Daily Inspiration: Artificial Intelligence – “It’s the reality that matters (not the hype!)”

“It’s the reality that matters (not the hype!)” – Futurist Jim Carroll

I have a good friend from my ski club who has been reading my Daily Inspiration post (what you are reading right now) for many, many years. He told me a few months back that he always finds them to be interesting and helpful – but also observed that sometimes they get a little promotional.

I suppose so.

But often, I find that I’m sharing in these posts some motivational insight that comes from the unique nature of the work that I do. And sometimes I need to share the unique nature of that work, to provide the inspiration that you might need to interpret the world around you.

With that in mind (my favourite phrase), I think it’s important that when it comes to the future, it’s always critical to keep your eyes focused on the reality of any particular trend 0 and not the hype that comes with it. And gosh knows that AI has been hyped in the last few years – perhaps, overhyped. On the Gartner Hype Cycle, we are clearly at the “Peak of Inflated Expectations!”

That’s why, in all of my recent keynotes, I’ve been focused on the reality of the strategic opportunities that are unfolding with AI – often which will take some time to evolve and mature (i.e. get to the “Plateau of Productivity.” I recently relaunched my AI-focused Website with a whole new design and layout  – it’s over at https://jimcarroll.ai – and am focusing on the strategic stories that I’ve been sharing.

And those strategic stories are very, very real.

For example, when I was with ICON PLC in Dublin, my talk focused on the very powerful role that AI can and will play in the transformation and reinvention of the clinical pharmaceutical trial industry.

With a room full of insurance CEOs, I focused on what happens as AI essentially turns the entire business model of insurance upside down – a transformation that might take years to unfold, and yet which will have a profound impact.

For the Western Growers Association – some of the largest agricultural producers on the planet – my talk took a turn into robotics, machine vision systems for disease identification, genomics, and more.

Corcentric? What happens as the world of trucking and supply chain management is impacted by AI? That was the talk in Orlando a short time back.

And yet another agricultural theme AI event in Manitoba!

I then had 200 senior executives for major organizations with a realistic view of how AI will unfold, and the disruptive impact it will have on a vast number of different industries.

I did something similar for customers of a major Midwest bank, for a ‘virtual’ room of senior executives of midsize organizations.

The risks of AI? That was the topic in a room full of corporate risk managers and insurance executives in Switzerland!

This was also the theme for an insurance fraud industry conference just a few weeks ago down in Houston.

AI in the construction industry will be huge. Consider the people who build big cold-storage facilities. I covered the role that AI will play in construction going forward – not stuff like ChatGPT, but robotics, drones, digital twin technology, virtualization, and much more.

I covered the same types of issues for one of the world’s largest construction infrastructure companies.

… as well as for the folks who put pipes and infrastructure into the ground!

And how about cattle ranchers? They too will discover AI has big opportunities going forward but it might take some time to unfold.

Last but not least, I took a room full of CEOs on a wide-ranging, highy interactive tour of all things AI-related down in Houston.

There have been many other AI-focused keynotes in the last few years.

The key thing with all of these talks and interactive discussions is that I focus on the reality, not the hype. AI is very, very real – but it is not a panacea, a magical tool, an instant solution. For years, I’ve long been frustrated with the excessive hype that unfolds with the future, and word is getting around that I’m the guy who is painting the real strategic picture for senior executives in multiple different industries.

Because those people want reality, not hype.