Key takeaways from xCHANGE 2024

Last year I summarised the event as the wonder of collaboration and how to work together to create something better.  This year the importance of collaboration was still very much present, and the key themes of the day were:

• Transparency: this came through in several discussions, notably the panel session about AI and how to ensure that you take your employees and customers along with you when implementing AI in your business.Another speaker discussed the importance of working in the open – tell your story as you go. However, beware the trap of too much information – the example discussed was cookie notices on websites – have they really helped people or are they just annoying?
• Consumer empowerment: consumers need to be “information literate” – they need to have the tools available to them to know when AI has created something and to judge if it’s accurate or not. Labelling AI-generated content is important and goes to the transparency theme mentioned above as well. Don’t humanise AI. Wellness apps put health data in consumers’ hands, but do they understand the data?
• Employee engagement (and potential future employees too): for example, if you are using AI in your business you need to create ethical frameworks for its use and put humans at the centre.Ensuring that your employees are AI-literate improves innovation and ultimately the bottom line. And when it comes to future employees, make sure they get information about the careers available to them and know what they need to progress into them, for example science and Maths A levels – but also creative subjects.
• Creativity is a human thing, it is facilitated by tech, but not conceived by it: although you can use AI to create things, there is something “missing” – the human element is crucial.Tech is there to oil the wheels – people who work in the creative industries need to use tech to facilitate their businesses, from chasing invoices to selling and distributing their products.
• Regulatory reform is needed: people distrust technology, but they also distrust regulators and do not think that they are doing enough to deal with the issues raised by the fast pace of technological development.The EU’s AI Act goes some way to dealing with the issues, and data protection laws also help, but regulation is needed to protect creators’ intellectual property, specifically copyright, especially as AI tools can get around paywalls.
• Diversity of thought: the tech workforce needs to be more diverse to combat bias and to improve innovation. Having apps that monitor health of women and how medication affects it helps to cut across the lack of medical research for women, and promoting positive role models of women in STEM careers is important too.
• Collaboration again: this theme was woven through all the presentations and panel discussions.For example, if you want to change your technology, you need to look at your processes, business model and culture.Changing those involves collaborating with your users and working in an agile way. Tech has had a positive impact on collaboration too – people can work together much more easily and creators and consumers can use tech to find each other.Publishers should work together to combat the challenges of AI – the list goes on.

And finally…we heard from Sam McAlister who was instrumental in facilitating the BBC Newsnight interview between Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis. She highlighted the importance of tenaciousness (graft, not grift) and resilience – as well as, perhaps, the hazards of not having a lawyer around when discussing serious allegations on national television.