#SuperAI: I learned what AI feels like ❤😵💫💔🧞♂️...
Our role as Business Analysts in the world of AI is huge but opportunities will be different and each of us must be ready for that...here is my first key learning.
Dear BAE Community,
I just attended the #SuperAI conference in Singapore and as promised before I went, I want to share my learnings with you.
A few pennies dropped for me during the conference when assessing AI and the impact on Business Analysis, but I want to start this series of conference updates with the most important one….
Something very unexpected happened to me…
As I walked into the conference area, there were people welcoming us with SuperAI banners and friendly faces. I was excited to be there…
Then on my way into the main conference room, I saw my first “live” humanoid robot, Desdemona, the younger sister of Sophia (another humanoid robot created by SingularityNET & Hanson Robotics).
I was stopped in my tracks.
I was completely fascinated.
I felt like a creature encountering another for the first time, utterly captivated and drawn to it, yet intensely wary.
I was transfixed as I watch her creators starting to get her ready to go on stage…
Desdemona moved, talked, and looked at me or us or the room (who knows?) with realistic looking eyes, full of what almost felt like intent. Her facial expressions seemed soft, human like. Her lips moved like a human when she spoke with a voice that her creators said she created for herself…
What was the most fascinating of this encounter was the effect Desdemona had on my own “humanness”.
She completely confused my sense of knowing and not knowing of how to behave in those moments.
I didn’t know how to relate to her, was she real or not real? How real was she? And even more important – what is reality anyway?
I was confused and felt very uncomfortable. Should I be polite and acknowledge her gaze at me? Does she see me?
I felt rude just turning away, not returning her smile. Does it matter?
She made AI real in a new way to me.
My mind knows she is a machine but her appearance and engagement with the room confused my sense of what is appropriate responsive behaviour.
I am sure in time I will come to my senses as it were and grasp what Desdemona is and isn’t and learn how to “be around her” and other similar humanoid robots. We all will, but for now: Wow!
A humanoid robot that looks like a rockstar in this case, really rocked my world.
The insight from this experience…
The AI revolution is real and it is here. The technology is in place and available. It is evolving at a record breaking speed.
The technologists are running conferences like this one all around the world showcasing what is here.
We as business professionals and specifically business analysts need to start to notice and act, now.
The business side of this equation is curious but slower at adopting at the moment. Business Analysts need to be ready to take our stakeholders through this process to successfully implement AI into their organisations.
Just like my reaction to Desdemona, where I felt confused and not sure what to do next, our stakeholders will feel when the world of work shifts with the introduction of AI into each organisation.
We must be there as the change agents, the people who can help remove confusion and help provide clarity to our customers.
I will share more insights as it pertains to us as Business Analysts, our careers, and the future in the next few posts.
Stay tuned, there is so much to unpack, essential knowledge you should start embracing to be ready for the AI revolution.
Tech is in place, now business needs to follow.
Thank you and share your thoughts, I’d love to hear them.
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