Log In
AI authority Nina Schick said AI creations can now pass the Turing test, convincingly imitating human behavior and demonstrating advanced cognition. (Whatever Media Group)
People shouldn’t worry about artificial intelligence replacing them in their jobs, agreed presenters Nina Schick and Mo Gawdat in their Monday Main Stage session, “The Future of Generative AI: Exploring the Benefits, Risks & How It Will Change the Human Experience.”
“It isn’t that AI is going to take your job,” said Schick, an AI authority, entrepreneur, and author and speaker. “But somebody using AI will definitely take your job. So, as leaders, if you want to think about being innovative, being proactive, being ahead of this curve — absolutely start engaging with this technology.”
Gawdat, a bestselling author and former CBO of Google X, said AI will transform jobs through human-AI collaboration rather than outright eliminate jobs. Gawdat, who presented digitally, said, “I could have simply created my likeness, my voice, and … [given] it to an avatar. And he would have shown up … without you even noticing, ‘This is not a human’ — especially that this is a digital presentation to you.”
Mo Gawdat said AI capabilities like personalized recommendations and automated event reporting will fundamentally reshape the events industry.
This article is a good example of the human/AI collaboration Gawdat spoke about. The quotes above and takeaways from the presentation below were collected and generated by a new feature in Spark AI, a generative AI tool created by Gevme in collaboration with PCMA. The new feature — Spark Takeaways, which provides live session summarization and presents key takeaways — was announced Monday during a press conference after the Main Stage presentation.
To use Spark Takeaways, event organizers connect the tool to a live presentation audio board. Spark “listens” and does instant summarizing and analyzing of the live-streamed content according to user prompts.
Below you will find Spark’s key takeaways from Schick and Gawdat. Spark did not identify who said the quotes (but that may be attributed to human error).
Embracing Positivity, Compassion, and Selflessness
As AI models learn from humans, cultivating positive traits such as compassion and selflessness in ourselves is crucial for a benevolent AI future.
“The very essence of what makes us human… are the essence of what will create our future.”
The Iterative Nature of AI Ethics
AI ethics should reflect human values, as AI learns from us, and treating AI with respect and compassion will shape its future development.
“We are the source of training data that goes into AI. If we show the bad side of us… it may become a supervillain.”
AI Generated Content
AI can already create convincing digital content, including speeches and multi-lingual presentations, challenging the distinction between human and machine-generated interactions.
“I could have hired an avatar to do this job instead of me… I could have simply created my likeness, my voice and go to this speech and gave it to the avatar.”
AI as a Complement to Human Work
AI will not immediately replace jobs but will augment human capabilities, making those who use AI more competitive in the job market.
“AI will take your jobs in the next 10, maybe 15 years, but someone using AI will take the job of someone who isn’t using AI because they will be able to do the job so much better.”
Human Connection as a Competitive Advantage
The events industry’s focus on human connection will remain a unique advantage, as AI will take longer to replicate the nuances of human interaction.
“Human connection… is the advantage in the coming years as human connection… is what your industry is really all about.”
Specialization and Mastery
In an AI-driven future, focusing on specialized skills and becoming the best in a chosen field will help individuals maintain a competitive edge.
“Choose the things that you can beat the rest of the world at… the ones that will go out first are the ones that are not the best at what they do.”
Predicting the Singularity
The singularity, where AI surpasses human intelligence, is predicted to occur between 2025 to 2027, potentially making AI the ‘smartest’ entity in the room and transforming intelligence into a utility.
“My belief is that we’re going to head into a point where often the smartest person in the room is not going to be a human. It’s going to be a machine.”
AI’s Impact on the Events Industry
AI can revolutionize the events industry by enabling advanced attendee matching, global trend analysis, and responsive event planning.
“What does that mean to the events industry? It means a massive spectrum that could start from simple things like matching attendees with interests to complex planning of big events with more flexibility and responsiveness.”
Lifelong Learning with AI
To stay competitive, individuals and organizations must embrace AI, learning and adapting to its capabilities.
“You have to be completely in tune with artificial intelligence. You cannot tell yourself you’re not going to learn this.”
Intelligence Augmentation
AI is advancing towards a point where it can significantly augment human intelligence, allowing individuals to enhance their cognitive abilities beyond natural limits.
“There is now a plug in the wall that you can plug into. And if your IQ is 140, now you can make it 160. You can make it 180 by complementing your intelligence with the machine intelligence.”