In episode 109 of The Gradient Podcast, Daniel Bashir speaks to Russ Maschmeyer. Russ is the Product Lead for AI and Spatial Commerce at Shopify. At Shopify, he leads a team that looks at how AI can better empower entrepreneurs, with a particular interest in how image generation can help make the lives of business owners and merchants more productive. He previously led design for multiple services at Facebook and co-founded Primer, an AR-enabled interior design marketplace. Have suggestions for future podcast guests (or other feedback)? Let us know here or reach us at [email protected] Subscribe to The Gradient Podcast:  Apple Podcasts  | Spotify | Pocket Casts | RSSFollow The Gradient on Twitter Outline: * (00:00) Intro * (01:50) Russ’s background and a hacked Kinect sensor * (06:00) Instruments and emotion, embodiment and accessibility * (08:45) Natural language as input and generative AI in creating emotive experiences * (10:55) Work on search queries and recommendations at Facebook, designing for search * (16:35) AI in the retail and entrepreneurial landscape * (19:15) Shopify and AI for business owners * (22:10) Vision and directions for AI in commerce * (25:01) Personalized experiences for shopping * (28:45) Challenges for creating personalized experiences * (31:49) Intro to spatial commerce * (34:48) AR/VR devices and spatial commerce * (37:30) MR and AI for immersive product search * (41:35) Implementation details * (48:05) WonkaVision and difficulties for immersive web experiences * (52:10) Future projects and directions for spatial commerce * (55:10) Outro Links: * Russ’s Twitter and homepage * With a Wave of the Hand, Improvising on Kinect in The New York Times * Shopify Spatial Commerce Projects * MR and AI for immersive product search * A more immersive web with a simple optical illusion * What if your room had a reset button? Get full access to The Gradient at thegradientpub.substack.com/subscribe