Futurist and tech writer Nina Schick tells FM Magazine ‘digitally transforming’ corporate mindsets is key to implementing generative AI.
What role does generative AI play in the future of business?
“I think generative AI is absolutely going to transform the economy. This is a moment similar to perhaps 1993 when we were being told to prepare for the Internet and 30 years ago, we perhaps didn’t understand how the Internet would change business forever.
“Now generative AI is like that, but an even bigger deal, because you can understand generative AI as almost a combustion engine for all human creative and intelligent activity. So, in every industry, every bit of productivity will be transformed by generative AI – those use cases are emerging now.”
What are the ethical risks of AI and big data for society?
“The question of ethics, AI and big data is going to become intensely political and an issue that we are going to be discussing for a long time from here on in. You have this utterly transformative technology which I think is going to change the economy, it’s going to change the labour market, it’s going to change the framework of society.
“The question about how you apply this technology in a way that’s fair, safe and ethical is just going to be, like I say, a dominant political issue.”
When you think about how profound AI is in its ability to impact and change the framework of society … [the] AI revolution will become one of the most important political questions of our generation.
How does data and AI affect the political landscape?
“When you think about how profound AI is in its ability to impact and change the framework of society, this AI revolution will become one of the most important political questions of our generation. We’ve already seen how the information revolution of the past 30 years, the Internet, smartphones, and cloud computing, have become major geopolitical forces shaping our world.
“Now, you add the AI revolution on top of that and the data powering it, and again, you have a seismic political issue that will be one of the most important things societies needs to deal with in the next generation. So, when you ask about how it will impact politics, it will become politics.”
Once you have a conceptual framework in place, you can start to dig deep quickly.
What advice would you give to businesses looking to digitally transform their mindset?
“For businesses looking to digitally transform their mindset, you must understand the conceptual paradigm change that is happening now with artificial intelligence. Once you have a conceptual framework in place, you can start to dig deep quickly. I think if you want to be competitive and you want to have an advantage, this is the time to start looking at how generative AI can be applied in your business.
“There are lots of considerations that you need to get into like what are your priority areas? What are the long-term gains? What’s your long-term AI strategy? I think if you put together a generative AI working group to investigate this, you know your business is going to be transformed and be able to compete with the other businesses that are using AI to transform their processes.”
What inspired you to write your book on AI?
“The reason I was interested in AI is not because I’m a techie; I don’t have a technical background. My background has always been in macro trends that are shaping society, geopolitics, and the world. This is why I started to research and write about AI.
“Ultimately, this isn’t a story about technology. This is a story about humanity. The way this exponential technology, which is built, amplified, and controlled by humans, is going to transform not only the way we work but the way we live; it’s even going to change our very perception of what it means to be human.”
This interview with Nina Schick was conducted by Mark Matthews.
Author
