In the Garden of Hyperautomation

Whether you're hip to it or not, conversational AI--which is really the sequencing of technologies like NLU/NLP, code-free programming, RPA, and machine learning inside of organizational ecosystems--has already begun reshaping the world at large. Lemonade, a tech- and user-centric insurance company is upending its industry by providing customers with a rewarding experience buying insurance that's facilitated by Maya, an intelligent digital worker described as "utterly charming" that can quickly connect dots and get customers insured. Maya is essentially an infinitely replicable agent that is always learning and doesn't make the same mistake twice. Compare that with whatever it costs Allstate to retain more than 12,000 agents in the US and Canada who are likely using outdated legacy systems and it's clear to see which way ROI is trending. Even bigger successes have been enjoyed by Ant Group (formerly Ant Financial) a nimble, Chinese financial giant that had surpassed the number of customers served by today's largest US banks by more than 10 times back at the start of 2020. Their IPO--which would have been the world's largest to date--collapsed after Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping allegedly intervened. Subsequently, the company has broadened its scope past fintech to include sustainability and inclusive services (whatever those might be). Still, its core operations were built around a streamlined business structure that uses conversational AI to deliver meaningful experiences. While this kind of adoption of conversational AI in business settings is roundly expected to boom in the coming years, it will quickly seep into our daily lives as well, going beyond how we interact with the many companies in our lives and taking root in our interactions with all of the different technologies we regularly touch. I've always taken an interest in these topics, but like many cutting-edge things, they're hard to approach. Especially if you have no idea where to start. Especially if you don't have the expertise; the lexicon, the mindset, the lived experience. I'm a bit of an accidental Luddite, someone perpetually late to the party when it comes to the latest and greatest. Not to say that I'm completely unfamiliar with these things, just that integrating them into my work, and my life, is hard.