Artificial Intelligence :
Sacrificing the Personal Touch ?
AI lets casinos microtarget customers based on data for a more “ personalized ” experience . But what about hospitality founded on real relationships , among real people ?
By Marjorie Preston
Last May , on a lurid scarlet-drenched cover , Time magazine asked the question : Will artificial intelligence mean “ the end of humanity ?” Critics pounced on the alarmist headline , calling it “ fake news ” and “ fear-mongering .” But the concerns are real and widespread . Devotees and detractors alike say AI will revolutionize most industries , eliminate some , and unalterably change the way we live and work — for better and worse .
AI is already changing casino hospitality , with robot bartenders , selfserve kiosks and AI-generated chatbots . Could they undermine the one-toone interactions at the heart of the customer relationship ?
‘ A Tool , Not a Takeover ’
Fans of AI liken it to other tools that initially met with skepticism , then became integral parts of daily life , from cars and telephones to PCs and smartphones .
None of those inventions , however , arouse the existential dread that surrounds AI . In 2014 , physicist Stephen Hawking said advanced AI “ could spell the end of the human race ;” at the same time , SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk , who now owns X , said humans were “ summoning the demon ” with the development of superintelligent computers .
More recently , a 2023 Monmouth University poll found that just 9 percent of Americans think AI will do more good than harm in society .
John Acres , founder of Acres Technology and inventor of the first player-tracking systems for casinos , is unconcerned . “ We ’ ve all seen too many science fiction movies with robots taking over the universe . AI is neither good nor bad , and the people out there rattling their swords , saying , ‘ Oh , this is dangerous ,’ are probably trying to put the brakes on their competitors .”
In the casino environment , Acres says , personal service remains essential , particularly for high-value guests . “ There ’ s nothing like a great hostess who knows everything I want . But when that person ’ s off for the night , AI tools can answer low-level questions , like how to get a room , and process
those requests .” For guests whose spend doesn ’ t warrant a personal host , AI can provide handy virtual assistance .
It also can recognize the nuances of player value . “ Right now casinos rate players in tiers — bronze , silver , gold — while a person at the silver level could be barely above bronze or almost gold ,” Acres says . “ We ’ re treating them the same , but AI can say , ‘ Well , wait a minute . John is almost a gold player . It ’ s probably worth giving him an extra incentive to overcome a few losses .’”
He adds that AI is nothing without data —“ lots and lots of accurate data ” that enables it to identify patterns of guest behavior , determine how to use it , and also improve the customer experience .
“ Our systems are old ,” says Acres . “ Some have been running the same player-tracking system for 20 , 30 years , that may report only sporadically and partially what ’ s happening . If we try to use the AI tools on that , we ’ re going to be far less successful than if we got a richer set of data to analyze to begin with .”
In Acres ’ view , AI is “ a tool , not a takeover . And like any tool , you can use it improperly or properly ”— like the lawyer who used ChatGPT to write motions filled with case law that , in fact , did not exist , and Google ’ s image generator , Gemini , that produced images of racially diverse military officers in Nazi uniforms .
Mind Games
Those gaffes dispel the notion that artificial intelligence is intelligent at all , much less sentient , self-governing or simple to use .
“ There ’ s a misconception about AI that you turn it on and it starts spitting out the secrets of the universe ,” says Jon Wolfe , president of global systems and services at Light & Wonder . “ That ’ s not how it is . You have to iterate and craft and shape models around a business problem you want to solve or objective you ’ re trying to achieve .”
For one model , Wolfe says , “ we did 2,000 iterations before we got it right .”
34 Global Gaming Business APRIL 2024