The Future of AI Is Superhuman

If art imitates life—and vice versa—the drumbeat surrounding the meteoric rise of generative AI reads something like a line out of Limitless:

“There are moments in life...moments when you know you’ve crossed a bridge.”

A watershed moment indeed. But now that we’ve passed that technological point of no return, organizations across the globe are scrambling to answer a common question: how to leverage the power of data & AI to supercharge our greatest resource of all—people.

“And we’re starting to see everyday activity where people are turning to generative AI to augment the way they deliver. Tools like Copilot can improve the efficiency, quality and security of code, while tools like ChatGPT can help us synthesize complex topics,” says Ray Velez, Executive Vice President at Publicis Sapient, on a new episode of ImpactTV.

While there’s no doubt that artificial intelligence has come a long way since the first chess program was written on a 4.5-ton Ferranti Mark 1 ‘pocket computer,’ we’re still faced with the question of how to leverage these tools to impact lives for the better.

“Boiling it down, all we care about is each other,” says JoAnn Stonier, Mastercard Fellow & Chief Data Officer. “I think the way we’ve always designed is thinking about our customers—and even though we’re a B2B company, we’re a B2C brand.”

More than just a collective commitment to the greater good, embedding ethical AI into more human ways of working is table stakes for any brand looking to stay relevant in the Age of Next.

According to Rishad Tobaccowala, author of “Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data,” balancing human intuition with data-driven decision-making both play a critical role in combining “story and spreadsheet.”

“What we have to do is embrace, adapt and complement,” says Tobaccowala. “We have to embrace AI…adapt what we do in our organizations, but as importantly, we need to complement the machines with what we humans are naturally good at, whether they be creative or storytelling.”

With AI and quantum computing expected to have a seismic impact on everything from climate change to next-gen consumer experiences to the Metaverse in the next five years, shaping a human-centric digital strategy is key.

“The more digital we become,” points out Teresa Barreira, EVP/Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Publicis Sapient, “the more human we need to be.”

Now that’s a thoughtful approach to artificial intelligence.