Description
During the summer of 2023, I was a LEAP intern at Fidelity Investments, within the Voice Innovation team. My primary focus was the development of SlySearch, a pioneering project aimed at leveraging voice commands to redefine the way users interact with financial services. This innovative tool was designed to simplify the stock screening process, making it more accessible and intuitive for a wider audience, including those new to investing or not digitally inclined.
My responsibilities were deeply technical yet creatively challenging. I developed the backend, building a responsive and efficient API that could seamlessly process voice commands and interact with complex financial data. The project demanded a sophisticated integration of artificial intelligence, particularly in understanding and executing user queries with high accuracy.
My decision to pursue this project was driven by my keen interest in the intersection of technology and design. The opportunity to contribute to a project that leveraged cutting-edge technologies like voice recognition and AI to enhance user experience was perfectly aligned with my career aspirations and academic pursuits. This experience allowed me to apply and expand my technical knowledge, while also gaining invaluable insight into the importance of user-centered design in creating impactful and innovative solutions.
Overall, my internship at Fidelity Investments enriched my understanding of technology's potential to revolutionize industries and improve lives. It solidified my commitment to pursuing a career where I can continue to blend technology and design to solve real-world problems.
Reflection
Throughout my internship at Fidelity Investments on the SlySearch project, I was tasked with navigating and resolving complex problems, pushing me towards innovation. One significant challenge was enhancing the tool's ability to understand and process diverse and complex voice commands accurately. To address this, I proposed integrating a more advanced natural language processing (NLP) algorithm that could better grasp user intent and context. This idea stemmed from my coursework and personal interest in AI, demonstrating the potential of sophisticated AI to streamline user interaction with financial platforms.
A memorable moment of failure occurred when an initial prototype of SlySearch struggled to accurately interpret certain financial terms, leading to incorrect data being presented to users. This failure taught me the importance of rigorous testing and the value of iterative design. By embracing this setback, I learned to incorporate user feedback more effectively into the development process, leading to significant improvements in the tool's accuracy and usability.
The most crucial lessons from this experience revolved around the power of user-centric design and the importance of resilience in the face of challenges. I learned that truly innovative solutions come from understanding the end-user's needs and continually refining the product based on real-world usage and feedback. This approach not only enhances the product's effectiveness but also ensures it remains relevant and accessible to its intended audience. Additionally, experiencing and overcoming failure reinforced my perseverance and highlighted the importance of a flexible, adaptive mindset in the technology sector. These insights are invaluable as they shape my approach to future projects and challenges, underscoring the interplay between technology, design, and user experience as fundamental to innovation.
Artifact
Fidelity considers all of our deliverables as intellectual property of Fidelity and does not allow us to share outside of Fidelity recipients. Hence, I have created the following slide deck that describes my experience, contributions, learnings, and challenges.