At AI Weekend, Mark van Ryswyk, Ex CPO of Tinder, led an insightful session titled “Keeping it Human in a World Powered by AI”. Drawing on his extensive experience in the gaming industry and tech innovation at both Glu Mobile i Electronic Arts, he explored the evolving AI landscape and posed a critical question: “Are today’s tech developments truly serving human needs?”
In this session, he highlighted common missteps in AI development and shared three essential truths for building impactful solutions. Van Ryswyk emphasized that what excites him most is how AI is driving creativity, enhancing original music, content, and storyboards — things that were unimaginable just a few years ago and are now tools utilized by many creators. However, he cautioned that “the essence of creativity is still a human experience. It’s about emotion, it’s about intuition, it’s about storytelling.”
Given the possibilites AI and it’s tools hold, but also having in mind the user experience and user trust, van Ryswyk introduced a new product model that emphasizes several key elements: goals and desired outcomes, data strategy and management, collaboration between data science and engineering, user experience, trust and explainability. “The interplay of technology and human decision-making is crucial,” he explained, urging stakeholders to ensure that human intuition remains central to AI applications and products.
Furthermore, van Ryswyk’s insights resonated strongly with the audience, prompting a lively discussion about the responsibilities of product managers in the era of AI. He stressed the importance of establishing consumer trust, noting that 54% of AI users don’t trust the data used to train AI systems, highlighting the need for users to feel empowered to control their data and understand how it is being used. “The transparency and fairness in AI outputs are vital to maintain trust, especially in a landscape where biases can easily influence outcomes“, said van Ryswyk who also emphasized how the entire company’s responsibility should be about the quality of that data and building that trust with the consumer, not only the data team.
As the session concluded, attendees left with a renewed perspective on the role of AI in creative industries and beyond. They were equipped with practical strategies to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by this rapidly evolving field. Van Ryswyk embraced the audience, encouraging them to leverage AI as a powerful tool for creativity and innovation. His call to prioritize the human experience in technology left a lasting impact, reminding everyone that while innovation is essential, it must always serve the needs and values of people.
