If you’ve not experimented with AI then you should. It’s amazing. Mind-blowing even. Also, as someone who may work in the knowledge industry and may have the word, ‘intelligence’ in your job title, you must realise that your career is at risk. The big bosses are already smelling a cost saving opportunity to replace you with AI, reducing headcount, reducing costs, increasing profit, securing themselves a fat bonus. Some already are. As knowledge workers are shot off into the employment wilderness.
AI is without doubt, another humanity changing chapter. It’s up there with other breakthroughs such as harnessing fire, language, farming, the wheel, human rights, the printing press, sliced bread, flying, engines, computing and vaccines. Things will never be the same again.
So, reduced job security is a real thing* for those who work with data, knowledge and intelligence. As an articulate insight colleague of ours recently put it, ‘We’re f@cked’.
But don’t take it from us, we decided to ask an AI chatbot about the future of market research, here, word-for word, is what it said:
“As AI-powered tools become more capable, they could replace the need for human market researchers. This could lead to job losses in the industry, as well as a decrease in the demand for market research services.”
We don’t disagree. Ironically it goes onto say that those who embrace AI are the ones who will survive in the industry. Given its inevitability, again, we don’t disagree.
A different type of AI
But, as brilliant as AI is, the key word is ‘artificial’. It’s ease, accuracy (sort of) and scope bring enormous benefits. But it’s not real. It’s artificial. Also, as AI answers your questions it does so based on the average knowledge available. So, the output can also be very average. Not excellent.
At Mingle we have embraced AI but it’s not the AI you may think. There is nothing artificial about it. This intelligence is real, it is visceral, you feel it, you smell it. What is more it’s the type of intelligence that we believe more effectively drives empathy.
We call it ‘ANALOGUE INTELLIGENCE’. Indeed, it resonates with several elements of the definition of analogue. Firstly, analogue being the complete opposite of ‘digital’ or artificial. But also analogue being the ability to be like or act like something or someone else.
At Mingle, our advice, for those who want to thrive in the market research/insight industry, is to embrace both AI’s. Both artificial intelligence and analogue intelligence.
Embrace both AI’s
Sure, use the artificial AI to automate, analyse big data, speed up, spot patterns and relationships. BUT DON’T FORGET THE HUMAN BEING WHO IS YOUR CUSTOMER! Get analogue with them. Spend time with them. Go where they go. Shop with them. Drink with them. Cook with them. Be with them. Smell them! Look them in the eye and actually experience what they experience. Be like them. Walk in their shoes and remind yourself that they are not all the same and they are most definitely not like you.
Thankfully, this is exactly what we do at Mingle. We believe in the power of analogue insight and wholeheartedly embrace the beauty of its lack of digitisation. As long as we embrace both AI’s, the future looks bright.
Get out and Mingle – be better connected.
* in an April 2023 McKinsey & Company Survey of 1,684 global professionals, 40% of respondents whose company is adopting AI expect 20% of the workforce to be ‘re-skilled’. Every service function (Marketing, Sales, Finance HR etc.) is expected to see bigger decreases than increases in number due to AI.
Image courtesy of Ameer Basheer on Unsplash.