Listening to an interesting presentation from Jennifer Strong at the WYSE Travel Confederation Conference (WYSTC) in Lisbon on AI, we heard that “bullshitting” is now the going term for much of the content generated by AI. One reason for this is simple: AI is being used to check AI content, sometimes leading to in-bred, nonsensical information.
We heard a lot during the presentation about the challenges of AI, and the fact that we will soon be up to our eyeballs in a flood of unchecked, unorganised information that we won’t know what to with. When we did a quick and dirty of WYSTC delegates to check how many travel providers are now using AI – and around 80% of our audience raised their hands. This means that an awful lot of AI content is already flooding the travel space, even ignoring the content that AI is generating from looking at other AI sources.
The big question is – how will we deal with the AI Information Tsunami that is heading our way? In fact, AI is simply one part of a bigger trend towards content and experience creation that is posing a major challenge for the end consumer – how do we choose from among the vast range of possible choices we are now faced with?
The obvious answer might be to ask AI to make selections for us. AI is at least cheap and fast, and won’t get anxious when asked to decide, or constantly ask “does this look good on me?”. But if AI is using AI to help it make decisions, then we are going to end up with a lot of bullshit decisions.
The only real answer seems to revert to human input. As Jennifer Strong pointed out, the human brain is still the most powerful computer there is, and can also deal with questions of ethics and taste. This explains why, in spite of the growth of AI-driven choice systems like Netflix and TripAdvisor, human content curators are making a comeback.
Michael Bhaskar, in his book Curation: The power of selection in a world of excess, argues that curation, rather than AI is the solution: “Far from disappearing, human curation and sensibilities have a new value in the age of algorithms. Yes, the more we have the more we need automation. But we also increasingly want informed and idiosyncratic selections. Humans are back.”
So apparently, what we need now is more human curators to sort out the AI bullshit. This is in fact what is happening, as we explained in a recent article on “The curatorial turn in tourism and hospitality.” Not only are travel and hospitality companies like Airbnb, Culture Trip, Ritz-Carlton and Citizen M using curation to frame their experiences, but curation can be found in all sectors of the economy. According to a study by Patrick Adler, “Curating professionals” helping consumers choose now comprise 17% of the US workforce. We find people using the ‘curator’ label working in the music business, fashion, food, retail and placemaking. In fact, we are rapidly heading towards the curated destination: a branding developed by a Destination Marketing Organisation featuring cultural and creative content carefully selected by a “place curator” to ensure distinctiveness in a crowded marketplace. The future is being curated. Let’s just hope the curator will be human, rather than an AI bullshitter…..
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