Week 1 -- MKTG 6101 -- A.I.: Friend or Foe?

Growing up, computer technology and innovations never resonated with me. I often found myself avoiding social media (ultimately, deleting all personal social media for several years), using outdated cellphones (I thought rejecting change was "cool"), and never had the up-to-date video game systems or televisions (so my place was not the destination of choice for most hangouts). So, with my lack of screentime and limited connectivity via the internet, I turned to reading literature, writing short stories, and drawing pictures to gift to my friends and family.

The years went on and the importance of computer technology became unavoidable, so I embraced the innovations--learning all the social media platforms, diving into VR, learning website software, some graphic design, etc. It was time to wake up and adopt the unrelenting technological changes. The rapid advancement in artificial intelligence, however, is as alarming to me as the rise of the internet and social media. Or am I only avoiding change again?

Before beginning Dr. Todd Kelsey's book, Surfing the Tsunami, I always felt tech dystopian worlds, like Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano or The Matrix, could never be possible in the near future. However, I may be wrong. Dr. Kelsey believes A.I. development will increasingly change automation, software, and our lives, but how much and how fast? Will A.I. software bleed into the unthinkable like religion or the humanities? Will A.I. automation replace teachers? Will A.I. programs be able to create complete marketing campaigns using Big Data and learned "behaviors"? Will A.I. software become better artists, musicians, and writers than mankind?

 

Dr. Kelsey provides us with three solutions to these types of questions about A.I.--to adapt to A.I., to adopt A.I. or to be adept in A.I.

Which will you choose? Or do we reject advanced A.I. all together?