The AI Watchlist: Issues and Themes to Look Out for in 2024

With AI topping the agenda for marketers in every industry, The Park has developed The AI Watchlist, a summary of the five key issues to keep an eye on in the coming year.

As well as the considerations marketers need to make in relation to some of these issues, the list also provides the steps to take to start your AI journey.

Will Worsdell, chief strategy and product officer for The Park, commented, “We don’t need a crystal ball to tell us that AI will continue to have an impact and influence on business, employment and marketing.

"Let’s be honest, its impact is so sizeable, it kind of makes other predictions and trends redundant. It has been moving at such pace, that how it plays out will impact pretty much everything about the way business will work. The AI Watchlist is a summary of the five hottest areas we’ll be keeping a close eye on when it comes to integration of AI and we think you should too.”

The themes to watch out for are:

1. A NEW DAWN FOR CREATIVITY?

We’ve only just touched the surface of what AI can help us to create and with the arrival of custom GPTs there are countless opportunities.

As marketers and brand experts, we’ll be thinking about:

• How we can generate standout ideas that meet a brief whilst keeping our own minds full of ideas

• How AI can act as a co-pilot and support for human creativity and productivity

• Adopting an experimental mindset to create our own GPT tools for specific needs

• How to use AI to produce 3D renders to bring those ideas to life

• How we can streamline workflows to drive value

2. A YEAR OF PLAY

If you haven’t started experimenting with AI already, you’d better start soon. The amount of testing, trialling and investigating uses of AI and how it can be embedded into business and marketing will keep us all on our toes.

We’ll be thinking about:

• The relationship between human and technology – will there be a bigger divide between embracers and detractors? 

• How much time and resource is dedicated to experimenting 

• Establishing ethical, practical, and measurable parameters around our experimentation

• Frameworks to guide the move from experimentation to implementation

3. MORE FOR LESS: THE RACE IS ON

The pressure to generate profit, means pressure to cut costs, creating a snowball effect.

Will a reduction in costs result in a reduction in work? Unlikely. Add cost and salary inflation into the mix and we’ve got a challenge on our hands.

This is where AI adoption will come into play, reducing some overhead costs. BUT this creates a huge opportunity for a new financial model that works well for both client and agency side.

In the short-term, we’ll probably see a period of disruption in how people operate, but long term, it could mean a whole new model for business/agency relations. It should also allow a world of work where human beings can focus on the work they want to do and the places they can add the most value whilst using AI for the more routine, time-consuming tasks that can be automated.

4. ETHICS, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ILLUSION

In this race to generate the next new ‘thing’, many have failed to take a step back and remember AI is based on all the inherent biases of humans.

The racism, ageism, sexism that underlies some of the questionable AI generated content or concerning product developments we’ve seen, are sadly a reflection of what we as humans have fed it. 

Yep. That might be uncomfortable to read but needs to be acknowledged. Some of these systems are deepening divisions and fuelling dangerous narratives, which sadly means the rapid development of AI has the potential to create a race to the ethical bottom.

BUT there is hope. New Large Language Models (LLMs) and GPTs actively tackling biases could challenge this. And it is on all of us to have clear ethical guidelines around our use of AI.

5. AN EXISTENTIAL MOMENT

Beyond the 'stuff' that AI can create,  let's be honest, we still aren't fully aware of its power. 

So far, the use cases for AI have been quite specific, limited and generally focused on the day-to-day.

But with both Russia and China making bold statements about their AI ambitions, we’ll be looking for governing powers to take the necessary steps to better control AI use. 

Without doubt one day, something significant will suddenly happen that will drive a huge step-change in our professional and personal lives.

We don’t know what or when, but it’s coming…

So what does this mean?

It's clear that businesses won't be able to stick their heads in the sand when it comes to AI.

If you want to get the ball rolling, these are the steps to take: 

• Look for the opportunity for AI in your marketing
• Start small and have a play around
• Use AI as a starting point or fuel for creation rather than the final answer
• Take a step back and consider the potential human impact of what you are creating