Is 2024 the Year AI Will Replace Our Phones and Take Our Jobs?
SHRM & Theresa Agovino (2019)

Is 2024 the Year AI Will Replace Our Phones and Take Our Jobs?

Happy Saturday, Future Visionaries! ??

'Foresight Friday' has taken a little detour and landed on Saturday this week. Turns out, Saturdays offer just the perfect space for gathering my thoughts and sharing them with you. There's something about the weekend that gives us just a bit more space to ponder and explore. Now I might need a new name for this newsletter then, as 'Saturday Foresight' doesn't quite have the same ring to it, though, does it? I'm all ears for any catchy alternatives you might have, especially since we might be rendezvousing more often on other days than Friday this year. ??

Anyway, let’s jump right in. This week, we’re exploring the buzzing world of AI. It’s everywhere—from heated debates on LinkedIn to the heart of our everyday banter. I've got some juicy topics lined up: AI stepping into our jobs, revolutionizing our phones, sparking new heights in creativity, and even a Harvard study unpacking ChatGPT’s values.

Alright, I might be hitting your inbox a tad later than usual, but trust me, this edition is packed with goodies that are worth the wait. Dive in, and let's exchange some futuristic thoughts!

Excited about our future together,

Bart

Signal of the Week: Human-Like Digital Workforce

Artisan, a company that's captured Y-Combinator's attention and secured $2.3 million in funding last year, is pushing the boundaries of our workforce as we know it. They're not just developing another SaaS product; they're creating new team members.

These digital workers, known as Artisans, are more than just lines of code. Artisans can perform thousands of tasks with minimal human oversight, and they’re designed to work alongside human teams. Imagine advanced, human-like digital workers, each with unique faces, names, memories, and skills, continually evolving and adapting to fit each company's unique needs.

First up from Artisan is Ava, a digital sales representative. Ava is a game-changer in automating the entire outbound sales process. With a simple 10-minute setup conversation, she's ready to roll. She can create TCPs, prospect from a vast database of over 270 million contacts, craft personalized email sequences, and book meetings straight into your calendar. And managing Ava? It’s as easy as chatting on Slack. She’s on track to soon automate almost the entire sales cycle, becoming an indispensable co-pilot for her human colleagues.

But that’s just the start. Artisan is gearing up to release a whole workforce of Artisans, including roles like Graphic Designer and Marketing Manager, later this year.

This sparks an inevitable debate: is AI coming for our jobs? I like to think of it more as a tool than a threat. Scott Galloway nailed it: “You won’t be replaced by AI, you'll be replaced by someone who uses AI.” My two cents? Don’t panic – get to know AI. It's become more accessible than ever. And start thinking about how you might leverage this powerful technology in your own career.

What's your take on this digital workforce revolution?

Industry Report of the Week:?2024 Webby Trend Report

By now, the world should know I’m a proud Webby judge. The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring the best of the Internet. Reflecting the tremendous growth of the Internet, The Webbys now honors excellence in 9 major media types:? Websites and Mobile Sites, Video, Advertising, Media & PR, Apps & Software, Social, Podcasts, Games and Metaverse, Virtual & AI (new this year!). So if you have a groundbreaking creative idea that you feel should be celebrated, there’s still time to enter. The extended entry deadline is Friday February 9th. If you need a final push: The New York Times calls a Webby “the Internet's highest honor.”

Anyway, what has all that to do with AI (besides the fact that Virtual & AI is a new category this year)? Well, once you’re in the Webby family, you get to dive into the latest digital trends. And the 2024 Webby Trend Report is a goldmine, especially on how AI is shaking up everything we know about digital. So give it a shot and download it today for free.

The report outlines how this is a game-changing moment; it provides an overview of innovations taking place and how consumers perceive the state of AI today. It then quickly shifts into how you can make the most of AI, from productivity to personalization, imagination, and creating social impact. It gives examples of how brands experiment with AI, recommends emerging tools to play with and shares insights from experts.

My words on learning about AI and thinking about how to use it in your daily lives aren't cold yet, and here you have an amazing piece of content to get you started. So dig into the 2024 Webby Trend Report and get yourself ready for the future. And while you’re at it, think if there's any awesome work you wanna submit. I would love to see a friend grab a Webby this year!

>> Download the report here .

The Future of… Mobile Devices?

In a world where AI is reshaping our daily lives, the Rabbit r1 pocket assistant stands out as a true gem from this year's CES. It's not just me who thinks so—40,000 units flew off the shelves within just eight days of its launch. And yes, I'm one of those who eagerly jumped on board to see what all the fuss is about.

The Rabbit R1 isn't your typical gadget. It's about the size of half an iPhone, but don’t let its size fool you. It’s designed with finesse, featuring a 2.88-inch touchscreen and a cleverly engineered rotating camera. But the magic? It’s all in the AI-powered operating system, Rabbit OS, which responds to natural language prompts, making interactions as smooth as talking to a person.

This little device could be the closest thing to a personal assistant you can fit in your pocket. Once linked to your personal accounts, it responds to natural language just like a human would. Need to find a pizza spot for six at 7 p.m.? Just ask the R1. It's as simple as that.

What sets the R1 apart is its ability to act as a universal controller for your apps, thanks to its innovative “Large Action Model.” From managing messages and music to making purchases, it's designed to make life easier.

Seeing Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu’s keynote , where he planned a family trip to London with just a few voice commands, was an eye-opener. It’s not just a step forward in AI; it's a leap toward how we could interact with technology in the near future. I'm beginning to think that devices like the Rabbit r1 could lead us to rethink our reliance on traditional mobile phones.

So, I'm curious—what's your perspective? Could the Rabbit r1 be the start of a new chapter in mobile technology? Or was I a fool to pay $199 to be able to ‘pull a rabbit out of my hat’?

Spotlight?

ChatGPT is WEIRD, quite literally.?

In the rapidly evolving world of AI, Large Language Models (LLMs) have made impressive progress in generating and analyzing text. But when we talk about their performance and compare it to 'human' abilities, we've got to ask ourselves: "Which humans are we really talking about?"

Researchers at Harvard University asked the ChatGPT to complete the World Values Survey, and it appears that it has a strong bias toward Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic values, and the more distant a country is culturally from the United States, the lower the correspondence between ChatGPT responses and human responses.

That’s really sad, isn’t it? Humans are incredibly diverse, culturally and psychologically, and yet, it seems like the current LLMs, trained on massive amounts of textual data, might be missing out on this rich tapestry. This research shows that the responses of LLMs to psychological measures are quite an outlier when compared to broad cross-cultural data.?

What's the way forward? According to the researchers, it's time to rethink and retool. We need to infuse future generations of generative language models with a broader, more inclusive understanding of human diversity. By addressing the bias, we can take a significant leap toward AI models that truly understand and reflect the global human experience.

And next time, when we say that LLMs produce human-like responses, we should always keep in mind that the humans in question are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. Or, in order words, WEIRD.?

>> Link to the academic paper here .

Closing Thoughts

Is 2024 gonna be the year when AI will replace our phones and snatch our jobs? I don't think so. However, one thing is crystal clear: artificial intelligence and its breakthroughs are accelerating at an unprecedented pace. This should serve as a compelling call to action for all of us—to embrace AI, learn about it, and explore ways to integrate it into our lives.

At the same time, we can't shy away from the scientific and ethical challenges that we'll come across. Do we truly want to risk overlooking the diversity of global values and richness as we push forward into the fourth industrial revolution? How can we ensure that technology becomes a unifying force among humans rather than a divisive one?

There is a lot of food for thought this week. I'd love to hear your insights and perspectives! And see you next Friday... or Saturday ;)



Exciting topics! Looking forward to your insights.

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Yaroslav Sobko

Hit 10K newsletter subs with a free challenge #growmonetize

10 个月

Amazing! Looking forward to your insights on AI's impact in different domains.

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Udo Kiel

????Vom Arbeitswissenschaftler zum Wissenschaftskommunikator: Gemeinsam für eine sichtbarere Forschungswelt

10 个月

Sounds like an exciting exploration of the AI world! Looking forward to your insights. ??

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James D. Feldman, CSP, CITE, CPIM, CPT, CVP, PCS

AI Transformation Leader in Hospitality | Ex-CEO & Global Speaker | Innovating Guest/Customer Experiences & Employee Performance Optimization

10 个月

Sounds like an exciting exploration! Can't wait to read your insights. ??

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Albert Razon

Pricing Manager DHL Express

10 个月

I had a chance to watch the movie “The Creator” this weekend. Can’t say it was the best movie ever or a must see but the fact that Holywood movies are being made about this very topic is interesting enough for everyone to start to embrace what’s undoubtly the future of our workforce. Didn’t know about the Harvard the study ??

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