There Might be a Robot in Your Closet

[ORGINALLY WRITTEN FOR AND PUBLISHED ON KEYMEDIASOLUTIONS.COM]

For a long time, there’s been a fight to ensure humans stay relevant in the age of data and automation—an effort to combat the whole “robots are taking over the world” idea. We’ve even wrote about Humanizing Automation in previous blogs!

Especially with the data privacy conversations circulating the technology and marketing world, it might make you a little uneasy to see “Artificial Intelligence” and “Machine Learning” taking over the headlines of every technology blog or marketing newsletter you subscribe to. Artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities are forever changing the way we do business—marketer or not—ready or not.

Easier – but Better?

When technology makes our lives easier and more enjoyable, it’s easy to buy-in, and ultimately allowing these advanced technologies to creep their way into our everyday lives unnoticed, unrecognized, and perhaps, as a result, underutilized. Conversations about the idea that data has been collected on our consumer profiles and used to create new experiences through technology scares a lot of people and makes many of us shrink away from the incredible developments. What if I told you artificial intelligence was already integrated in your everyday life?  It is…

“Hello Barbie” listens and responds to children analyzing the communication and determine the most relevant response from a bank of thousands of possible replies. Barbie just replaced your imaginary friend.

Musicians gather data and use machines to cross references what their audiences want with beats and tunes that have the highest likelihood of being the next big hits! No wonder I love Ke$ha’s new album so much!

American Express detects fraud practically in real time using data analytics and machine learning algorithms. Our credit scores thank you.

Maybe you’re a farmer in the mid-west or have some family that farms…the GPS planting systems in your equipment creates an automated process and enables data-driven insights for future decision making. This is already old news and my uncles have been farming with these fancy machines for years, and their technology is only getting better!

And my favorite, Google is helping crack down on illegal fishing in our seas with AI and satellite data. Say hello to the Global Fishing Watch.

Friendly Robots?

Maybe data isn’t something we should be so scared of. Maybe profiling isn’t a crime. Maybe we’re all just trying to make life a little richer, simpler, and smarter. Maybe robot’s aren’t the enemy.