Conference Matters 142

Telma Negreiros Executive AI Marketing Communicate Specialist, Keynote Speaker, Self Empowerment Trainer.

it replaces face-to-face contact. As for conferences, these events are about being together physically. Virtual meetings cannot entirely replace the unique value of direct interaction and networking. However, AI can complement these experiences through, for example, more efficient matchmaking of network opportunities and improved logistics planning. It’s important to find balance. We can use AI to improve our interactions without undermining our basic personal communication skills. As with any new technology, it’s crucial to care fully consider and manage both the benefits and potential risks.”

their stuff? Third, can I rely on them? If there are any problems, can I pick up the phone and call them? In addition, since Corona, there has been a need for physical meetings. People want to see each other, shake hands, and have a cup of coffee or a beer with bitterballen. People who see one another at a conference every year and talk to each other become attached to one another. Technically, a lot may be possible, but the power of this industry is bringing people together in a physical space. This sector contributes to increasing mutual cohesion. People’s sense that they belong to something bigger than themselves. As a speaker, I hope to somehow contribute to this. I want to lift people up from their daily lives and thinking patterns. However, that can only be done in a physical space. I’m not convinced that AI could even be a threat to that. You also hear speakers say to the audience, ‘grab your smartphone’. Then they download an app, ask questions, and stare at their smartp hone. You could also say, ‘raise your hand’. It’s “The question of whether AI will negatively affect human interaction is multifaceted and complex. It’s true that technologies like smart phones and social media have already caused a shift in how we communicate. These devices and platforms can sometimes isolate peo ple, but they also offer new ways to connect across distances and cultures. AI has the potential to further amplify these trends. On the one hand, AI can help us commu nicate more efficiently and provide tools that enrich our interactions, such as personalising information even more. On the other hand, an overreliance on AI-driven communication can reduce the quality of our human interactions as

Photography: Jens Book

Jarno Duursma Professor of Strategy & Innovation at the Faculteit Economie en Bedrijfs kunde at the UvA, where he gives the Master's in Digital Business.

“You could say that people have been taught in part to connect without smartphones and social media. The younger generation in parti cular seems less used to connecting in person. Let’s assume that social media and the smart phone have influenced this. The question is whether the same will happen with AI. And I’ve thought about this for a long time, but I don’t have an answer. You obviously have AI systems that are increasingly able to create good conversations. Today I spoke to an audience of 750 mortgage advisors at the NBC Conference Centre in Nieuwegein. The exhibition floor had all kinds of stands with people talking about their ser vice or product. Suppose you replace those people with a conversational agent, a speech robot that communicates just as well as a human. I don’t see that happening, because we as people do much more in contact than just exchange words with each other. It’s about likeability. Would I like to work with this person if I bought my mortgage software from them? Second, can I trust this person? Do they know

just using technology for technology’s sake. That doesn’t bother me at all. If you can grab people’s attention with your voice, they will also be more alert instead of always being dis tracted by their phone. All technological gadgets are available in the brand new NBC Conference Centre in Nieu wegein, where I spoke today, except AI. Do we want that? I don’t think so. AI won’t negatively affect interaction unless companies start pushing software solutions. I think that’s a threat. Companies do this for commercial reasons, not because it would add something.”

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