MIKE WALSH
Your Kids Will Be Raised By A.I.
What does it take to lead a 21st century company? Can we re-imagine the way we do business? Mike Walsh prepares business leaders for what’s next. A leading authority on the intersection of emerging technologies, consumer behavior, and fast growth markets, Mike brings his unique insights into the growing influence of new markets on breakthrough innovation and business transformation. He expertly distils his insights into tailored keynotes that allow any audience to influence the future direction of their industry. Below, Mike writes on the very real possibility that artificial intelligence will play a role in the upbringing of the next generation of children:
Ask someone to picture AI, and they will most likely think about Terminators, psychotic fembots or angry robots from Hollywood central casting. But what makes AI actually frightening is not that it is ‘sci-fi’, but the that it is, in fact, already deeply embedded into our daily lives. If you have a child born post 2007, chances are that they have already been shaped by algorithms and digital platforms.
Here’s my view — from toys to teaching, AI is profoundly influencing human development from childhood and beyond. When your five-year-old has a thousand more questions than you have patience to answer, Amazon’s Alexa speaking through your living room Echo speaker, will be there to respond. If not Alexa, then Apple’s Siri, or Google, through their new Google Home device. Algorithms influence what your children watch on YouTube, the content of their social feeds, their interactions on Minecraft, as well as monitoring the temperature of their bedrooms, and their sleeping, exercise and eating habits.
