Friday Five – #AImyths, #DigitalTransformation, #BlueShiftNews, @BillGates and @Zuckerberg on #AI, #HitRefresh

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Welcome to our Friday Five. Each week, our goal is to give you a run-down on 5 of the top stories on the topic of AI in Marketing. Think of this as that TL;DR of those stories you meant to read or might have missed.

Busting AI myths: Why AI will help marketers usher in an era of extreme personalization

“Dear [FIRST NAME], thank you for your order. From here, you will be endlessly spammed without any attempt to get to know your shopping or engagement preferences.”

Is this the kind of personalization today’s customers are demanding? Customers today expect you to understand not only what they viewed and purchased, but also what they would like to see next. They are used to a Netflix-like experience and expect the same from you. Artificial Intelligence equips marketers with the ability to provide that level of personalization.

Are you on the fence about AI? Does it cause anxiety for you? Here are some thoughts from @Brian Solis to bust your myths and show how AI helps marketers meet today’s personalization needs.

Why Artificial Intelligence Will Stimulate Demand For Skilled Thinkers

Caught up on Satya Nadella’s book, Hit Refresh? If so, then you probably read what Bill Gates says in the foreword.

“Think of all the time we spend manually organizing and performing mundane activities, from scheduling meetings to paying the bills. In the future, an AI agent will know that you are at work and have ten minutes free, and then help you accomplish something that is high on your to-do list. AI is on the verge of making our lives more productive and creative.” – Bill Gates

While many express concerns that AI will take away jobs, here’s a perspective on how AI in fact stimulates demand for strategic thinking and storytelling.

AI shouldn’t give you anxiety, it should instill you with excitement.

Artificial Intelligence Is Our Future. But Will It Save Or Destroy Humanity?

From The Matrix toI, Robot, movies have exploited viewers’ anxiety around AI. Zuckerberg is optimistic about what AI will enable us to accomplish and thinks that these unsubstantiated doomsday scenarios are nothing more than fear-mongering.

Whether things like what we see in the Netflix show #BlackMirror are on the horizon or not, AI is definitely disrupting our everyday lives. This article gives the lay of the land on both sides. Some food for thought on a Friday afternoon.

Is digital transformation a fad or friend?

There is a lot of talk about digital transformation and how it is important across different industries to be successful in future. But lots of questions on the minds of executives, including who owns this transformation?

Digital transformation is not just IT. Companies with technology at their core often don’t have an IT department at all. Data holds the key to many operational and opportunistic decisions, but many feel hamstrung by legacy technology and those without restraints are set to take an early lead.

Read these takeaways from an executive lunch at Retail Week Tech on what Digital Transformation means.

Blueshift: The Tech Startup Using A.I. To Shift How Marketers Engage Consumers

And finally, we were in the news this week. Here’s an in-depth interview with our CEO, Vijay Chittoor on how Blueshift was built with AI at its core to solve marketer’s challenges:

“In today’s world, the challenge is around scaling the storytelling to millions of customers in a personalized manner. Blueshift helps marketers become storytellers once again, and uses the power of AI to help scale the stories to millions of personalized versions.”– Vijay Chittoor, CEO, BlueShift

Read more on Forbes, Blueshift: The Tech Startup Using A.I. To Shift How Marketers Engage Consumers.