'Artificial intelligence will change consumer decision-making process', says Chris Stephenson - Mumbrella

Within a decade marketers will have to worry more about the algorithm than emotion Chris Stephenson, chief strategist for media agency PHD, has predicted. The bold pronouncement was made during the international keynote last week at the Mumbrella360 conference with Stephenson warning that humans are not far away from a future where consumers will have virtual personal assistants (VPAs) who will make purchasing decisions for them. "The AI (artificial intelligence) train is coming," Stephenson said. "As marketers, as media people this isn't something that will just vaguely enter our world. Artificial intelligence is going to come hurtling through our yard, it is going to change our industry, it is going to change our what we do and how we do it. "It is going to have massive significant impacts on our industry." Stephenson cited the rapid developments in the AI space in recent years and argued that these developments would soon flow to consumers. "Where we are is one minute to midnight on AI eve," he said. "The last few decades have see various technologies and developments that have got us to this moment where we are on the edge of an AI future.