the world of AI, deepfakes and geopolitics, Nina Schick stands out as a voice of authority. The author was listed among the world’s top AI speakers in 2023, reflecting her globally recognised position as an AI expert. In our eye-opening interview with Nina, she revealed how AI will impact the political landscape and what businesses can do embrace immersive technologies while avoiding the ethical pitfalls that go hand-in-hand with AI.

What role does generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) play in the future of business?

“I think generative AI is absolutely going to transform the economy. This is a moment similar to perhaps 1993 when we were being told to prepare for the Internet and 30 years ago, we perhaps didn’t understand how the Internet would change business forever.

“Now generative AI is like that, but an even bigger deal, because you can understand generative AI as almost a combustion engine for all human creative and intelligent activity. So, in every industry, every bit of productivity will be transformed by generative AI – those use cases are emerging now.”

What are the ethical risks of AI and big data for society?

“The question of ethics, AI and big data is going to become intensely political and an issue that we are going to be discussing for a long time from here on in. You have this utterly transformative technology which I think is going to change the economy, it’s going to change the labour market, it’s going to change the framework of society.

“The question about how you apply this technology in a way that’s fair, safe and ethical is just going to be, like I say, a dominant political issue.”

How will the Metaverse and immersive technologies change business in the future?

“I think the Metaverse is this concept of where the Internet may go and how digital experiences might be perceived going forward, where it’s far more immersive. However, the interesting thing with AI is that it is the actual vehicle that’s going to allow us to build this immersive digital experience.

“Whilst the Metaverse is still an untested concept about where the Internet may go, what is definitely true right now is that AI is going to be the vehicle, if you will, that will build the content that will go into this immersive experience.”

What advice would you give to businesses looking to digitally transform their mindset?

“For businesses looking to digitally transform their mindset, you must understand the conceptual paradigm change that is happening now with artificial intelligence. Once you have a conceptual framework in place, you can start to dig deep quickly. I think if you want to be competitive and you want to have an advantage, this is the time to start looking at how generative AI can be applied in your business.

“There are lots of considerations that you need to get into like what are your priority areas? What are the long-term gains? What’s your long-term AI strategy? I think if you put together a generative AI working group to investigate this, you know your business is going to be transformed and be able to compete with the other businesses that are using AI to transform their processes.”

How does data and AI affect the political landscape?

“When you think about how profound AI is in its ability to impact and change the framework of society, this AI revolution will become one of the most important political questions of our generation. We’ve already seen how the information revolution of the past 30 years, the Internet, smartphones, and cloud computing, have become major geopolitical forces shaping our world.

“Now, you add the AI revolution on top of that and the data powering it, and again, you have a seismic political issue that will be one of the most important things societies needs to deal with in the next generation. So, when you ask about how it will impact politics, it will become politics.”

What inspired you to write your book on AI?

“The reason I was interested in AI is not because I’m a techie; I don’t have a technical background. My background has always been in macro trends that are shaping society, geopolitics, and the world. This is why I started to research and write about AI.

“Ultimately, this isn’t a story about technology. This is a story about humanity. The way this exponential technology, which is built, amplified, and controlled by humans, is going to transform not only the way we work but the way we live; it’s even going to change our very perception of what it means to be human.”

This interview with Nina Schick was conducted by Chris Tompkins.