Tips For Success: Make A Robot Your Partner In Crime In 2018
If your New Year’s resolution is to get ahead of the tech curve, you’re in luck.
As artificial intelligence (AI) transitions from novel to normalised in 2018, there are many ways you can integrate advanced technology into your day-to-day life, making you more productive at work and at home. Andrea Walsh, one of Australia’s most successful CIO’s, shares tips on how everyone can use machine learning to squeeze more out of the day.
Decision making
You may not trust a computer to make important decisions for you, but it can help guide your choices. Committed to read more in 2018? Amazon will analyse your previous purchasing behaviour to recommend books you might like. If you’d simply like to reconnect with old friends or spend more time with new ones, Facebook will flag friend suggestions for you. If you’re in the market for a new job this year, let LinkedIn’s algorithms suggest jobs you may be interested in or people you should be networking with. Embrace these tools to help cut through the noise and then use your own insight to make decisions on a narrowed, personalised field.
Be more punctual
If you are perennially late and have vowed to be more punctual in 2018, Google Maps is your new best friend, helping you avoid time-sucking activities like getting lost in parking lots or being caught in heavy traffic. Using data from your smartphone, Google is able to provide you with directions to where you parked your car. On the road, Google will analyse your position together with anonymised data from other smartphones to suggest the fastest route to your destination. If driving full-stop is your peeve, then you will be pleased to hear that California authorities will allow self-driving cars to be tested alongside cars driven by humans on roads this year. Experts predict this could result in a 90% reduction in accidents (which will arouse all sorts of ethical debates as to whether humans will still be able to drive cars), 75% less cars on the road and reduce the work commute by almost half.
Boost creativity
With the rise of machine learning comes the fear of job losses. “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race,” Stephen Hawking told the BBC.
An Oxford University survey suggested that 47 per cent of the world’s jobs could be replaced within decades. Autonomous cars present one example of how jobs in transport and logistics may be replaced by robots. With this uncertainty comes the understanding that routine work is far more likely to be automated than jobs requiring skills like creativity or emotional intelligence. Machines may be adept at processing large volumes of data, but they can’t make insightful or creative decisions. The good news is that as machines become smarter, humans are freed from mundane tasks and can become more creative. If you’re in a small business, using accounting products like Xero to manage your financial reporting. This allows you to turn your attention to business boosters like problem solving, improving customer service or creating new products. If you’re in big business, tools like Amazon Transcribe or Amazon Translate can perform laborious tasks like producing and translating documents with lightning speed and accuracy, allowing you to focus on big picture thinking like strategy and profitability.
Stay on top of current affairs
In my work at Isentia, we use machine learning to process seven million news items each day. Not long ago this was a task relegated to humans with the mind-numbing task of flipping through newspapers in search of stories that might relate to a client. Machines trawl video, audio and digital content across more than 5,500 new sites at a rate of 234 stories per second and present meaningful summaries to clients in real-time. Whether a story breaks on Twitter and then spills across news platforms and onto television and radio, machine learning can track and analyse how a story evolves with 99% accuracy. Use these tools to stay on top of the issues or people relevant to your industry – in real time.
Make your mark in 2018
The robots aren’t ‘coming’, they are well and truly here. Without realising, we interact with ‘smart’ technology at almost every touch point of our daily lives. As a technologist, I am excited by machine learning not only because I see its profit boosting value, but also for how much it can improve our working lives each and every day.
If you learn one thing this year, take the time to discover how AI can help you be a more creative and productive version of you in 2018.
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Isentia is a media intelligence company operating since 1982. The company is backed by over 1,200 employees with 18 offices across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the US. Isentia provides more than 5,000 clients, including many of the world’s leading brands, companies and governments, with media intelligence software and services that help drive more informed and timely business and communication decisions.
Loren is an experienced marketing professional who translates data and insights using Isentia solutions into trends and research, bringing clients closer to the benefits of audience intelligence. Loren thrives on introducing the groundbreaking ways in which data and insights can help a brand or organisation, enabling them to exceed their strategic objectives and goals.
Big data is more than just a buzzword. It’s one of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing almost every industry, business and brand today. With the potential value that it holds, investment in big data, machine learning and AI will be crucial for any business that wants to remain relevant through the ages.
Big Data
noun: extremely large data sets that may be analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behaviour and interactions.
Each day 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is generated – a number that continues to grow exponentially. While we have seen improvements in the collection of data over recent years, the ability to synthesize meaning from this data is demanding more from engineers and their technology than ever before.
The problem that we face is sorting through these huge chunks of data to separate the noise from what is important to individuals and their organisation. While automation has offered speed, simplicity and efficiency, the ‘why’ is where the untapped value and excitement lies.
“Contextualisation is key. It's not about just collecting data, it’s about how that data can provide clear information that enables and inspires action”
Richard Spencer, Chief Marketing Officer at Isentia.
Rather than reflecting on past performance, answering the ‘why’ has the potential to lead action that focuses on influencing the tomorrow. Beyond big data, the 'why' behind AI and machine learning may raise new questions. For instance the wider interplay behind machine learnings ability to translate to a language without any knowledge or assumptions about that language.
As teams start to ask these questions, the data starts to be reimagined. The perception of a data point transforms into breadcrumbs of a narrative that can tell a bigger story, and ultimately influence our thinking.
The question is, when big data becomes manageable and meaningful – how fast will it move into being predictive? And even beyond this, be able to simulate what is ‘likely’ to happen.
"
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From Complex To Context
Big data is more than just a buzzword. It’s one of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing almost every industry, business and brand today. With the potential value that it holds, investment in big data, machine learning and AI will be crucial for any business that wants to remain relevant through the ages.
It’s official: artificial intelligence has arrived. But how will this disruptive technology transform businesses in the near future?
After more than a few false starts, artificial intelligence (AI) is finally here, and it’s powerfully disrupting the way business is done. We don’t need to ask if or when businesses will adopt AI – the question is where and how widely it will be employed.
AI is already a big player in the technology industry. In particular, there is a growing use of AI in IT’s backroom functions like cybersecurity and tech support. A Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) survey of 835 company executives found that nearly half of respondents were using AI to detect and fend off intrusions – the most frequent use of the technology. But a number of other industries are also opting for AI.
Worldwide spending on cognitive and AI systems is expected to reach $12.5 billion this year, according to IDC, a whopping increase of 59.3 percent over 2016. Much of this growth is powered by use cases like the examples above. But there’s another area where AI is rapidly being adopted: automated customer service agents, or chatbots as they’re more commonly known.
Customers now expect AI to be used by companies and they are comfortable interacting with the technology (up to a point). Research from HubSpot found that nearly half of people are happy with the idea of buying products from a chatbot. Perhaps more importantly, 40 percent of respondents said they were indifferent about receiving customer support from either a chatbot or human – provided they got the help they needed fast and easily.
Dealing with data
Whether patrolling a computer network for intrusions or trawling through financials for signs of fraud, AI is most often employed to intelligently handle vast amounts of data quickly. “AI is best deployed in companies with significant amounts of data and robust data systems,” says Andrea Walsh, Isentia’s CIO.
Gartner predicts that, in 2018, half a billion users will save two hours a day as a result of AI-powered tools. Every time a business gains efficiencies, it saves money – and that is AI’s chief benefit.
AI’s smarter processing power is also helping companies generate more quality leads on new customers, using IBM’s Watson AI, for example. Finding, contacting and closing new sales is a time and resource-heavy activity. But AI-based sales assistants can tirelessly work on reaching out to people, while intelligently analyzing data on leads. This can then be effectively communicated with point-of-sale staff.
When employees hear the word “efficiency,” they often assume it will lead to lay-offs. While there is no question that some jobs will be replaced by AI programs, the naysayers are largely exaggerating their mass-redundancy predictions.
AI is a data-cruncher, and it is often employed to take care of something that didn’t even exist 30 years ago: big data. When it accomplishes its analysis, a human is still needed to interpret the results, such as in cybersecurity and anti-fraud scenarios. Even in the case of customer service chatbots, these will mostly be applied to routine queries and simple support functions, augmented by human representatives for complex problems. “AI should not stand alone as a technology,” say Walsh.
Enhancing existing infrastructure
As with all industrial revolutions, AI will create jobs even as it replaces them. There are already glaring shortfalls in STEM-trained employees across the world, and that’s likely to continue as the rapid pace of technological transformation outruns educational reforms. But eventually, new generations will be trained and educated to do jobs created by innovative technologies like AI.
Any business can benefit from AI programs, but when it comes to how broadly they adopt AI, companies need to look at how the technology can augment their existing capabilities. Instead of replacing staff, current AI should be used to support them and put their invaluable human minds to the best use, saving tedious, data-crunching work for the machines. For customers, AI needs to be a helpful, timesaving addition to their experience, and companies should never try to create the false impression that a human is doing the work. People are ready for AI; companies need to be too.
Andrea Walsh, Isentia's Chief Information Officer
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Transformative tech: What to expect from AI in 2018
It’s official: artificial intelligence has arrived. But how will this disruptive technology transform businesses in the near future?
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published anti-greenwashing guidelines for businesses making environmental and sustainability claims. Despite these efforts, media coverage of greenwashing, particularly focusing on senate inquiries and regulatory court cases against major offenders, continues to expose brands and industries stretching the truth in their sustainability messaging. This exposure is causing a growing disconnect between consumers and corporations, as audiences increasingly call out misleading practices and question the authenticity of corporate sustainability claims.Isentia’s sister brand, Pulsar conducted recent research exploring media and public discourse around sustainability. Part of this report examines how greenwashing is covered in the news and on social media, particularly in relation to the broader sustainability discourse. Let’s investigate those themes in more depth here.
Social media data is decreasing while online news activity re-engages, indicating incident-led conversations. Regulatory bodies like the ACCC, and state and federal governments are tackling greenwashing by identifying major corporate offenders and their misleading actions, such as 'recyclable' packaging, carbon credit misuse, lack of transparency in fossil fuel investments, and exploitation of government climate programs. Audience conversations often align with news coverage on these matters. The term in Australia particularly gained traction among social audiences around November 2022 when the UN called out the Australian government for allowing the use of carbon offsets in corporate emissions reduction strategies. News of the apparent collusion between the government and large corporations has caused public faith and trust in both to dwindle. As these stories emerge, Australia's positive sustainability impact on the international stage is significantly undermined.
When we look at which sectors are most discussed within the greenwashing topic, energy, finance, and food take the lead.
Much of the discussion regarding the energy and finance sectors emphasises their interconnectedness, particularly the investment by financial institutions, including super funds, in environmentally harmful industries. Despite some super funds claiming to offer options that avoid unsustainable investments, reports have revealed that they collectively hold millions of shares in the fossil fuel industry.
Many industries are being criticised for using carbon credits, such as REDD+ offsets, to appear more sustainable. Advertising, marketing, and public relations also play a significant role in promoting misleading sustainability initiatives, thereby contributing to greenwashing. However, stakeholders are aware that the advertising and communications industries have a huge impact on the profitability and success of an industry or product. The European Union’s Product Environmental Footprint classification system, for example, has been criticised by Australia’s wool industry for being unfair to wool products and for greenwashing. This, they argue, not only undermines the pursuit of a green transition within fashion but also damages a vital industry.
Mercer stands out as a most mentioned brand within the topic of greenwashing. This is due to ASIC pursuing a civic penalty case against them which alleged they misled members about its sustainability investments. This is groundbreaking for audiences to witness as it would be the first time the consumer watchdog has taken a company to court for alleged greenwashing.
Much of the conversation focuses on misinformation and lack of transparency in communication and marketing. Certifications like Fair Trade are being questioned, particularly for products like chocolate, and eco-certification for farmed salmon. It particularly muddies the waters for political figures when they get entangled with brands coming under scrutiny for such greenwashing.
Furthermore, some companies feature in the media conversation due to their involvement in a senate enquiry initiated in March 2023, with a report expected by June 28th this year.
Analysis of the ANZ reveals a shift in mindset, with consumers emphasising individual actions for solutions like composting or guerilla campaigns on mislabelled environmentally friendly salmon products. Grassroots and individual activism leading to actions like divestment from conflicting companies. Community groups like uni student clubs showcase how groups with shared values and experiences can make noise and incite change with how universities invest. However, there are ongoing debates as to whether it’s the role of sectors like higher education or Super Funds to prioritise the environmental implications of their decisions.
The rise in curiosity around greenwashing highlights the growing consumer demand for transparency and genuine sustainability from brands. As regulatory scrutiny and public awareness increase, brands must ensure their sustainability claims are genuine or face reputation damage.
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The Eco-Spin Cycle: how brand’s sustainability claims come out in the wash
Regulators are cracking down on corporate greenwashing, but what does media discussion reveal about its impact on brand-consumer relations?
As the spotlight on sustainability intensifies year by year, it has become a focal point for legislators, media entities, and audiences worldwide.
This dynamic environment demands that brands and institutions elevate their standards in messaging and actions, holding them accountable like never before. For professionals in the PR & Comms realm, it is imperative to grasp not only how sustainability is being discussed but also the potential pitfalls, such as greenwashing, and gain a profound understanding of the diverse audiences receiving these messages.
Explore over 20 beautifully crafted pages of data visualisation that illuminate audience insights sourced from social media, news outlets, and search engines. Gain valuable perspectives on how one of the defining issues of our time is being discussed and understood.
Our exploration of this crucial topic delves deep into uncovering insights that are indispensable for crafting effective strategies, both tactical and long-term:
-Unraveling trends in the sustainability conversation
-Assessing brand & industry reputations
-Navigating greenwashing & misinformation
-Understanding the diverse audiences of sustainability
To access these insights, simply fill in the form
Download now
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Blog
Sustainability: Mapping the Media & Public Conversations
From accusations of greenwashing to the role of misinformation, we explore the comms landscape around sustainability.
