, platforms, and marketers || A future shaped by accessibility-first design || Design the future: An interview with Anna Bracht, Brand Strategist at Lufthansa Group || The foundations of accessible design || Inclusive vs. accessible design and why you should know the difference