change take
Veteran events professional Shawn Cheng pours cold water on the hype surrounding artificial intelligence. While people are still eager to embrace ChatGPT and other AI tools, Cheng is taking a more measured approach.
Miguel Neves
Shawn Cheng, founder and chief strategist of Curious Bear Management, believes the jury is still out on whether the usefulness of artificial intelligence for meeting-related tasks has reached its peak.
“It’s too early to draw conclusions,” Cheng said. “We’re actually just kind of taking a break.”
Cheng is an experienced event industry professional who has worked with many emerging technologies. He experiments with artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and advocates for improved relationships between event planners and technology providers.
Cheng’s doubts about the current capabilities of artificial intelligence stem from his involvement in the “#EventprofsBreakShit” program over the past four years. The project aims to create a transparent testing environment for event technology, allowing planners to provide honest feedback to vendors.
First impressions can be deceiving
Cheng was initially impressed by the accuracy and speed of AI-generated content, which led many, including him, to quickly adopt and implement the technology.
However, the more Cheng uses artificial intelligence, the more limitations he encounters. This has prompted Cheng and others in the industry to re-evaluate their use of artificial intelligence. Cheng sees this as a necessary transition in understanding the capabilities and limitations of the technology.
Over the past year, his approach has become more cautious.
Cheng noted that AI-generated content can lack substance and a unique voice, especially in creative industries. He also pointed to emerging challenges in copyright and intellectual property rights.
Despite the concerns, Cheng believes the conferencing industry has broad application prospects. He sees the current state of the technology as transitional, with users re-evaluating its capabilities and limitations. Cheng believes this pause is a healthy step in its development.
Artificial intelligence capabilities managed by experts
Cheng envisions a future where AI experts will partner with organizations to assist in the effective implementation of the technology. These experts (whether internal or external) should have a deeper understanding of the technology, its capabilities, and its limitations.
Artificial intelligence experts will help organizations, including event planners, understand how to leverage the technology. This can take the form of creating compelling content or graphics for a specific platform or use case.
Cheng suggested that with AI experts guiding implementation, organizations will be better able to address concerns about privacy, copyright and other emerging AI-related issues.
