A new edition of the Sustainable Digital Transformation Conference has concluded

Montevideo, November 16, 2023. 

The Sustainable Digital Transformation Sessions of Sofis Solutions concluded with presentations on dark patterns and artificial intelligence

The second edition of the Sustainable Digital Transformation Sessions of Sofis Solutions successfully concluded after three days of various presentations focused on sustainability and the digital transformation of organizations, their opportunities, and challenges.

Néstor Menjivar opened the final day of the sessions with a presentation on dark patterns and their impact on user experience.

The designer, a member of the Sofis Solutions team, explained that these patterns are tricks or deceptions used on websites and apps to make users do things they did not actually intend, such as purchasing a product or signing up on a site.

These patterns can be identified by their persistence, for example, appearing repeatedly even when users try to avoid them, like the option to subscribe to a service; they can also present obstacles for users or hide relevant information, such as all the costs of a service. Some dark patterns manipulate the interface so that the user sees one option more prominently than others, for example, a product and a price higher than another.

Dark patterns affect Green web design because they create inefficient and complex user journeys that increase energy consumption, hinder information search, may cause accessibility issues, and fail to respect users’ privacy.

To avoid them and promote sustainability, it is recommended to have “ethics as a concept,” highlighted Menjivar, and to develop ethical web design that protects and ensures the human rights of users, while being pleasant, reliable, functional, accessible, and secure.

Equality inside and outside the virtual space

In the second part of the sessions, Paul Ayala, Emerson Nájera, and José Sandoval spoke about artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can contribute to combating corruption, automating tasks such as reviewing transactions or investigating complaints, and also in the association of individuals and entities.

The development of AI also seeks to create a balance between technological advances, social well-being, and sustainability, reducing energy consumption, driving digital government projects, and promoting inclusion.

In this context, avoiding algorithmic bias is fundamental, they emphasized, as it can disproportionately affect different people.

A recommendation to prevent these biases is to feed the models with truly diverse data that does not disadvantage certain individuals. “Models must be fed with information that represents everyone,” Sandoval stated.

The Sofis team discussed digital transformation and highlighted that global trends and future technology strategies include sustainability, a topic aligned with the work of Sofis Solutions.

Summary of the 2023 edition

To conclude, Gustavo Cirigliano, director of Sofis Solutions, provided an overview of the Sustainable Digital Transformation Sessions and the initiatives and projects carried out by the company in favor of sustainability, such as Green Sofis.

He highlighted the intention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by implementing new consumption models and announced that one initiative will involve moving part of the company’s operations to the cloud.

Additionally, he previewed projects and initiatives for the coming year, some of which will involve automation and AI. Santiago Atella, director of Sofis, shared a new company initiative that will include the use of generative AI with the team.

The next sessions will be held in June 2024, with participation from both collaborators and clients of Sofis Solutions, and will focus on actions related to Digital Transformation, the director revealed.