Artificial Intelligence is coming

During the presentation of the new Knowledge & Innovation Agenda, Ivo Roefs gave a speech on Artifical Intelligence. Ivo is co-CEO DDB & Tribal and board member of Dutch Digital Agencies.

By Ivo Roefs

‘Innovation’ has been around since the invention of the wheel. Or the domestication of the fire. Or using an animal hide to protect yourself from the elements.
So how have we, humans, dealt with modernisation, throughout the ages? We have an incredible track record in using what our planet has to offer us, by continuously inventing and improving things since the beginning of time. From fur coats when we were living in caves - to electricity. WIFI. Satellites. Cars. Genetic
engineering. And nanotechnology. The last 100 years have been extraordionary.

But there’s another side to this story. Let’s have a look at a relatively recent invention: the steam engine. When it was first used, people were more scared than impressed by the steam it was creating. “We are all going to lose our jobs”, people shouted. ”And the world will end in smog!” This may all sound like an exaggeration, but as recently as December 1952, 150,000 people were taken to hospital and 12,000 died in one single week in London, as a result of a toxic fog produced by steam engines. And to make matters worse, many who died in that incident, had previously lost their jobs because of the introduction of this modern machine.

This just shows that, even though we consider ourselves great modern inventors, we are also a little apprehensive of what new technology might bring us. And sometimes rightly so. Taking that into account, let’s have a look at the present, and especially at the creative industry. There is one particular invention that is advancing every day. Some consider it to be even bigger than the invention of the steam engine: Artificial Intelligence. What impact can AI have on the creative industry? And how can we best use it? Talking to my colleagues, I discovered that there are three groups.

The Deniers
The first group I’d like to call ‘The Deniers’, consisting of my oldest colleagues. Their response is similar to a steelworker in London at the time of the Great Smog: ‘I won’t be there to suffer the consequences’. They refuse to see what AI can bring to the industry as they still see AI as something of the future and not of the now. A future they will not be part of.

A little word of warning to these colleagues of mine: AI will be part of our everyday life sooner than you think. If you think this is still at least 20
years away, you’ve got another thing coming.

For example, Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo became the first computer Go program to beat a human professional Go player. By reinventing the game, and taking less time than it would take a human to get to grips with the rules only.

The Elitists
The second group I would like to call ‘The Elitists’: traditional creatives who did not grow up in the digital age. They are of the opinion that they do not need AI as their creative talent is so unique and, therefore, irreplaceable. This is what I would like to say to them: you might consider creative concepts to be a product of humans only. Think again! AI and robots are here to stay and not only to take care of our simplest and most menial of tasks. Many creative tasks can already be done as well or even better by AI systems than by us, humans. Choosing the correct image from an image library, for example.

It’s only a matter of time before AI systems will be able to choose a colour scheme, a style, or even a concept faster than any of us. We may think that we have a unique creative talent but this talent can now be duplicated or even adapted by AI. The human brain is often praised for recognising patterns and using this to its advantage, but this is also exactly how AI works!

The Curious
Finally the last and third group ‘The Curious’: creatives who grew up in the digital age. They are not scared by technology at all. They are motivated and excited by the possibilities it brings. They have already experimented with Augmented Reality. And are looking forward to the day they can actually incorporate AI within their own concepts. I praise and encourage these colleagues, as they will be the future of our industry.

In my opinion, there is no point in putting up resistance against what’s coming. Like the steam engine, AI will happen whether we like it or not. Therefore, we should not simply look at what AI can bring us from a technological point of view, however much we like to hear about the latest and greatest technology. How it all works. But we need to consider our attitude, as a creative industry, towards AI. How it can help us create even bigger, better and more innovative concepts.

And you? Are you a Denier, an Elitist or one of the Curious?