Week 1- MBA 6101- Intro to Artificial Intelligence

 

Artificial Intelligence: It's Everywhere

My friends and I joke that our phones are always listening to us and that it will think of something before the thought has crossed our minds. To be honest, that is not far from the truth. With the advancements in artificial intelligence, our social media and google searches can be filled with products and services that we have either talked about in passing with a friend or searched once on a different device. This is just the beginning of what artificial intelligence can do and companies need to incorporate AI into marketing strategies to keep up with the industry. 

Before diving more into artificial intelligence, it is probably helpful to define it first. Artificial intelligence is the development of computer systems to perform tasks that would normally involve a human intelligence to do. This can include speech recognition, decision- making, and language translation. AI is used by the majority of the population on a daily basis. Maps and navigation, smart phone facial recognition, auto correct and social media all include AI, and are all found in most cell phones. 

Professor and author Todd Kelsey wrote in his book Surfing the Tsunami, businesses will need to consider one of these perspectives when it comes to AI: adapt, adopt or adept. Adapting focuses on learning and being aware of the trends; adopting is managing AI proactively and being adept is developing and innovating coding to use for you advantage. It is imperative that a company stays up to date with the industry, new technology like AI and what consumers are looking for to stay relevant. Not only can AI be used for marketing purposes to drive growth, but it can also be used from an operational standpoint to decrease operating costs. Artificial intelligence is not something for companies to be fearful of, but rather lean into it to see the biggest return on investment.  

During the duration of the course, I will explore more about artificial intelligence and how it can best be used from a marketing perspective. I will then apply a few of these techniques to the "What's Going on Chicago" podcast to see if it drives the listener base.