Building a happier future by asking AI the right questions

Generative AI occupied an important space in the discussions at SXSW 2023 and as a result, the theme “replacing human labor” gained significant traction. As in any evolutionary chain, the activities that are replaced by AI tend to generate new possibilities. Sam Altman, president of OpenAI said that his company’s goal is to amplify human activities, not replace them. And indeed that is what you do with data, you empower human decisions.

As a result of a year whose advances have surprised everyone and the amazing speed with which it has arrived at a system capable of interacting more, understanding better, and delivering generously, Artificial Intelligence is proving itself adept at creating from learning processes and helping guide decisions in the right way. Rather than being a competitor, AI is becoming the most important ally of human beings.

Conny Braams, Chief Commercial & Digital Officer at Unilever, said that the changing consumer and customer landscape means that brands need to embrace the “creative commerce revolution.” She highlighted the importance of media and entertainment convergence and talked about the power of social media influencers on consumer behavior. Braams is referring to data; data-driven management is advancing more and more in all processes and transforming the universe of marketing and digital campaigns efficiently and measurably.

The entertainment industry is also leveraging AI in new ways. Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Parks, Experiences & Products at Disney, presented the company’s strategy of investing in narratives and technologies to generate happiness for its visitors. With a metadata process, we can work on the creation of happiness, keeping a human feel that will open new windows of altruism. Only by using AI will we be able to achieve the social transformation needed for a healthy future – a future that promises to be long-lived.

The panel “Get ready for a 100-year life” was an intense conversation. Advances in diagnostics, prevention, and drug development will allow us to live longer. We will have to reprogram our vision of the future, retirement, and life. This is because we will be more lucid, productive, and capable for much longer. It is not just about building secure longevity, the focus is on happiness and quality of longevity. This will require creating and maintaining connections because what gives us happiness are the people we have relationships with throughout our existence.

One of the data presented is that the older we get, the higher our level of happiness, especially after the age of 45. This means we should reflect on whether we are allowing ourselves to be affected by the contagious happiness of more experienced people. Because there will come a time when it will no longer be about technology, it will be about life. YOUR life.

Esther Perel, psychotherapist, and podcaster said that intense personal involvement with technology, through digital devices, tends to interfere with expectations of our relationships with other human beings, as intimacy begins to matter less. But if we have so much time ahead of us, let’s start now to build the right questions that will present us with precise answers to avoid this trap.

AI will not replace human labor and will not replace humans. AI will be the most powerful tool to build the future we want to see, but one must prepare for it. The data is there and if it is possible to use it to generate generosity and happiness, let’s start now.