The Upside of Disruption

CHAPTER 2Data: Lead with AI

“Software is eating the world, but AI is going to eat software.”

– Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA

Black Mirror is a Netflix series about the dark side of technology set in a not‐so‐distant dystopian future. In each episode, unsettling stories unfold of how science and technology collide with humanity in unexpected and terrifying ways. If you're a fan of The Twilight Zone, you should watch Black Mirror. In one episode, “The Entire History of You,” everyone has access to a memory implant the size of a grain called “Grain Technology” that records everything they see, hear, and do. People can re‐watch and edit all their memories with devastating consequences for their mental and emotional well‐being. What seems like a technology that initially empowers society inadvertently leads to paranoia, jealousy, and despair because people cannot forget or “let go.”¹

I've had my own Black Mirror moment. I received an email from Amy Ingram, who contacted me on behalf of her CEO to set up a meeting in New York. Nothing was strange about that, but when I met with the CEO later that week, he asked me, “What did I think of Amy's emails?” I replied that I thought it was an unusual question; however, Amy's emails were “fine,” and she was “fast and responsive” during our email exchange. The CEO smiled, paused, and looked at me. “I have a confession,” he said. Amy isn't “human”; she's AI, and the clue is in her initials, Amy Ingram (AI). My first reaction was embarrassment. ...