PCMA
It ’ s all about them
THE BUSINESS CASE AND THE TOOLS FOR USING GENERATIVE AI ARE ONLY GETTING STRONGER , SAYS SHERRIF KARAMAT , CAE PRESIDENT & CEO , PCMA AND CEMA
I t can be easy to get caught up in the big picture when it comes to AI , including the dizzying speed with which tech companies like OpenAI , creators of the generative AI platform ChatGPT , have multiplied their value many times over in recent years , or the explosive growth of new AI-driven software platforms .
But there ’ s another story unfolding , and that ’ s the rapid increase in the use of generative AI tools by non-tech companies . Fewer than 50 of the companies listed in the Fortune 500 are in the tech sector , but more than 92 % of them use ChatGPT , according to OpenAI . In 2023 , the number of times that Fortune 500 earnings calls mentioned AI , most frequently generative AI , grew by nearly 50 % compared to 2022 , according to the ‘ Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2024 ’, an annual report created by Stanford University ’ s Institute for Human-Centered AI ( HAI ).
At PCMA , we haven ’ t been sitting on the sidelines , either . In March 2023 , we announced that , in collaboration with Singapore-based technology provider Gevme , we would fund Project SPARK , a generative AI-based tool developed for all facets of the business events industry by the business events industry . The software automated a growing list of business event tasks and processes , like creating agendas , session descriptions and bios , and repurposing event content , including videos into blogposts , social media content , and
Above : Sherrif Karamat
“ Spark grew to include analysing complex streams of event feedback , including surveys , social media interactions and reviews , which could take event professionals days to sift through .”
educational materials . Over the next few months , Project SPARK evolved into Spark , as its capabilities grew to include analysing and interpreting complex streams of event feedback , including surveys , feedback forms , social media interactions , and reviews , which could take event professionals days to sift through and synthesise – if they could manage to find the time to study it comprehensively at all .
We have continued to expand Spark ’ s capacities to streamline logistics and provide sophisticated , accelerated feedback about participants ’ preferences . A new ‘ takeaways ’ feature distills the most relevant and compelling insights from audio content , such as keynote speeches and panel presentations , and delivers it to event participants , so it is immediately available .
Our goal in investing early and decisively in generative AI and Spark , I hope it goes without saying , is not to subtract a single human from the business events industry . In Spark ’ s first year , the business case for the use of generative AI has only got stronger . It gives a competitive advantage to individual event professionals and the industry by galvanising our productivity and providing more time and new ways to exercise our imaginations and creativity . And that , I believe , can only make our industry even more human .
If you ’ ve not already experimented with Spark , I invite you to give it a try .
Event professionals can sign up for a free version of Spark at pcma . org / Spark . Some Spark features are only available with a paid version . n
n Published with permission of Convene , the magazine of PCMA , © 2024 .
ISSUE 131 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 15