The Bottom Line on AI

November 21, 2018 | Colleen O’ Connell-Campbell


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Right after I hit ‘publish’ on this, I’ll head out to finalize tonight’s live Elevated Conversations dinner with Erin Kelly, president and CEO of Advanced Symbolics, who will be speaking to us about applying Artificial Intelligence to measure and predict human behavior.

If you’ve been following the past few posts and my podcast I’m a Millionaire! So Now What? (listen & subscribe here), you know we’ve been exploring Artificial Intelligence. This week, I want to wrap up.

Erin Kelly introduced us to Polly on I’m a Millionaire! So Now What? EP 19 and in my November 7th blog post. Polly is able to comb through masses of behavioral, demographic and geographic data to spot patterns. Erin’s company, Advanced Symbolics, extrapolates likelihoods and predictions from these patterns to benefit industries like transportation, medical services and environmental science to name a few.

Erin disclosed that Canadians are working at the forefront of applied AI. The Economist recognized Canada as one of the leading countries in AI research. Erin sees huge potential for problem-solving through AI, and encouraged us to be open to AI, rather than fear it.

I also spoke with Anu Bidani: I’m a Millionaire! So Now What? EP 20 and blog post November 14th. Anu created STEM Minds to deepen students’ understanding of applied sciences, and incorporates AI to create more “Fearless Learning” experiences. Anu believes that by teaching this generation to use technology to augment thinking, problem solving and innovation, we prepare kids to understand the power of what they can do to create a positive society.

And I learned a lot from my conversation with Kelsey Ramsden (I’m a Millionaire! So Now What? EP 2). Twice-ranked #1 on the W100 Top Female Entrepreneur list, Kelsey has founded and grown multiple 8-figure businesses, she is a mentor with the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship, a cancer survivor and mother to three children. She is also a wife, coach, thought leader, consultant, and author, launching her first book this fall.

Kelsey agrees that, somehow, we need to prepare our kids for jobs that don’t yet exist; failing to embrace technology and AI limits their potential. If we can’t predict how future innovation will affect our careers, work and lives, then the best we can do is prepare our kids to think, create and explore.

“AI is powerful. It’s taking over careers.  I have lawyer friends who’ve lost their jobs because the type that they practice is an absolute if/then, and AI is doing the work that they used to do.  So if you think that you’re sheltered because you have these doctor-lawyer jobs, that’s not the case.  And so I think about all of this future and it’s really not about what I teach [my kids], it’s how I teach them to think.  For me that’s exposing them to uncomfortable situations, letting them make mistakes and figure it out. My goal is to provide them with a stage -- the world, upon which they can try things and figure out who it is that they are and equip themselves with the ability to be ultimately independent and think for themselves… to provide them an opportunity to experience and explore so that they aren’t thinking like machines or waiting for someone to tell them it’s their time.”

Kelsey echoes what Tim Cooke, CEO of Apple, said in his commencement speech to MIT students: he is not afraid of machines taking over, he’s afraid of humans thinking like machines, “without values or compassion, without concern for consequence."

Through these conversations with industry leaders, I admit my position has shifted -- from being wary of Artificial Intelligence, to seeing the huge potential for all kinds of industries, and all kinds of people, to benefit from its application. I’m not afraid of AI taking over; and I’m even more certain of the importance of teaching our kids to THINK.

I’m delighted that I’ll get to enjoy our Elevated Conversation tonight with Erin Kelly in a more enlightened frame of mind. If you enjoy these topical deep-dives, stay tuned for more events in March, May, October and November of 2019 – I’ll announce topics as they get confirmed. You can let us know if you’re interested in participating in our by-invitation-only dinners by emailing me at colleen.campbell@rbc.com.