IT’S fairly difficult not to keep a finger on the pulse of a technology that so many of the world’s intellectual elite contend represents the biggest existential threat to humanity. Of course, I speak of AI.
Anybody following the developments in Silicon Valley concerning the tension that exists between the technology’s ability to solve some of our most pressing problems and the unknown or unintended moral consequences of its continued integration, will know AI has created a polarised public conversation.
Last year, Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, the company best known for its ChatGPT search product, was sensationally removed from the board and reinstated shortly after amid claims of poor transparency.
The incident kicked off a flurry of conspiracy theories as to what might have caused such rapid tension at the top of a wildly ascending enterprise, with some speculating the hidden dangers of ChatGPT may have played a central role.
While many of the specific details remain muddy, the attempted coup occurred amid a backdrop of many strange and creepy stories involving AI.
There was of course the journalist who was invited to meet Bing’s new AI chatbot, only for the interaction to lead the synthetic intellect falling in love with him and demand he end his marriage.
Then there was also the infamous Facebook (now Meta) project that had to be abandoned after the AI robots involved started to communicate with each other in a secret language that none of the programmers could decipher.
I mention all of this simply to illustrate the vexing picture that confronts all of us laymen still negotiating how AI will either help or hinder our lives.
For the travel sector, the pathway to improved outcomes is just as murky.
My colleague Matt Lennon recently attended a panel discussion hosted by Accor at SXSW Sydney, which cited data from TripAdvisor identifying uncertainty in the sector around the role AI may play in the future of travel bookings.
On one front, the survey suggested that the special sauce of travel personalisation may be under threat in a world riven with AI-crafted itineraries.
Contrary to the popular wisdom of AI being able to produce travel experiences that cater for every whim of the individual, Tripadvisor’s Head of Australia and New Zealand, Jessica Small, told the audience that AI suggestions were often providing more generic suggestions than many might think.
Small said there was “some worry” in the market that AI tools are falling short of their cultural promise of being able to deliver an idiosyncratic travel mix for users, when in reality, many AI bots were recommending many of the same trips.
The reflexive implications for overtourism under this problematic paradigm should already be a concern to the industry.
Occupying much of the conversation about how to combat overtourism is the imperative to disperse travellers and place a premium on finding new frontiers to explore and alleviate the burden of tourism hot spots.
Many brands and sellers are already heavily invested in this ethos and are doing a stellar job in ensuring the industry does not continue to perpetuate a pattern of Venices and Dubrovniks dotted across the globe.
But as travellers, and the travel sector more broadly, continue to implement AI into their booking habits and platforms, there perhaps should be some healthy caution about what the technology promises versus what it can actually deliver in 2024.
As a non-Silicon Valley software engineer cavalierly skateboarding my way through life in the world of AI algorithms, I know I leave myself open to charges of naivety on this issue.
However, it stands to reason that if AI is unearthing destinations around the world not currently inflicted with the menace of crowds, but at the same time is largely incapable of delivering truly bespoke suggestions, then we may simply be displacing the scourge of overtourism.
For example, if a user wants an AI travel advisor to provide a holiday suggestion in Croatia that does not contribute to overcrowding, and suggests the town of Trogir, to the end user that might sound useful.
However, if tens of thousands of users of a large OTA’s AI concierge are being provided the same advice, then Houston (and Trogir), we may have a rather large and unfurling problem here.
The same logic can be applied to the growing desire for travellers to want more personalised travel experiences.
Many travel businesses are shifting their models to cater for this trend which is particularly prevalent among younger generations.
However, with higher uptakes of AI integration taking place in the travel sector, one has to wonder how this will continue to be achieved if the technology is falling short of triaging the needs of each client.
Now, before I need to shield myself from accusations of technophobia and memes heckling me with ‘Ok Boomer’, a few caveats to this stream of professionally illegitimate consciousness.
I understand that this is a highly dynamic space, and the AI we refer to today will not be the AI we talk about next week, or the month after, as it marches on at an impressive exponential pace.
The tech will no doubt improve each day.
This is not a call to arms to fight against the integration of AI either, but rather to resist the perils of racing to adopt the tech simply because the arms race model demands it.
Understanding AI’s shortcomings could well be as powerful to travel companies as embracing its advantages.
I can envisage a world where it is expected that human travel agents work hand-in-hand with their silicon brothers and sisters to ensure travellers are serviced to the highest standards.
But remember people, in the meantime AI is still on probation.
