Key Takeaways:
- Modern AI is unique and valuable in its use for primarily creative and marketing purposes.
- AI is developing so quickly that it is becoming challenging for companies to keep up with government policy, internal ethics policies, and talent development.
- Consumers need to be open to a culture of experimentation as developers continually tweak the technology to enhance the customer experience.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is being considered society’s third technological paradigm shift, following the internet and the rise of mobile. Google Automotive Managing Director Thomais Zaremba, Ford AI Director Bryan Goodman, and General Motors Chief Experience Officer Donald Chesnut discussed more about this during the first 2023 Detroit Auto Show Preview Day.
Although consumers already interact with AI, such as Google Maps and optimized search ads, Zaremba said, “we’re just getting started with what AI is going to do for how we live, how we work, and how we experience the world.”
On how AI can transform the automotive and mobility industry, Goodman shared it is already proving to be the most impactful by “augmenting human capability in creativity,” allowing people in these roles to focus more on storytelling and innovative design rather than more tedious things like copywriting and formatting.
Chesnut also values the efficiency of AI, saying, “our goal is to use AI to make the customer experience not only better, but brilliant.” He continued, “I want to be able to give customers time back. I want to make time-consuming interactions really easy.”
While introducing new AI capabilities is exciting, it also brings new challenges. The speed with which technology is developing is making it challenging for the government to keep up with passing appropriate legislation and for companies to update their internal ethics policies. Companies must also consider whether they will invest in re-training their staff or partnering with other organizations to fill these new needs.
Ultimately, the success of companies utilizing AI will depend on fostering a culture of experimentation where all teams are encouraged to experience different types of AI for themselves and consider how their team can apply it to their work. Consumers will also need to be open-minded as products are rolled out and iterated upon, always to optimize their experience.