Unpacking the influence of AI on Marketing with anthropologist Bob Morais

What I Wish I Knew with Mike Irwin & Simon Daw

Our usual guests talk about journeys that they chose to embark on: starting a company, solving a problem, creating opportunities, or navigating life and career. In our current series, we’re probing into a trip that none of us opted into but we’re all aboard anyway…and that is artificial intelligence. AI influences what we see, hear, buy, and think, how we navigate the world, and how we navigate daily life.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Bob Morais, a business anthropologist and expert in human behavior, particularly in the realm of marketing. Dr. Morais had a 35+ year career in advertising and market research and is a Lecturer at Columbia Business School. Morais digs into how AI is used today, the opportunities and pitfalls, how AI stretches the range of possibilities, AI "hallucinations" and why it's best utilized as a partner and collaborator rather than a substitute.

Morais was a Principal/Co-owner of a market research firm and spent years with advertising agencies rising to the role of Chief Strategic Officer. He has worked with Coca Cola, Danone, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Post Foods, Proctor & Gamble, Safeway, WD-40, Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel, and many others. His books include Advertising and Anthropology; Ethics in the Anthropology of Business; and The Language of Branding. His articles have appeared in Forbes, Advertising Age, Huffington Post, American Anthropologist, Human Organization, Culture and Organization, and Medium.

Find all of our prior episodes at whatiwishiknewshow.com

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