Many people fear that artificial intelligence will replace them and take their jobs. AI has limits that are yet to be overcome, I believe it will happen in phases for jobs that are very repetitive. One skill that artificial intelligence will have a hard time replicating is creative problem solving because creativity is a non-routine activity.

Thinking Differently To Get a Better Result

Humans are notoriously good at coming up with unconventional ideas to solve problems. Case in point, Van Moof, a dutch brand that makes high performance bikes. In 2016 they were losing money on every shipment because couriers were not taking care of their deliveries either by dropping or mishandling the packages.

What did they do?

They changed the packaging to resemble a TV. The immediate result: an 80% drop in damages on their deliveries; which meant money saved and satisfied customers.

Dutch bike brand Van Moof were losing thousands of pounds a week as careless couriers were damaging their precious deliveries.

Their solution? Change the packaging to resemble a TV!

Since the design change the company has seen an 80% drop in damages on their deliveries. pic.twitter.com/Ll9YE1R6dI

— ✣ fabio ✣ (@fffabs) July 17, 2022

From Taco Carlier, Van Moof’s co-founder:

“We asked ourselves, what do Americans really love? What would prompt couriers to be delicate with a parcel? That’s when we thought of a flat screen TV, because our box is the same size and shape as that of a really huge TV.”

How did they solve their shipping problem? By changing how people perceive what they see, in this case the couriers who handle the boxes for shipping companies.

This is an old story, from 2016. But I thought it’s worth sharing here as an example of thinking outside the box.