There is no doubt that the best way to research and transform society is by co-creating with those who live the problems. Direct participation from people generates better solutions and a greater impact. Today, artificial intelligence allows us to take this a step further: listening massively to what millions of people are already expressing on social media and forums.
A recent study from the University of Texas analyzes how some of the most popular apps improve their products by listening to their users. When Instagram added filters and editing tools, it was because users requested them. Google Maps added offline maps based on suggestions from people who needed them in areas with no coverage. But how do you decide when to take into account these suggestions and when not?
The research, published in Information Systems Research and available here, used artificial intelligence to analyze over 7 million reviews from 853 top apps between 2012 and 2016. The team, led by Anitesh Barua, adapted the BERT model to identify four types of improvements in apps: innovative or imitative ideas, and whether they were proposed by developers or users.
The results are revealing: innovative ideas increase demand only if they come from developers. If proposed by users, they tend to reduce interest, probably because they are not always clearly explained. On the other hand, when it comes to imitating features already seen in other apps, user ideas tend to be more successful than internal decisions made by development teams.
This study demonstrates how artificial intelligence can help us distinguish between noise and value in the collective voice. Organizations looking to transform their environment can apply this approach to improve their services, policies, or products, leveraging what is already being said publicly.
Listening remains key. But now, we can do it better, at a larger scale, and with greater precision. By combining co-creation and artificial intelligence, new avenues open for achieving more effective and sustainable social change.
Associate Professor at University of Granada