News in the Channel - issue #12

OPINION

Why AI is now the biggest story in town Jack Hayes, founder of AI Speakers Agency, on the growing popularity of speakers and experts in artificial intelligence and why, post-COVID, virtual events are here to stay.

If the recent summit at Bletchley Park taught us anything, it’s that artificial intelligence (AI) is the hottest topic in the news right now. The greatest minds coming together to try and provide a roadmap to where AI is taking us captured the world’s imagination. But even after the dozens of speeches, seminars and interviews there are still so many unanswered questions. That is one of the many reasons why I recently set up a dedicated new agency for speakers who specialise in AI and machine learning. Each day we take bookings from businesses and business leaders who are keen to learn how they can better use AI to unlock solutions in their own enterprises. Many are equally keen to try and provide their own teams of employees with greater knowledge about this area. The stakes in this area couldn’t really be higher. Embracing AI With 15% of all businesses adopting at least one form of AI, translating to 432,000 organisations, it is more important than ever to embrace AI and to try and stay ahead of the curve. The global AI market size is expected to reach $407 billion by 2027, according to Forbes. ChatGPT had more than one million users within the first five days of being launched. It is forecast that one out of 10 cars will be self-driving by 2030. About 86% of companies say that AI is a mainstream technology and 63% are experimenting with AI capabilities within their organisation. The numbers are mind- boggling, but they only serve to emphasise the importance of AI. Although there are many variables related to these areas, one thing is a cast-iron certainty: AI is not going away anytime soon, it is only going to become increasingly prevalent throughout society. In fact, the expenditure on AI is expected to increase between £27.2 billion and

£35.6 billion by 2050. That's why it is more important than ever before to increase our understanding of AI and explore how the field can be improved. Transformed speaking industry Since the pandemic, there has been an acceleration in interest in AI speakers, and that will not slow down in 2024. The pandemic transformed the events and speaking industries. Every day, business leaders contact me and my team to hire emotional wellbeing, teamwork and leadership, and motivational speakers because they are witnessing a new wave of employees who value workplace culture above all else. Corporate clients are responding to this by investing in their workplace culture, with the help of an experienced, results-driven speaker. Aside from appealing to remote companies, virtual events are also more inclusive and accessible than in-person conferences. For people with physical disabilities or experiencing mental ill health such as severe anxiety, webinars allow them to attend events from their own homes. Additionally, as technology progresses, closed captions and adaptive computers make it easier for people who are hard of hearing or from the blind community to access the same events as their able-bodied colleagues. Diversity, equality and inclusion speakers have risen in popularity following the pandemic. More businesses than ever are looking inward and realising that to be on the right side of history, they must improve the diversity, equality and inclusion within their company. With competition rife, business leaders are turning to innovation speakers to help them stay ahead of the curve and create a workplace culture that nurtures creativity. Employees want to optimise their time and get more out of their jobs. Though in-person events have made a comeback, webinars and virtual events are here to stay.

Jack Hayes founder

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