Designing 2050: “AI Alone Isn’t Going to Create a More Equitable World, People Are”
From the cost-of-living crisis and war tensions, to climate change and more, there is too much doom and gloom surrounding the future. Without drastic change, experts claim that by 2050 millions could be without food, rising seas will wipe out cities across the globe, air pollution will be at lethal levels, technology will breach our privacy, cyberattacks will increase…the list goes on.
It's bleak, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Creative thinkers, advertisers and brand strategists have the ability to create real change. So, in this series, creative agency 2050 London calls for the creative industry to step forward and offer an optimistic view of what 2050 can be through positive visionary thinking and some crazy ideas that can change things.
In this interview, LBB’s Sunna Coleman speaks with VMLY&R’s global chief digital officer Debbie Ellison, who shares her passion for a more equitable world and how she’s helping brands uplift the most underrepresented of people and communities.
LBB> What is your greatest wish for 2050?
Debbie> Today I see the gap in economic, digital and health equity is getting bigger. I want 2050 to be a much more equitable world.
LBB> What crazy, fun, creative business ideas do you have to help make that happen?
Debbie> We believe in creating connected brands that people love. I just did a quick google “What does love mean?” and the internet says, “True love is a unique and passionate bond that connects you as a couple that wants the best for the other person regardless of what that means for them.” This is how brands need to show up. With passion and creativity. Brands need to want the best for the people they serve. They need to use their creative power and their equity to solve real problems that people face today. It’s a wonderful opportunity for all of us in the industry.
So, what am I personally doing about it? I most recently launched the Home of Connected Brands, situated on Level 3 of our WPP Sea Containers campus. It covers over 300m² and is an immersive physical space that helps our clients reimagine what it takes to build successful brands through best-in-class brand, customer and creative commerce experiences. It’s an exciting multi-sensorial, immersive space that connects all our proprietary tools and data, with innovation and technology, human insight and deep channel expertise. The space helps us partner with clients to understand human needs and pain points more intimately and how our brands can creatively solve for them now and in the future.
I also launched the Inclusion Experience (IX) here in the UK. A hugely successful practice, established first in the US by our chief integration officer, Myron King. IX helps us leverage brand power to be more relevant and uplift the most underrepresented of people and communities. It’s a unique build on the depth of customer experience (CX) expertise we have, to find the moments and creative opportunities where a brand can make true and meaningful difference.
LBB> How will the advent of AI shape the creative industry? What will the role of human creativity be?
Debbie> So, no – we won’t lose our jobs (eye roll), but our roles will change. AI will help us get better at what we do, through not only faster but more insightful analysis of data and insight for example, or even faster transcreation and scaled production. It will also remove all the bits of the job we might not love so much!
It’s also getting exponentially more difficult to respond in real-time to client needs, identify and be the first to activate against opportunity white spaces, commercially understand, and prioritise where to focus investment and have the depth of channel understanding needed to be successful. Creativity shouldn’t, but it could, take a back seat behind all these asks and AI could help solve these challenges - giving our people back space and time to design and build more creative solutions to the global problems that exist today.
I also have a real concern that as it stands now and if left unchecked, AI could INCREASE global inequities, not reduce them. Lack of access to AI-based technologies for under-represented communities will mean that they won’t be represented in AI law and governance, algorithms and design as well as in its output.
And so, if I go back to my greatest wish for 2050 – AI alone isn’t going to create a more equitable world, people are.
LBB> And what about the planet? How can we influence more people to take action against climate change?
Debbie> Honestly? It will be back to the good old carrot and stick - convenience and financial impact. Like any demand for behaviour change we need to come up with solutions that make it easier for us to not drive, or to recycle and use fossil fuel sparingly. Sadly, not everyone is motivated by a carrot (or in my case chocolate!) and sometimes the stick needs to make an appearance.
I think it’s also hard for people to imagine the intangible. What might the real impact on my life be if I don’t conform or take this issue seriously? This is where creativity can play a role in making the intangible – tangible.
And finally, brands need to play a role in closing the values – action gap. How can they find new and creative ways to help people behave in the way that they WANT to rather in the way they currently do?
LBB> How will we be living our lives in more sustainable ways?
Debbie> Unfortunately, I think many of us will be forced to live more simply and sustainably because of the state of the global economic landscape. It’s pressing us all to be more frugal and find smarter ways to cut costs and re-use. The key will be to convince gen Z, the world’s largest demographic to behave more environmentally friendly. Thankfully, whilst we’re seeing fast fashion and fast food on the rise for example, we’re also seeing a rise in a more circular economy.
LBB> How will we spend our money? Will it all be through digital experiences and cryptocurrency?
Debbie> For sure, we’ll continue to spend our money digitally - whatever form that will take. Exponentially accelerated by the pandemic, digital transactions are growing globally at between 13% and 25% CAGR, dependent on market. However, in many markets digital exclusion still exists.
Why might that be a challenge? Shopping online has been found to be 13% cheaper on average than shopping in-store, many health and government services are now delivered digitally, and employment opportunities are increasingly reliant on digital expertise.
LBB> What else do you think will happen?
Debbie> In all areas of progress, what I hope is that we’ll all be just a little bit more altruistic.
LBB> So, are you feeling optimistic?
Debbie> What I love is that we’re all using our spending power to define how brands behave today and for the future. This in turn is empowering our industry to help make the world a better place – and that’s something we should all be optimistic about.
