Marketers seem to have a built-in aversion to artificial intelligence (AI), with the mere mention of the term bringing to mind images of ill-intentioned robots built to take over their jobs. It’s time for a reframe, says Sturae Hickley, ad operations manager at Mark1, who believes that far from replacing marketers, AI will assist with the more labour-intensive aspects of marketing and will most certainly make life more convenient for consumers. Hickley cites Jack Ma, co-founder and executive chairman of the Alibaba Group, who describes AI as knowledge based. Humans, says Ma, possess wisdom, which comes from experience. Wisdom and experience, however, are two things that AI will simply never possess. With this in mind, says Hickley, AI presents far greater opportunities than it does threats, despite self-driving cars, Flippy the Burger Flipper and Sophia the Robot. As a consumer, Hickley says she welcomes the convenience AI will bring to her fast-paced lifestyle. AI is already preval...

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