AI Trailblazers Summer Summit, June 6, 2024
Here are a few takeaways from the inaugural AI Trailblazers Summit. Special thanks to the industry stalwarts that joined us, the inspiring speakers, and our sponsors Amazon Web Services (AWS) and super{set} that all made for a special day.
Jean-Paul Jansen, CMO, Mars Petcare shared how his company used AI to insert digital doubles of real dogs ready for adoption into hyper-local targeted ads. Samantha Tucker, Global Vice President Science & Technology explained how AI was used to identify a vegan alternative to carmine, a pigment traditionally derived from crushing 1,000 beetles per tube for the Unilever Hourglass Red 0 lipstick. Sophie Kelly, SVP of Global Tequila and Mezcal Categories, Diageo, highlighted how the Diageo FlavorPrint AI technology helps consumers discover new drinks and provides food pairing recommendations.
Bob Lord, Fomer Chief Digital Officer, IBM, discussed how open LLMs are good business. Reflecting on IBM's AI Principles, which he launched with the IBM CEO at Davos in 2017, Bob emphasized the importance of accountability, transparency, fairness, and security. He also talked about AI agents freeing up humanity to accomplish exciting, yet-to-be-imagined, higher-order jobs.
According to Vivek Vaidya, Co-Founder, super{set} and Co-Founder/CEO, MarkovML, considering the unit cost of AI is crucial for scaling meaningful work. With tech changes, product roadmaps that extend beyond six months are useless. While AI is generating savings for many companies, they should be reinvested to further train and optimize models right now.
Cheryl Guerin, EVP, Global Brand Strategy & Innovation at Mastercard, argued that AI is not yet capable of leading creative breakthroughs at scale. In contrast, Jonathan Halvorson, Global SVP, Consumer Experience at Mondelēz International believes AI can fill the "creative excellence gap" by enabling levels of creativity previously unattainable. This view was echoed by Marisa Thalberg, CMO, United Parks & Resorts as well.
When Suzanne Vranica, Advertising Editor, WSJ, posed the question, there was a divide on whether government or industry consortiums should regulate AI. Most guests favored government intervention while panelists didn't. AI-friendly cities were also discussed, with Nihal Mehta, Co-Founder, Eniac Ventures touting SF as the place for AI, while George Mathew, Managing Director at Insight Partners, was more cautious.
Establishing a consensus on what constitutes "good" in AI—across creative applications, personalization, product development, policy development, and investment strategies—is essential. Ultimately, this was the key takeaway for the corporate leaders in attendance.
See the agenda page for this forum and view the photographs below.
