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AI in service can be for routine mechanical tasks, analytical thinking tasks, or empathetic feeling tasks. We provide a conceptual framework for the customer, firm, and interactional use of AI for empathetic tasks at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. Emotions resulting from AI service interactions can include basic emotions (e.g., joy, sadness, and fear), self-conscious emotions (e.g., pride, guilt, embarrassment), and moral emotions (e.g., contempt, righteous anger, social disgust). These emotions are mostly likely to occur during frontline interactions in which both firms and customers use AI, a phenomenon called “AI as customer.” The analysis level of AI service and emotion can be at the macro-level in which AI is transforming the service economy into a feeling economy, at the meso-level in which firms can use “thoughtful AI” to make the employees’ and customers’ lives a little bit better by brightening their days, and at the micro-level in which customers can experience basic, self-conscious, and moral emotions from interactions with service AI.

An iodine-catalyzed synthesis of benzoazole-substituted thioenamines in a one-pot manner was reported. Using 2-aminothiophenols (or 2-aminophenols or 1,2-phenylenediamines), tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD), and enamines (mainly indoles) as starting materials, the target C(sp

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to note that customers are not necessarily human and to figure out how best to serve artificial intelligence (AI) customers. The authors also propose several major research streams, as examples, to help launch research on AI customers and how to serve them.Design/methodology/approachThe current paper is a conceptual one that draws upon research from many areas to support the ideas proposed.FindingsAI customer are proliferating. AI as customers can augment or replace human customers and can be the customer itself. Service providers may also be AI, which means that both humans serving AI customers and AI serving AI customers are relevant here. The authors show that even truly autonomous AI customers are likely to be more common in the future. The authors conclude that reverse engineering will probably not be successful in understanding AI customers and that an approach similar to how we research human consumer behavior is likely to be more useful.Originality/valueVirtually, the entire literature on customers and how to serve them assumes that customers are human. With the rapid advancement of AI, purchase decisions are increasingly made by AI, suggesting that it is now important and necessary to consider the possibility of AI customers and how best to serve them. This paper opens the door for such research.

Atomically precise metal nanoclusters (NCs) are judiciously stabilized as simultaneous charge relay mediators and photosensitizers for photocatalytic organic transformation.

Transformative changes in the societal and service context call out for the service discipline to develop a coherent set of priorities for research and practice. To this end, we utilized multiple data sources: surveys of service scholars and practitioners, web scraping of online documents, a review of published service scholarship, and roundtable discussions conducted at the world’s foremost service research centers. We incorporated innovative methodologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, and qualitative analyses, to identify key service research priorities that are critical to address during these turbulent times. The first two priorities— technology and the changing nature of work and technology and the customer experience—focus on leveraging technology for service provision and consumption. The next two priorities— resource and capability constraints and customer proactivity for well-being—focus on responding to the changing needs of multiple stakeholders. Further, we identified a set of stakeholder-wants from the literature and include research questions that tie key stakeholder-wants to each of the four priorities. We believe the set of research priorities in the present article offer actionable ideas for service research directions in this challenging environment.

The uniformity of temperature field distribution in creep aging process is very important to the forming accuracy of components. In this paper, the temperature field distribution of 2219 aluminum alloy tank cover during aging forming is simulated by using the finite element software FLUENT, and a two-stage heating process is proposed to reduce the temperature field distribution heterogeneity. The results show that the temperature difference of the tank cover is large in the single-stage heating process, and the maximum temperature difference is above 27°C,which seriously affects the forming accuracy of the tank cover. With two-stage heating process, the temperature difference in the first stage has almost no direct impact on the forming accuracy of the top cover. In the second stage, the temperature difference of the tank cover is controlled within 10°C, compared with the single-stage heating, the maximum temperature difference is reduced by more than 17°C. The two-stage heating effectively reduces the heterogeneity of the temperature field of the top cover. The research provides technical support for the precise thermal mechanical coupling of large-scale creep aging forming components.

2195 Al-Li alloy is famous for high strength, excellent fatigue strength and good stress corrosion resistance, which is widely used in the manufacture of high-performance aerospace components. The aim of this study is to validate how the stress relaxation aging behavior effect on the mechanical properties of 2195 Al-Li alloy. Through mechanical property test, the research was found that the performance after stress relaxation aging is higher than artificial aging (AA). In addition, the analysis of scanning electron microscopy SEM and TEM revealed that dislocations should be introduced by the stress relaxation aging process, which is more conducive to the precipitation of the T1 phase and strengthened the material with prolong ageing time. The results show that stress relaxation aging can significantly promote the precipitation of the T1. Therefore, this paper sheds new light on how SRA can improve mechanical properties and that SRA make better improve the distribution of precipitates in the grain boundary.

This editorial outlines the vision that the new Journal of Service Research editorial team has about moving service research forward, which requires more than just duplicating the service research of the past. We encourage authors to be forward-looking and futuristic in their orientation. In this way, JSR can help guide the service research of the future.

The authors develop a three-stage framework for strategic marketing planning, incorporating multiple artificial intelligence (AI) benefits: mechanical AI for automating repetitive marketing functions and activities, thinking AI for processing data to arrive at decisions, and feeling AI for analyzing interactions and human emotions. This framework lays out the ways that AI can be used for marketing research, strategy (segmentation, targeting, and positioning, STP), and actions. At the marketing research stage, mechanical AI can be used for data collection, thinking AI for market analysis, and feeling AI for customer understanding. At the marketing strategy (STP) stage, mechanical AI can be used for segmentation (segment recognition), thinking AI for targeting (segment recommendation), and feeling AI for positioning (segment resonance). At the marketing action stage, mechanical AI can be used for standardization, thinking AI for personalization, and feeling AI for relationalization. We apply this framework to various areas of marketing, organized by marketing 4Ps/4Cs, to illustrate the strategic use of AI.

Transition metal chalcogenide quantum dots (TMC QDs) represent promising light-harvesting antennas because of their fascinating physicochemical properties including quantum confinement effect and suitable energy band structures. However, TMC QDs generally suffer from poor photoactivities and photostability due to deficiency of active sites and ultrafast recombination rate of photoinduced charge carriers. Here, we demonstrate how to rationally arouse the charge transfer kinetic of TMC QDs by close monolayered graphene (GR) encapsulation via a ligand-dominated layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly utilizing oppositely charged TMC QDs and GR nanosheets as the building blocks. The assembly units were spontaneously and intimately integrated in an alternate integration mode, thereby resulting in the multilayered three-dimensional (3D) TMC QDs/GR ensembles. It was unveiled that multifarious photoactivities of TMC QDs/GR nanocomposites toward versatile photoredox organic catalysis including photocatalytic aromatic alcohols oxidation to aldehydes and nitroaromatics reduction to amino derivatives under visible light irradiation are conspicuously boosted because of spatially multilayered monolayered GR encapsulation which are superior to those of TMC QDs counterparts. The substantially enhanced photoactivities of TMC QDs/GR nanocomposites arise from reasons including improved light absorption and enhanced charge separation efficacy because of GR encapsulation together with unique stacking mode between TMC QDs and GR endowed by LbL assembly. Our work would provide a promising and efficacious route to smartly accelerate the charge transfer kinetic of TMC QDs for solar energy conversion.

Service brands are increasingly dominating the economy. However, there is limited knowledge about how to grow service brands, and whether growing service brands will require strategies different from the strategies that are based on goods brand research. To address this knowledge gap, this paper conceptualizes a “ServBrand triad” based on the service literature, and empirically demonstrates how its three drivers are related to service brand growth. Service brand growth is defined as positive changes in brand outcomes, such as the brand being liked more, used more, or more profitable or valuable to a firm. The empirical work utilizes 11 years of longitudinal brand and firm data that are analyzed by dynamic multivariate generalized method of moments (GMM) panel models. The findings confirm the importance of the three drivers of service brand growth: quality, personalization, and relationships. Service marketers are advised to emphasize relationship-based service personalization (as opposed to quality-based personalization), maintain consistent service quality “at” customer expectation, neither above nor below, throughout the relationship, and improve service quality gradually (or subtly) to avoid quality-cost tradeoff and quality inconsistency perceptions. These findings contribute to an improved understanding of the factors that drive service brand growth, and how those factors differ from the factors that drive goods brand growth.

Customer satisfaction contributes to firm financial performance, but does it contribute to top executives' pay? Our empirical evidence shows that it may not. Customer-satisfying executives tend to have lower pay than their productive peers, even if both satisfaction and productivity contribute to firm financial performance. Thus, customer satisfaction is underappreciated, which may result in both less societal welfare and worse company performance. We propose a board myopia mechanism to account for this phenomenon. In facing short-term financial performance pressure from investors, and the asymmetric information availability between accounting-based and market-based assets for compensation decisions, the board of directors may be myopic, underappreciating executives who invest in market-based assets such as customer satisfaction that drive long-term returns. We examine this satisfaction underappreciation phenomenon empirically using 23 years of panel data that detail firm productivity, customer satisfaction, firm financial performance, and executive compensation. The longitudinal data are analyzed using fixed-effect panel models and a simultaneous system of panel vector autoregression equations with interactions to assess the direct effect of firm financial performance and its carryover effect to executive compensation across executives who are productive, customer-satisfying, or both. The results confirm that customer-satisfying executives are underappreciated: being productive is financially rewarding for both firms and executives, while being customer-satisfying is financially rewarding for firms but not as much for executives. We further demonstrate that using total shareholder returns to benchmark firm financial performance and reward executives with a higher proportion of stock compensation can encourage a long-term focus that alleviates this customer underappreciation.

This article develops a strategic framework for using artificial intelligence (AI) to engage customers for different service benefits. This framework lays out guidelines of how to use different AIs to engage customers based on considerations of nature of service task, service offering, service strategy, and service process. AI develops from mechanical, to thinking, and to feeling. As AI advances to a higher intelligence level, more human service employees and human intelligence (HI) at the intelligence levels lower than that level should be used less. Thus, at the current level of AI development, mechanical service should be performed mostly by mechanical AI, thinking service by both thinking AI and HI, and feeling service mostly by HI. Mechanical AI should be used for standardization when service is routine and transactional, for cost leadership, and mostly at the service delivery stage. Thinking AI should be used for personalization when service is data-rich and utilitarian, for quality leadership, and mostly at the service creation stage. Feeling AI should be used for relationalization when service is relational and high touch, for relationship leadership, and mostly at the service interaction stage. We illustrate various AI applications for the three major AI benefits, providing managerial guidelines for service providers to leverage the advantages of AI as well as future research implications for service researchers to investigate AI in service from modeling, consumer, and policy perspectives.

Atomically precise metal nanoclusters (NCs)-based photocatalytic systems have garnered enormous attention owing to the fascinating merits including unique physicochemical properties, quantum confin...

Directional and high-efficiency charge transport to the target active sites of photocatalyst is central to boost the solar energy conversion but is retarded by the sluggish charge transfer kinetics and deficiency of active sites. Here, we report the elaborate design of cascade unidirectional charge transfer channel over spatially multilayered CdS@CdTe@MoS2 dual core-shell ternary heterostructures by partial transformation of CdS to CdTe interim layer followed by seamless encapsulation with an ultrathin MoS2 layer. The suitable energy-level alignment and unique coaxial multilayered assembly mode among the building blocks accelerate the interfacial charge separation and transport, endowing the CdS@CdTe@MoS2 heterostructures with conspicuously enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen generation performances along with good photostability. The integrated roles of ultrathin CdTe intermediate layer in passivating the defect sites of CdS NWs framework, mediating the unidirectional charge transfer cascade and prolonging the charge lifetime, were ascertained. Besides, the crucial role of the outermost MoS2 layer as the metal-free cocatalyst in enriching the surface active sites for hydrogen evolution was also determined. Our work would provide new alternatives for finely tuning the charge flow toward promising solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency.

Finely tuning the charge transfer constitutes a central challenge in photocatalysis, yet exquisite control of the directional charge transfer to the target reactive sites is hindered by the rapid charge recombination. Herein, dual separated charge transport channels were fabricated in a one-dimensional transition-metal chalcogenide (TMC)-based system via an elaborate layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly approach, for which oppositely charged metal-ion-coordinated branched polyethylenimine (BPEI) and MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) were alternately integrated to fabricate the multilayered TMC@(BPEI/MoS2 QDs)n heterostructures with controllable interfaces. Photocatalytic hydrogen generation performances of such ternary heterostructures under visible light irradiation were evaluated, which unravels that the BPEI layer not only behaves as "molecule glue" to enable the electrostatic LbL assembly with MoS2 QDs in an alternate stacking fashion on the TMC frameworks but also acts as a unidirectional hole-transfer channel. More significantly, transition-metal ions (Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+) coordinated on the outmost BPEI layer are able to function as interfacial electron transfer mediators for accelerating the interfacial cascade electron transport efficiency. These simultaneously constructed dual high-speed electron and hole-transfer channels are beneficial for boosting the charge separation and enhancing the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performances.

Unidirectional and smooth charge transfer to the reactive sites plays an imperative role in boosting the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells but suffers from sluggish charge transfer kinetics. Herein, as a proof-of-concept demonstration, high-speed spatially separated electron and hole transfer channels were simultaneously constructed in an integrated multilayered heterostructured photoanode via an efficient electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly strategy, wherein a tailor-made positively charged polymer of branched polyethylenimine (BPEI) and negatively charged MoS2 quantum dot (QD) building blocks were intimately and alternately integrated on the hierarchically ordered TiO2 nanotube array (TNTA) framework in a unique “face-to-face” stacking fashion. The periodically alternately stacked ultra-thin BPEI layer in the ternary multilayered photoanode serves as a directional hole transport channel and the MoS2 QD layer functions as a cascade electron transfer channel, which synergistically contribute to the considerably enhanced separation and prolonged lifetime of charge carriers, endowing the multilayered TNTAs/(BPEI–MoS2 QDs)n photoanodes with markedly enhanced PEC water dissociation performances with respect to the single and binary counterparts under simulated solar light irradiation. Moreover, the essential role of the assembly unit was clarified. Our work would afford a new frontier to intelligently mediate the photoinduced charge flow by rationally constructing the unidirectional charge transport channels in semiconductor-based photoelectrodes for solar energy conversion.

Modulating photo-induced charge separation/transfer constitutes a central challenge in heterogeneous photocatalysis. Despite advancements in this area, finely tuning directional electron migration without involving conventional co-catalysts [e.g., metal nanocrystals and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs)] for boosted photoredox catalysis has not yet been explored. Herein, we report the exquisite design of a novel and general macromolecule-modulated photoredox selective organic transformation system, wherein an ultrathin macromolecular poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) layer was integrated at the interface of wide-band-gap (WBG) and narrow-band-gap (NBG) semiconductors to construct heterostructured photocatalysts. The ultra-thin PDDA interim layer expedites interfacial unidirectional electron transfer from the NBG to WBG semiconductor, resulting in a cascade electron transfer channel. The favorable energy level alignment among the building blocks, intimate interfacial integration and multilayered nanoarchitecture endow the WBG@PDDA@NBG heterostructures with substantially enhanced and versatile photoredox performance toward the selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols to aldehydes and the anaerobic reduction of nitroaromatics to amino compounds under visible light irradiation. This can be ascribed to the crucial role of the ultrathin intermediate PDDA layer as a highly efficient metal and TMD-free charge transfer mediator, relaying the electrons from the NBG to WBG semiconductor and slowing charge recombination. Our work could open up new frontiers to exploit diverse metal and TMD-free photocatalytic systems and provide a first insight into the fine tuning of charge transport utilizing non-conductive ionic polymers for solar energy conversion.

Metal–semiconductor heterostructures have been arousing enduring interest on account of the pivotal roles of metal nanocrystals (NCs) as interfacial Schottky junction-induced charge flow mediators ...

The capability of AI is currently expanding beyond mechanical and repetitive to analytical and thinking. A “Feeling Economy” is emerging, in which AI performs many of the analytical and thinking tasks, and human workers gravitate more toward interpersonal and empathetic tasks. Although these people-focused tasks have always been important to jobs, they are now becoming more important to an unprecedented degree. To manage more effectively in the Feeling Economy, managers must adapt the nature of jobs to compensate for the fact that many of the analytical and thinking tasks are increasingly being performed by AI, and, thus, human workers must place increased emphasis on the empathetic and emotional dimensions of their work.

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have garnered tremendous attention by virtue of their substantial light-harvesting and conversion efficiencies, large number of active sites, unique quantum size co...

Metal/semiconductor heterostructures have been arousing persistent interest on account of prominent roles of metal nanocrystals (NCs) in modulating charge transfer in photocatalysis. It has been ge...

Glutathione-protected Aux nanoclusters uniformly and intimately embedded at the interface of CdSe QDs and graphene were in situ self-transformed to Au nanocrystals (NCs) via a facile thermal reduction strategy. The inlaid Au NPs substantially accelerate the interfacial directional charge transfer toward multifarious photoreduction catalysis under visible light irradiation.

Recent years have witnessed a tremendous upsurge in constructing multifunctional heterostructured photocatalysts by capitalizing on the semiconductor building blocks of varying dimensionalities in terms of their synergistic superior charge separation/transfer efficiency. Nevertheless, tunable modulation of charge transfer via structure engineering still constitutes a challenge. Herein, zero-dimensional single-layered graphitic-carbon nitride (C3N4) quantum dots (g-C3N4 QDs) and two-dimensional (2D) nanoporous CdS nanosheets (NSs) were utilized as assembly units for strategically constructing well-defined g-C3N4 QDs/CdS NS heterostructures via a facile and green electrostatic self-assembly approach, by which g-C3N4 QDs were uniformly and intimately tethered on the CdS NSs framework. Intriguingly, such g-C3N4 QDs/CdS NS heterostructures demonstrate an unconventional charge transfer pathway owing to the unique energy level structure of g-C3N4 QDs and CdS NSs dictated by structure engineering. It was significant to unveil that the g-C3N4 QDs/CdS NS heterostructure exhibits versatile and remarkably boosted photoredox performances toward anaerobic reduction of aromatic nitro compounds and mineralization of organic pollutants along with prominent photo-corrosion resistance under visible light irradiation in comparison with single and various bulk counterparts. The underlying reasons accounting for the considerably improved photoredox performances of g-C3N4 QDs/CdS NS heterostructures were uncovered including boosted charge separation/transfer afforded by peculiar structural merits of C3N4 QDs and 2D CdS NSs, intimate interfacial contact and a unique spatial interfacial integration mode. Furthermore, predominant active species in the photoredox reactions were systematically explored and unambiguously determined, based on which, a photocatalytic mechanism was presented. It is hoped that our work could spur further interest in rationally designing diverse heterostructured photocatalysts and simultaneously provide new insights into the spatial charge transfer in multifarious photoredox catalysis for substantial solar energy conversion.

Recent years have witnessed an explosive investigation on the construction of graphene (GR)–semiconductor composite photocatalysts, but the specific correlation of the interface integration mode between GR and a semiconductor with the interfacial charge transfer characteristics is yet to be clearly clarified. To this end, a facile, green and surface linker-triggered self-assembly has been designed to construct GR-encapsulated antimony sulfide nanorod (Sb2S3 NRs–GR) ensembles, wherein tartaric acid-capped intrinsically negatively charged Sb2S3 NRs and surface-modified positively charged GR nanosheets were utilized as the building blocks. It was unveiled that the exquisitely designed interface configuration afforded by the intimate encapsulation of Sb2S3 NRs with GR via an electrostatic/hydrogen interaction is beneficial for fully harnessing the structural merits of GR in boosting light absorption, increasing the specific surface area and accelerating the interfacial electron transfer kinetics. Thus, the lifetimes of the photogenerated charge carriers were synergistically prolonged over Sb2S3, resulting in the considerably enhanced visible-light-responsive photoredox performances of the Sb2S3–GR nanocomposites toward the photoreduction of heavy metal ions and mineralization of organic pollutants compared with the blank Sb2S3 and nanocomposite counterpart without a finely tuned interface. More importantly, the crucial role of interface configuration between GR and the Sb2S3 NRs in dictating the interfacial charge transfer efficiency was substantiated. In addition, the predominant active species in the photoredox catalysis were determined and the corresponding photocatalytic mechanism was elucidated. Our work sheds light on mediating the interfacial charge transfer via rational interface configuration modulation toward substantial solar energy conversion.

Photoinduced charge separation and transfer have been deemed the core factors affecting the efficiency of photoelectrocatalysis; precisely modulating the spatial migration of photo-induced charge carriers to the ideal reaction sites is of paramount importance for boosting the solar conversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells. In this work, a combinatorial strategy has been developed to progressively construct highly efficient charge transport channels on the quintessential electrochemically anodized one-dimensional semiconductor framework (TiO2 nanotube arrays, TNTAs) by in situ annealing-induced intrinsic ultrathin carbon encapsulation. Antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) nanocrystals were subsequently attached to the interior and exterior surfaces of the carbon-encapsulated TNTA (C–TNTA) substrate forming a well-defined ternary photoanode (C–Sb2S3–TNTA) capable of triggering smooth and cascade electron transfer. Cooperativity stemming from intrinsic carbon encapsulation on the surface for fast electron transport in conjunction with Sb2S3 photosensitization for substantial visible light harvesting endows the C–Sb2S3–TNTA heterostructure with markedly enhanced solar-powered PEC water dissociation performances, conspicuously exceeding its single and binary counterparts. Furthermore, a hole transport pathway was further constructed by site-selective incorporation of an oxygen evolving catalyst (Co-Pi) in the ternary system via a photo-assisted electrodeposition or electrodeposition approach, which contributes to more enhanced separation efficiency and prolonged lifetime of photo-induced charge carriers together with improved photostability. It is expected that our work would afford a new frontier to intelligently mediate the spatial directional flow of photogenerated charge carriers and rationally construct efficient charge transport channels on the semiconductor-based photoelectrodes for high-efficiency solar energy harvesting and conversion.

Interfacial charge separation and transfer enduringly constitutes a core issue, which dictates the efficiency of a photocatalytic reaction. However, the exquisite modulation of directional charge transfer to ideal reaction sites remains challenging in terms of the fast recombination rates of photoinduced charge carriers and the difficulty in constructing spatially separated high-speed charge transfer channels. Herein, we demonstrate the general construction of metal/metal chalcogenide heterostructures by a facile, green, universal, scalable and simple yet efficient electrostatic self-assembly strategy, wherein tailor-made positively charged 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP)-capped metal nanocrystals (NCs, Au, Pd) were spontaneously and intimately tethered on negatively charged one-dimensional (1D) transition metal chalcogenides (TMC: CdS, CdIn2S4, ZnIn2S4, and Zn0.5Cd0.5S) initiated by a surface linker (DMAP) to fabricate well-defined heterostructured photocatalysts. Moreover, the interface configurations between the metal NCs and TMC matrices were finely designed by ligand engineering to afford controllable charge transfer pathways. Intriguingly, this tunable charge flow endows the metal NC/TMC heterostructures with markedly enhanced and versatile photoredox performance toward the anaerobic-selective photoreduction of aromatic nitro compounds, photocatalytic hydrogen generation, and photocatalytic selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols under visible light irradiation, in which metal NCs play imperative roles in efficiently capturing Schottky-junction-driven electrons from the TMC substrates without the interference of the hierarchically branched ligand capped on the metal NCs. Our studysheds light on the rational modulation of interfacial charge flow in photoredox catalysis for substantial solar energy conversion.

Recent years have witnessed a rise in the construction of transition metal chalcogenide (TMS)-based heterostructured photocatalysts in terms of their excellent light absorption and suitable energy level alignment. Nevertheless, controllable modulation of photoinduced charge separation/transfer toward target active sites for photoredox catalysis still constitutes an enduringly challenging issue. Herein, tailor-made negatively charged mercaptoacetic acid (MAA)-capped CdX@MAA (X = Se, Te, S) quantum dot (QD) and positively charged ultra-thin branched poly-ethyleneimine (BPEI) layer building blocks were alternately assembled on the hierarchically ordered TiO2 nanotube array (NP-TNTA) framework for general electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of spatially multilayered NP-TNTAs/(BPEI/CdX QDs)n (X = Se, Te, S) photoanodes. The ultra-thin BPEI polymer layer integrated in-between the interface of CdX QDs functions as a cascade hole transfer channel for efficiently extracting the holes photoexcited over neighboring CdX QD layers, and simultaneously, alternately deposited CdX QD layers serve as an efficacious photosensitizer for constructing directional electron flow channels. The unique integration mode and intimate interfacial interaction endowed by LbL assembly render the well-defined NP-TNTAs/(BPEI/CdX QDs)n multilayered heterostructures a high-efficiency photoanode toward photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting under both simulated solar and visible light irradiation, greatly outperforming the single and binary counterparts on account of in situ generation of two spatially separated charge transfer channels, ultimately synergistically boosting the separation efficiency and prolonging the lifetime of charge carriers. Our work would open up new frontiers for strategically mediating the interfacial charge transfer and advancing rational construction of heterostructured photocatalysts for solar energy conversion.

As the Feeling Economy emerges, and AI assumes more thinking tasks, people are increasingly focusing on emotion. One notable way this trend is manifested is the increasing use of emoticons (typographical tricks that resemble pictures) and emoji (plug-in graphics that are actual pictures). Such emotional communication has become ubiquitous on social media and the Internet. Those technologies have deconstructed time, physical distance, and emotional distance, making emotional connection possible even when people are far apart, and even when their communication is separated in time. This greater access to emotional communication makes emotional intelligence more important than ever. We even see the emotionalization of the creative arts, such as music, as AI becomes more involved in artistic production.

As we move from the Thinking Economy to the Feeling Economy, management will have to change. The key to this new era is that AI will no longer be seen as subservient to humans. Instead, humans and AI will be teammates that collaborate to get work done. AI will be seen as an equal member of the team, and will increasingly assume more of the team’s thinking tasks. This teamwork will be more collaboration than augmentation, with AI increasingly seen as an equal member of the team.

As the Feeling Economy emerges from the development of AI, one group of people seems uniquely positioned to benefit. We may be beginning to experience the era of women. The history of automation and AI turns out to involve a steady decline in the status and importance of men, along with a steady increase in the status and importance of women. The Physical Economy was dominated by men, with their larger size and bigger muscles. As physical tasks were automated, the Thinking Economy emerged, which was a much more favorable environment for women. Throughout the Thinking Economy, signs of women’s progress have been accelerating, reflected by such things as women’s right to vote, a proposed Equal Rights Amendment and Title IX in the United States, and increasing participation by women in the military, sports, business, academia, and politics. This progress is sure to accelerate further, as women assume unprecedented status and importance in the Feeling Economy.

Most developed countries are now in the last years of the Thinking Economy. As physical labor became automated, human physical labor became devalued. This created a Thinking Economy, in which the most valued human skill was thinking. We still mostly live in the Thinking Economy, but there are starting to be cracks. AI is beginning to make impressive inroads in thinking, which is now threatening the economic value of human thinking. Thinking AI can be usefully categorized into analytical thinking and intuitive thinking. Modern machine learning is making rapid advances in analytical thinking, but has much more trouble with intuitive thinking, which may require a different approach. This means the last human bastion of dominance in the Thinking Economy is intuitive thinking and common sense.

As people increasingly delegate their thinking tasks to AI based in the Internet and accessible by smartphones and digital assistants, their thinking abilities atrophy. This means that the best way to reach people is now through their emotions. As a result, as the electorate becomes more feeling-oriented, political campaigns and political candidates are also becoming more feeling-oriented. This explains the rise of so many populist politicians around the world, as well as the rise (and predicted fall) of US President Donald Trump.