Is it me, or did we blink on New Year’s Eve of 2022 and somehow arrive at the last working day of 2023? Now, it may feel like this year went by in a flash, but when taking time to reflect, there’s actually a lot to make note of. Loads of exciting things happened this year in the world of AI, and as a result, it was a busy year for us here at AI in Business. Before we ring in the New Year, let’s reflect on some of 2023’s biggest highlights as I share some of what I learned through it all. Gen AI's Breakout Year It would be remiss of me not to lead with the biggest AI development of the year: generative AI. While this technology is not new by any means, 2023 was a boom year for it thanks to overwhelming levels of public interest in free tools such as ChatGPT, Bard, DALL E, and more. For many, these tools offered a first taste of AI and its capabilities, and a low-risk way to experiment with this technology. It is therefore unsurprising that it became the leading topic of 2023. But along with this new hype around Gen AI came hysteria, misinformation, and fear. I spent as much of this year boosting excitement about Generative AI as I did myth busting. There remains a disconnect between Gen AI’s actual capabilities and our expectations of it. As impressive as it is and as much as it has developed in this past year alone, it still can’t accomplish everything. One key lesson I shared in every Keynote speech and training session is that AI is an assistant, not a boss. It is here to augment, not replace. An Ever-Evolving World of Work Regardless, the Generative AI hype unfortunately spurred a lot of hysteria surrounding the future of jobs this year, with some outlooks more positive than others. The World Economic Forum released a Future of Jobs report for the first time since 2020. In the 2023 edition, they predicted that by 2027, 42% of business tasks will be automated and that as a result, 50% of organisations expect it to create job growth and 25% expect it to create job losses. On a bleaker note, Goldman Sachs made headlines in March and caused quite a stir after estimating that 300 million jobs could be lost or diminished by AI. Understandably, the future of work was a hot topic this year and will continue to be top of mind for professionals across every industry sector as we move into 2024. I had the pleasure of training and speaking to HR leaders and agents of change in Amman, Jordan in both March and June, and at the WorkBuzz Live event in London in November. My focus was helping them understand how AI will reshape how they approach recruitment, retention, employee satisfaction, and people management. Empowering the Next Generation Someday, those leaders and change makers will need to bring in fresh talent into their organisations and maybe even to fill roles that do not yet exist. In 2023, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to continue my work with the next generation of the workforce as they prepare for their future AI-enabled careers. This past spring, we took our Leaders of Tomorrow AI Schools programme international for the first time with our third cohort in Cape Town, South Africa. The insights and ideas produced by the students never cease to amaze and impress me, and certainly fill me with reassurance that our future is in very capable hands. I felt this sentiment again after delivering the annual Peake Lecture to the students at Eltham College earlier this month. One Step Closer to Widespread Regulation By the time those students enter the workforce, AI will be a more regulated technology thanks to strides made in 2023. The most notable of these is the progress the European Parliament made in passing the EU’s AI Act. The final details of the Act are currently being agreed upon by the various member countries, but it is expected to be passed and enacted in 2024. When that happens, the AI Act will become the world’s first official AI law and pave the way for other national frameworks. Here in the UK, a landmark AI Summit was held wherein the UK took steps to form its own regulatory body. Similar progress was made in Canada, Brazil, and China amongst others, with the lattermost enacting rules that regulate the development and use of all generative AI technologies. Alongside the progress being made at the national level, individual industries are making strides of their own towards regulation. This includes law itself, and this summer I had the chance to brainstorm and explore the dilemmas involved in embracing a currently unregulated technology with the legal counsel for some of the world’s top companies at the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Global Summit. Also, in Toronto, Canada, at the SAS Banking Summit, I led discussions with leaders from various global financial services firms about the future of banking. In such a heavily regulated industry, ethical AI adoption and application is of top concern. That’s why so many firms in the industry have restricted their teams’ use of open-source tools like ChatGPT. I expect we will see more industry bodies and individual companies coming up with their own frameworks and guidelines in the year to come. A Year of Firsts Thanks to the surge in AI intrigue and growth this year, 2023 took me to several new locations around the world for the very first time. In February I had the pleasure of visiting India for the first time. During a magnificent whirlwind ‘Golden Triangle’ tour, I developed a deep admiration for this wonderful and still developing country of promise and contradictions. Times are changing and it’s exciting to see progress in the cyber cities. India is currently ranked 15 th in the top 25 AI nations but has the 'the greatest upward potential' according to research by Tufts University's business school. When you consider that India stands out as a global leader in AI skill penetration surpassing even the United States, it’s easy to see how it could one day become an AI superpower. On the opposite end of the spectrum from bustling, vibrant, and busy India sits the tranquil and stunning landscapes of the Faroe Islands, which I had the pleasure of visiting to deliver a Keynote speech at Tonik. Situated in the North Atlantic and a self-governing archipelago that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands is far from an AI powerhouse clawing for dominance against the likes of the US, China, or even India. And yet, what Tonik and my Keynote there demonstrated is that every industry, role, and country around the world can benefit from AI regardless of its size or global standing. I see AI as a great equaliser, levelling the playing field between the heavy hitters and the underdogs. The Faroese are such bright, inspiring, and creative people whom I truly valued my time with, and I have no doubt that they will do great things with this technology. Keynotes and training took me to many exciting places, but also enabled me to work with many interesting people across a wide range of industry sectors. From talking packaging with Gallus in Switzerland, to shedding some light on the future of education for the supporters of Monaco Aide et Presence in Monte Carlo, to speaking about the future of flavour with The European Flavour Association (EFFA) in Amsterdam, it has been fascinating framing AI’s benefits and impacts through the lens of so many different sectors and roles. With demand for our AI services reaching new heights this year, various accolades rolled in as well. In 2023, I ranked in the top 10 of the Technology for Marketing Top 100 Marketing Influencers Index. I won the award for Top AI Strategist; was named a Top 10 Influencer to Follow by the AI Time Journal, and was featured in the CIO Times’ list of "Most Iconic Women Leaders Creating Waves in Modern AI Industry." Flattering for a humble girl from Tottenham. As lovely as these honours are to receive, they’re simply a perk. What I have truly found most rewarding this year - and in the time since I started my own AI journey a decade ago - is getting to stand in front of an interested audience and discuss the very real impacts of this revolutionary technology that is reshaping every aspect of our personal and professional lives. This past year has enabled me to do that at a bigger scale than ever before, and I am truly grateful. I also encourage those I work with to take a proactive rather than a passive approach to helping shape how AI evolves in their industry sector and country. Looking Ahead If the past few years have taught me anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. I could lay out my predictions for 2024, but that seems like a fool’s errand given how swiftly and often this technology evolves. Instead, I will close with my hopes for the year ahead. In a time of so much division and upheaval, my hope is that AI can help us make the world a better place. Technology cannot fix all the problems that man created, but it can help us work towards solving some of the UN's major goals linked to disease, climate change and much more. If this sounds like a pipe dream, I assure you it is not. I refer you to this TED talk from Max Tegmark, who I interviewed for my first AI book and admire deeply. He outlines a very optimistic outlook of how we can make AI work for us and not the other way around. I wish you all a very Happy New Year and look forward to working together in 2024. All the best, Katie King CEO of AI in Business