10 Best Speaker Quotes from MAICON

This post originally appeared on the Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute's blog. The Marketing AI Institute was created and is powered by PR 20/20. 

The first Marketing Artificial Intelligence Conference (MAICON) has come to a close, and hundreds of marketers from all over the world are now returning to their organizations to pilot artificial intelligence.

If you missed the event, check out these quotes from some of MAICON's incredible speakers for a taste of what to expect next year.

1. “Eighty percent of what we do every day will be intelligently automated to some degree in the next three to five years.”

Paul Roetzer, Founder and CEO of Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute and PR 20/20.

To kick off MAICON 2019, Paul Roetzer hit the audience with a stat that proves why it’s important to become and AI pioneer. His advice? Start getting curious about artificial intelligence and how to apply it to your business.

2. “The skills that make me really bad at coding, make me really good at empathy”

Angela Pham, User Experience Designer at Facebook

During her keynote, “Automated, But Not Autonomous,” Angela Pham shared insights and examples of how her team gives human voice to machine learning. That included insights on how Angela and her team use technology to scale personalized communication to Facebook’s 2+ billion users—without losing the human touch.

3. “Voice is the gateway for all technologies, the remote control for our lives.”

Mitch Joel, Founder of Six Pixels Group

Mitch Joel captivated attendees when he revealed 31 million Americans are predicted to shop via smart speaker in 2019. According to Joel, voice search is the new smart phone. During his session, he provided tips and best practices to optimize keywords for voice to take advantage of the trend. 

4. “As with any new tech, AI can be scary because it’s unknown. That’s okay, just don’t hide from it. Start learning today.”

Kanishka Bhattacharya, Senior Director of Data Science and Analytics at Publicis Sapient

While some marketers are hesitant to pilot artificial intelligence, Kanishka Bhattacharya reminded the audience that the only way to take advantage of tech and AI is through education.

5. “The future of marketing is about the future of experiences.”

Nikos Acuna, Partner and AI Global Practice Lead at Davis and Partners Worldwide

In his keynote, Acuna provided attendees with a snapshot of the transformation of marketing technology and artificial intelligence. He went on to explain that all experiences will continue to integrate the physical and digital world of marketing.

6. “Either you will manage the machines or the machines will manage you.”

Christopher S. Penn, Co-founder and Chief Data Scientist at Trust Insights. 

According to Penn, artificial intelligence promises three things: acceleration, accuracy and automation. He counseled marketers to get ahead of artificial intelligence before artificial intelligence gets ahead of them.

7. “Grab a pen and paper and write down what you stand for. Reference your core values and stick to it.”

RJ Taylor, CEO and Founder of Pattern89

During a panel surrounding Ethics and Artificial Intelligence, RJ Taylor kept it simple. He reminded marketers to stick to their core values when navigating personalization, privacy, and consumer interests in a fast-changing world.

8. “What are the things in the Internet of Things? We are the things. The data becomes the message and the humans become the medium.”

Douglas Rushkoff, Author and Host of Team Human

In his keynote, Rushkoff encouraged us to view the future differently. Instead of looking at technology as something that separates us, it’s actually a way to bring humans together. 

9. “Digital transformation is something that you can make happen or you can let it happen to you.”

Tim Hayden, President of Brain + Trust Partners 

Tim Hayden hosted a workshop dedicated to preparing marketing data for the AI revolution. He warns attendees to prepare data for this high velocity of change because business transformation impacts every part of your brand.

10. “We don’t individually have all the answers on how fast AI will progress. We have suspicions and predictions...that’s the whole reason we’re hosting MAICON, so we can figure this out together.”

Mike Kaput, Director of Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute

Mike Kaput’s session helped attendees leverage strategies and tactics to future-proof their careers in the age of AI. Despite the reservations that come with exploring uncharted territory, he reassured attendees that they were out ahead of one of the most significant changes in the marketing industry.

Mark Your Calendar: MAICON 2020

Did you hear the news? We’re already looking forward to MAICON 2020. Join us again next year in Cleveland, July 14-16, 2020. Year two promises expanded programming with more sessions and speakers, a collection of case studies from marketers who have piloted AI in their companies, and an ever-growing community of marketing leaders seeking to drive change in their organizations.

Registration is now open with an exclusive 50% off launch pricing through July 31, 2019.