The Digital Revolution

I was watching a video the other day on Technology and it gave me some surprising revelation in the end. It felt like if I was listening to the future which has probably arrived or has chances of arriving shortly.

Here, I am talking in the context of technology and its current and would be interactions with humans. 

To start with; I know humans as the most smartest and creative species on this planet. They are credited with bringing the Digital Age into fore for the collective benefit of the entire population. But by quoting this a very different question came to my mind and it was - Are we not carving an easy way to let the technology and AI simply merge too deep with the human world; while we being its creators are easily fading into the background? 

Even though we are investing so much of our time and energy into building the complex of technologies; I feel we are not doing what we should do and are unable to see the possibility of dead end that may arrive soon ahead.The problem is that we have already made the boom of Digital Age as "The Giant and Humongous Thing" which is happening in this era of evolution; and we think that we are so entrusted with creating this other Intelligence, that we have automatically diminished our capabilities when we Compare Ourselves to Artificial Intelligence. We have almost considered the idea of 'US' as Humans and as more evolved and creative Species as the forgotten and not that important. We are thinking in a solo frame of thought and in only Technological Language.

By saying this I am not saying that digital boom should not happen or we should stop seeking the technological favors; all I am putting forward is the thought that we are the Responsible Makers of the digital evolution so we just cannot fade into the background silently by handing the "Flame for the Future" to the other Intelligence in making. I believe in the thought that we should instead collaborate and go forward hand in hand with both our fellow humans and technology, then only we can create a Real Better Future. To say in other words, it is a matter of retrieving the values that we are in danger of leaving behind and then embedding them in the Digital Infrastructure for the Future.

The better real world is only created when the Humans realize that the technology that we are creating should be put to optimum use for enhancing lives not for eroding lives in the tech wave. We have to understand that we are responsible for creating this intelligence and the power of control lies in our hands and in no circumstances it can dictate us because we are its masters and not its slaves. Delve on the idea that we are "Team Human" and even though we have got our essential humane patterns to be mimicked by the AI we are still above it in terms of two essential factors which are - Conscience and Conscious. This makes us Unique and very Human. 

"The pace of progress in Artificial Intelligence is incredibly fast...you have no idea how fast - it is growing at a pace close to exponential. The risk of something seriously dangerous happening is in the five-year time frame. 10 years at most." 

- Elon Musk

"We are going through an important shift from a mobile first world to an AI first world". 

- Sunder Pichai

It is no denying the fact that AI will impact the future of the world. No body has thought of the fact that we would create the technology which could be built on the similar lines of the Cognitive Ability of the most intelligent species of the world. By definition Artificial Intelligence is the science which is involved in creating intelligent machines that would work and react like humans in contrast to natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals.

Precisely, we can say, the term Artificial Intelligence is applied when a machine mimics the "Cognitive" functions that are more normally associated with Human Minds such as "Learning" and  "Problem Solving".

To look more closely, following would be the 10 ways in which AI will impact the world and our Future:

1. Employment :

The Global Management Consulting Firm McKinsey Global Institute wrote that 60% of all occupations have at least 30% of activities that technically are automate-able. And in the report on Artificial Intelligence and economy the U.S. White-house estimates that due to upcoming AI Technologies 47% of the U.S. jobs are at risk of being replaced by the same.

2. Robotic Workforce: 

It is not new, when we hear that most of the human workforce would be replaceable due to the more robotic technology implementation, when much of the labor-intensive work in assembly lines of factories would be done by AI programmed robots. For the companies, it would help in lowering down their cost of hiring workers, and reducing outsourcing and offshoring.

China has even started signing (MoU) with the government to employ robots.

3. Auto-Manufacturers will launch self-driving cars:

Fully automated cars would be the future we will all look forward to. Tesla has already became the first one to launch a self-driving vehicle. Upcoming would be Audi A8 which would not require any driver input. In 2018, Cadillac and Volvo would also make their footprints in the similar categories.

4. Consumers communicate directly with technology:

It's only last year when Amazon sold it's Amazon smart speakers and the sales were estimated at over 20 million. If we realize the ever increasing invade of Google Home and Apple Air pod; we will get to know how fast we are learning to directly interact with the technology through voice-commands. 

In all, Consumers will feel more comfortable in interacting with smart assistants integrated into their Computers, Smartphones, and even televisions.

5. AI in Medicine:

Medicine world in the US are looking forward to at implementing and approving AI in clinical setting. The advantage would be that it will help in early and better detection of diseases and ailments and with more reliable accuracy. Recently, a Swiss based company declared their partnership with Alibaba subsidiary health group to develop AI assisted screening and diagnostics.

6. Content will be created using AI:

Publishers will also get assisted help in getting their written content turned into video content through AI Video Production, which is made easy by Wibbitz Software-as-a service platform. 

7. Expected Big Market for AI:

Forrester Research expects the market for "cognitive Computing Technologies" to be worth $1200 Billion by 2020. While another market estimate from Bank of America expects "Artificial-Intelligence based systems to be worth $70 Billion in 2020 combined with $83 BN for Robots. So, in their sizing and price the global GDP will have increased by 14% ($15.7 Trillion) in 2030 just because of adoption and implementation of AI across various industries.

8. AI Guiding Knowledge Workers:

It would be of a considerable help when AI technology will aid employees, especially those in knowledge work.

Today, with the aid of tools like Gong, Chorus and Jog are able to record calls made by sales and customer service representatives. 

9. Precision Farming:

While the world's population is expected to increase in the next three decades, the food production will suffer. But with optimum implementation of AI farmers would be able to better keep a track on the farming methods and to also foresee what their crops and farms are going to potentially need in the upcoming years. This could be done by capturing real-time images and through sensors so that the farmers get to know when their crops can go wrong.

10. A Grip over Cyber-security:

Your brand is not what it says it is, it’s what Google says it is – Chris Anderson

Building a long term reputation has become an essential element of doing business online. If a business is successful in managing its reputable online presence it will not only be able to successfully monitor its presence over social media and other platforms but would also get leverage on building good public relations. A good online reputation also impacts sales and profit for long run.

Ø  Statistics also reveal that people trust online reviews:

*         73 percent of consumers say positive customer reviews make them trust a business more.

*         79 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

*         90 percent of survey respondents claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions. In comparison, 86 percent said buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews.

Reputation management can be precisely broken in three segments:

1.      Building your company and brand reputation: Whether you are new company or are launching a new product/service or have branched out to a new industry or a customer base, your primary focus is on building up a good name for your business and your brand.

 2.      Maintaining your company and brand reputation: Building a brand reputation is one thing but maintaining it is the key. Once your company has build up a solid reputation you have to take continuous strategic and formational steps to maintain it through and right communication is the fundamental key to that.

 3.      Recovering your company and brand reputation: A negative word or a image in the public eye can ruin the brand’s reputation and to tackle that we need to successfully create and rebuild our brand overtime by involving a strong positive image in the minds of the public about the association with the brand. It comes with great promotional activities and building trust.

 Successfully build your Online Reputation using Social Media as an effective tool:

A.     Building a credible social media presence:

Social media is a tool which when used at the right time and in an effective way yields better results. Consider this-

·         Sometimes not participating on social media can be the moment when the things go wrong.

·         Responding quickly to the negative situation or accident is important.

Business certainly don’t want to risk their credibility with their customers so by participating actively on   various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram builds a communicative network and a community of loyal customers who will be your biggest brand ambassadors. You can also move a step further by creating a separate support handles which would be dedicated solely to responding customers who need help. Like in the way Nike does as it has it separate support handle @NikeSupport solely for this purpose.

B.      Pick the right social media platforms:

When starting out on social media, select one platform that is the most appropriate for your business. As you become familiar with social media, start integrating other social media tools.

The most important thing to consider is which social network your target audience is accessing.

LinkedIn for example, is an excellent platform for B2B professionals wishing to become an expert in a specific industry. Tools such as LinkedIn groups allow you to interact with people from specific professions, industries or interest areas by either starting, or responding to discussions.

C.      Create conversations and curate quality content:

Creating a quality of good conversations and content will keep the audience engaged and it will also help to filter your website from other websites. Keep your audience engaged by posting at regular intervals, announcing contests, rigorous promotions for upcoming products/service and asking your customers for regular feedbacks.

Social Media is the next ‘Big Thing’ for marketers now and very powerful tool to connect millions of people together in split second. Businesses have to recognize which platform works well for them and has a potential to derive them maximum growth and profitability. Here are the 10 social media marketing tips that will help you improve promoting your business on social media:

1.      Create a Social Media Marketing plan before you begin:

Planning your social media marketing will help you execute your business efficiently. So, consider your business goals before beginning your social media marketing campaigns.

Here are some questions to ask when defining your social media marketing goals:

*        What are you hoping to achieve through social media marketing?

*         Who is your target audience?

*         Where would your target audience hang out and how would they use social media?

*         What message do you want to send to your audience with social media marketing?

 2.    Do a social media audit of your social media presence:

Before creating a new social media profile conduct a run an audit of your social media presence. It will help you survey the landscape to find out what customers, influencers, partners and employees are participating on social media web.

3.      Choose the best social media platform for your marketing:

Different social media platforms cater to different purposes and reach different audience, so develop a unique strategy tailored for each platform. For example, an e-commerce or travel business, being highly visual, can get a lot of value from a strong presence on Instagram or Pinterest.  Facebook is a place people go to relax and chat with friends, so keep your tone light and friendly. And remember, organic reach on Facebook can be extremely limited, so consider a cost-effective Facebook ad strategy, which can have a big impact on your organic Facebook presence as well. Also visual component plays a key aspect of Facebook experience.

4.      Learn to schedule tweets to save time:

If you are managing multiple twitter accounts, tools like Hootsuite take the stress out by scheduling your tweets ahead of time.

5.      Target and reach your audience better with use of social media statistics:

Social media statistics like Google Analytics support makes your content technically strong and enhance its credibility and reliability at the same time.

6.      Use a blog on your company’s website:

Whether for sharing news, valuable knowledge or sharing an opinion every company must have a blog on their own website. It helps the company to transfer valuable content to their social media accounts.

7.      Use a social media content calendar to keep your content organized:

Figuring out a social media content schedule is imperative for your social media success. By using the content calendar you are able to figure out social media content schedule that works for your business.

8.      Strategically use SEO keywords in your company’s business profile:

If your business is on LinkedIn, use SEO keywords in your company’s LinkedIn profile to make it easier for users searching for specific industries.

9.      Optimize your website for sharing on Pinterest:

Make sure you create an engaging website creating images and infographics so that you can easily share them on Pinterest according to your requirements.

10.  Leverage current events: