Dublin, 02 September, 2020: Why does it feel like you sometimes need a PhD to figure out what the most sustainable brand of shampoo to buy is? There are so many factors from where products come from to the manufacturing process, and finally the delivery that all impact the carbon footprint of the products we consume. Wouldn’t it be great to have a machine do all that heavy lifting for you?
While they’re not there yet, this is the direction Darwin and Goliath is heading. In last week’s episode of ADAPT Radio, our host Donal Scannell caught up with Eamonn Donlyn to discuss what they are currently doing and what their plans are for the future. At the moment, the AI micro recommender system is trying to level the playing field in the eCommerce realm by allowing smaller retailers to provide recommendations based on data.
Giants like Amazon and Netflix have enormous budgets to put towards developing their own bespoke recommender system to increase their sales. However, smaller online stores simply don’t have the resources to put something like this in place. Darwin and Goliath’s algorithm seeks to democratise recommender systems and improve eCommerce for users and sellers alike.
The next phase is to develop a browser extension that is able to rank brands based on sustainability. This way, as a shopper browses a variety of products, they will have this additional parameter overlaid that instantly enables them to see if a product is green. Eamonn wants to be able to instantly identify companies like Patagonia that are proactively taking steps to lower emissions and save the planet, without being forced to by government regulations. A system like the one Darwin and Goliath plan to develop would be enormously helpful for consumers who want to make sure their purchases are environmentally friendly.
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