In this exclusive interview, Nina Schick explores the risks and opportunities of AI adoption, the ethical frameworks required for safe implementation, and what governments must do to remain resilient in the face of rapid technological change
As one of the world’s foremost AI speakers, Nina Schick has been at the forefront of conversations around generative AI and its transformative impact on society. Through her work advising global leaders and writing one of the first books on deepfakes, she has shaped public understanding of how AI intersects with politics, media, and power.
Q: In your view, how is generative AI poised to reshape the future of business across industries?
I think generative AI is absolutely going to transform the economy. This is a moment similar to perhaps 1993, when we were being told to prepare for the internet. And 30 years ago, we perhaps didn’t understand in our navigation how the internet would change business forever.
Now, generative AI is like that—but an even bigger deal—because you can understand generative AI as almost a combustion engine for all human creative and intelligent activity. So, every industry, every bit of productivity will be transformed by generative AI, and those use cases are emerging now.
Q: As AI and big data become more embedded in our systems, what ethical challenges do you foresee society grappling with?
Oh, the question of ethics, AI, big data is one that is going to become intensely political, and one which will become a predominant issue that we are going to be discussing for a long time from here on in.
Because there you have this utterly transformative technology, which I think is going to change the economy, it’s going to change the labour market, it’s actually going to change the framework of society. So the question about how do you apply this technology in a way that’s fair, safe, and ethical is just going to be, like I say, a dominant political issue.
Q: What impact do you believe AI and data will have on the global political landscape in the coming years?
When you think about how profound AI is with regards to its ability to impact and change the framework of society, this AI revolution is going to become one of the most important political questions of our generation.
We’ve already seen how the information revolution of the past 30 years—the internet, smartphones, cloud computing—has become one of the main geopolitical forces that are shaping our world, right? Technology.
Now you add the AI revolution on top of that—and the data that’s powering that AI revolution—and again, you have a seismic political issue that is going to be one of the most important things that society needs to deal with in the next generation.
So, when you ask about how it’s going to impact politics—it’s going to become politics.
Q: As businesses explore the Metaverse, how do you see AI enabling the development of immersive digital experiences?
I think the Metaverse is this concept of where the internet may go and how digital experiences might be perceived going forward—where it’s far more immersive.
However, the really interesting thing with AI is that AI is the actual vehicle that’s going to allow us to build this kind of immersive digital experience or environment that is known as the Metaverse.
So, whilst the Metaverse I think is still kind of an untested concept about where the internet may go, what is definitely true right now is that AI is going to be the vehicle, if you will, that will build the content that will go into this kind of immersive experience.
Q: For organisations looking to embrace digital transformation, how should they reframe their mindset around artificial intelligence?
For businesses looking to digitally transform their mindset, you have to understand the conceptual paradigm change that is happening now with artificial intelligence.
And once you have kind of the conceptual framework in place, you can start to dig deep really quickly. Because I think that if you want to be competitive and you want to have an advantage, this is the time to start looking at how generative AI can be applied in your business.
So, there are lots of considerations that you need to get into with regards to: what are your priority areas? What are the long-term gains—not the short-term gains? What’s your long-term AI strategy?
And I think that if you put together a generative AI working group to look exactly into this, you know your business is going to be transformed and able to compete with the other businesses that are using AI to transform their processes.
Q: As the first author to focus on generative AI, what inspired you to explore this field ahead of the mainstream?
The reason I was interested in AI is not because I’m a techie—I don’t have a technical background. My background has always been in macro trends that are shaping society, geopolitics, and the world.
And this is why I started to research and write about AI—because ultimately, this isn’t a story about technology. This is a story about humanity and the way that this exponential technology—which is built by and amplified by and controlled by humans—is going to transform not only the way we work, but the way we live.
And even, it’s going to change our very perception of what it means to be human.
This exclusive interview with Nina Schick was conducted by Mark Matthews.
