AI: More Than Just Hype, It’s History in the Making
AI is revolutionising innovation as we know it. At Flank’s Hungry Counsel AI Summit, Oliver Yonchev unpacked its transformative power—from sparking creative breakthroughs to reshaping the way we work. His message was loud and clear: AI isn’t just evolving industries; it’s redefining the future.
If you missed our inaugural Hungry Counsel AI Summit in London last October, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.
In this roundup, we’re diving into Oliver Yonchev’s eye-opening session on the transformative potential of AI. As co-founder of cocreatd, Oliver draws on over a decade of experience in digital marketing and business transformation, making him the perfect guide to unpack this complex topic.
AI: Hype or History in the Making?
Oliver began by tackling the enormous hype surrounding AI, citing bold claims from global leaders and tech pioneers who liken AI to humanity’s most profound innovations—fire, electricity, and the internet. E.g.:
“It will have more of a profound impact on humanity than fire and electricity.”
“Eventually all jobs will be affected, and it’s mostly going to be felt in the white collar and professional ranks.”
“Aa fundamental as the microprocessor of the PC and the internet.”
But is AI all hype? To answer, Oliver categorised innovation into three outcomes:
- World-changers: Technologies like the internet, the airplane, or the telephone that redefined how we live.
- Temporary hypes: Think curved TVs or Segways, which made a splash but lacked staying power.
- Novelty inventions: Gadgets like airport satisfaction buttons—imaginative but not game-changing.
AI, Oliver argued, is unequivocally a world-changer, poised to reshape not only industries but also the very way we think and create.
From Automation to Creation
The session highlighted a fundamental shift AI is enabling: we’re moving from an era of automation and curation to one of creation. Beyond organising information, AI is now capable of generating entirely new solutions, insights, and experiences. It’s already driving the tailored recommendations on your Netflix feed, diagnosing diseases with greater accuracy than ever, and even teaching underserved communities through offline educational tools.
AI: Faster, Cheaper, and Better
True breakthroughs make processes faster, cheaper, or better. AI excels at all three:
- Faster: AI processes data at unimaginable speeds, accelerating workflows across industries.
- Cheaper: While training AI remains costly, its applications are slashing operational expenses.
- Better: From detecting cancer more effectively than clinicians to advancing weather prediction, AI is proving its capacity to outperform traditional methods.
Oliver reminded us that today’s AI is the least powerful it will ever be. Technology advances exponentially, and AI’s progress is currently doubling every six months—a pace far faster than Moore’s Law ever predicted.
Five Trends to Watch
Oliver shared key areas where AI is reshaping industries and professions, including legal:
- Chatbots: The rise of advanced conversational AI demands we unlearn the shortcuts taught by Google and embrace precision in our queries.
- Hallucinations: Particularly concerning for legal professionals, these confidently incorrect outputs are a major barrier to adoption.
- Multimodality: AI tools can now integrate text, images, video, and sound, revolutionising creative industries and business processes.
- Intelligence: Specialised models are emerging, balancing speed and depth for tailored use cases.
- Agents: Autonomous AI agents are transforming workflows by collaborating across tasks, offering unparalleled productivity gains.
How Will AI Impact Jobs?
Oliver acknowledged the fear surrounding AI’s impact on jobs. While some roles will disappear, history suggests most will evolve—and many new ones will emerge. The promise of AI lies in freeing us from repetitive, low-value tasks, allowing more time for creativity, strategy, and meaningful work.
The Wright Brothers Moment
Concluding with a historical parallel, Oliver likened AI’s disruptive potential to the invention of powered flight. In 1903, the New York Times predicted it would take a million years for humans to fly. Nine days later, the Wright brothers proved them wrong. Similarly, AI’s transformative power is arriving faster than most of us anticipate.
The challenge? Embracing the opportunities AI offers today while preparing for the immense changes just around the corner.
Catch up on Benjamin White's session (Founder of Crafty Counsel) on the power of technology here.
Ready to hire an autonomous AI workforce to automate your legal workflows? More info about Flank’s AI Agents here.
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