How AI is fuelling a radical change in how we all work

I originally intended to title this article “AI: an existential threat to data,” but I reconsidered for a couple of reasons. First, my English teacher told me not to use  the term “existential”  as it sounds poncey. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the threat posed by AI extends far beyond just data analytics – it’s a concern that affects all of us.

To fully understand why AI represents such a broad threat, it’s helpful to take a step back and look at how things have changed over the years through my own personal experience.

Thirty-five years ago – yes, 35 years – I was working as a senior statistician at Reader’s Digest. Back then, Christmas was a particularly busy time for us, as we would send out a massive mailing to around 2 million people. The process of executing this campaign was labour-intensive and involved numerous departments and specialists.

My specific role involved building regression models, a task I carried out alongside other members of our team. Once we had constructed these models, the coding department would take over, developing the code necessary to apply the models to the mainframe computer, which in turn would make the data selections. But the work didn’t stop there.

Next, the marketing department stepped in. They were responsible for briefing the copywriters – many of whom were Oxbridge-educated, as it was something of a tradition at Reader’s Digest – and the art department. These teams would work closely to create the content and design that would eventually be printed. After all these steps were completed, the materials were sent to the printers and then on to production and Royal Mail for distribution.

Altogether, it took a team of between 20 and 30 highly skilled  people to bring this 2 million-piece mailshot to life. The cost was substantial – around £1,000,000 in today’s money, and that’s without even accounting for the labour costs.

Now, let’s leap forward to 2024. The landscape has changed dramatically, and the methods we used back then have been entirely transformed by AI and other digital technologies.

Instead of a traditional mailshot, imagine a modern email campaign. Today, this campaign can be highly targeted and segmented, with creative content generated specifically for each segment – or even for each individual recipient. Subject lines, email content, and other elements can be personalised on a level that was unimaginable 35 years ago. And here’s the most striking part: all of this can be done in just a few hours by someone without any particular qualifications or specialised skills. The cost? Virtually nothing.

Reflecting on this transformation, I’m no longer certain that “existential” is the right word to describe the impact of AI. However, one thing is clear: the shift is nothing short of chilling. What once required a small army of highly skilled professionals and a significant budget can now be accomplished quickly and cheaply – I mean almost for free!,  by a single person, without any particular skill set with the help of AI. This represents not just a threat to specific jobs or industries, but a fundamental change in how we work and create – one that could have profound implications for all of us.

Bill Portlock is founder and CEO of Metrix Data Science