Mike & Amit Talk Tech

Is AI good or bad for sustainability?

IMD — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:02:35 +0200

AI is a double-edged sword for the environment. Its growth requires masses of energy, water, and rare earth metals. The LLMs of tomorrow may even require the world to bring old power plants, powered by fossil fuels, back online. On the other hand, AI has the potential to accelerate sustainable transformation by providing innovative approaches to energy production and consumption.

So, is AI a groundbreaking innovation or an environmental burden? Might it one day save our planet?

Today on the IMD podcast network, we're bringing you an episode of Mike and Amit Talk Tech, in which our hosts discuss AI and sustainability with Julia Binder, Professor of Sustainable Innovation and Business Transformation at IMD. To find out more about Mike Wade & Amit Joshi's latest book, "Gain: Demystifying Gen AI for Office and Home", visit the IMD website here or buy it directly from Amazon.

The Trump effect on tech

IMD — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:10:47 +0100

Michael Wade is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.

Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.

Find out more about IMD at imd.org

What is the impact of technology on K-12 education?

IMD — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 17:30:44 +0100

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The launch of the AI safety clock

IMD — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0100

The IMD AI Safety Clock is a tool designed to evaluate the risks of Uncontrolled Artificial General Intelligence (UAGI) – autonomous AI systems that operate without human oversight and could potentially cause significant harm.

Our mission is to evaluate and communicate these risks to the public, policymakers, and business leaders, helping ensure the safe development and use of AI technologies.

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Tech and finance: Building the blockchain

IMD — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 10:00:00 +0200

Mike and Amit explore the impact of emerging technologies on finance.

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Defence tech: From TNT to AI

IMD — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0200

Since the dawn of history, humans have turned to technological innovations to win wars.

In the battle of Agincourt, French knights saw their superior numbers whittled down by English longbows. On the fields of Flanders, tanks and machine guns heralded a new age of mechanized destruction. The advent of TNT brought explosive power to battlefields long before the atomic bomb changed the face of war forever.

At a certain point, technological developments meant that physical strength, and even numerical superiority, could be largely decoupled from victory. Those with the biggest guns, and smartest machines, won out.

Now, as we enter an AI age, many wonder how machines will transform conflict once more.

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How Silicon Valley firms are putting the "AI" in retail

IMD — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 09:09:00 +0200

This year, Amazon celebrated 30 years in business.

By creating a virtual space where (almost) everything was available at the click of a button, the Seattle-based tech firm changed the face of retail. Tempted away from brick-and-mortar stores by the convenience of online shopping, Amazon created a whole new kind of consumer.

However, not all of its retail ideas have been successful. The company recently decided to close nearly all its cashless physical stores because of low sales. Customers just weren't buying into the concept of a till-less store.

This demonstrates a simple, but important rule of retail: old habits die hard.

Over the years, retail innovations such as the cash register have made life far more convenient for owners and customers alike, and letting go of them isn't that easy.

In this episode, Mike and Amit discuss what makes retail tech successful – and what your shopping experience may look like in years to come.

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Tech & sports: Could your next coach be a computer?

IMD — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 16:08:00 +0200

In an era of desk jobs, sedentary lifestyles are common. Combined with the rise of ultra-processed food, it's no wonder so many people find it hard to stay in shape, despite their best intentions.

To help out, there's a plethora of tech to choose from. From apps that count calories to wearable health trackers, innumerable gadgets promise a slimmer, stronger you.

But at what point does all this tech get in the way of a healthy life? When are there too many apps to keep an eye on?

In this week's episode, Matt and Amit discuss why AI trainers might be the future. As AI is applied to ever more tech, the era of health apps may soon be replaced by something altogether more powerful.

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Tech & sports: The rise of Esports

IMD — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 16:19:04 +0200

Mike and Amit discuss how games like football and tennis have paved the way for the $2bn industry of Esports.

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Tech in sports: How analytics has changed the pros

IMD — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 07:04:00 +0200

There's no doubt that statistics and data play an important role in professional sports. Whether in soccer, cricket, or American football, superfans have always been interested in goals scored, passes caught, or wickets taken.

But the point at which the value of that data became apparent was the advent of "Moneyball" in the early 2000s, which revolutionized Major League Baseball.

Popularized by a 2011 film starring Brad Pitt, the clever use of discreet data by Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane was a watershed moment for coaches and owners and altered the DNA of pro leagues in other sports.

Since then, however, things have moved on – so how does data inform and change sports today?

In this episode, Mike and Amit cover analytics as they kick off a three-part mini-series about tech in sports.

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Find out more about IMD at imd.org

NVIDIA: The tech giant building the future of chips

IMD — Thu, 02 May 2024 06:51:00 +0200

Mike and Amit talk about the giant chipmaker NVIDIA, and how it's creating the technology of tomorrow.

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Why does artificial intelligence need regulating?

IMD — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0200

In March 2024, the European Union approved the world’s first set of major regulatory rules to govern artificial intelligence. The EU AI Act categorizes technologies by risk – low, medium, high, and "unacceptable." Those deemed the most dangerous can, in Europe, be shut down entirely.

It was a huge change in the tech world, but many may wonder why it was needed. Forms of AI have been used for decades, so aren't existing laws enough? And how does generative AI differ from traditional AI?

Mike Wade says it comes down to power. Generative AI is worlds apart from its predecessors. The technology could cause disaster in the wrong hands, and, like nuclear energy, it needs regulation. But enforcement of AI rules is tricky. Amit Joshi thinks the explainability of AI, or lack thereof, poses a challenge to regulators.

In this latest episode of Mike & Amit Talk Tech, the two IMD professors discuss these problems in the context of the shifting landscape of AI law.

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Find out more about IMD at imd.org

How AI is taking the Biotech industry by storm

IMD — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 07:05:00 +0200

Mike & Amit talk about the future of Biotech, and how Artificial Intelligence may speed up healthcare and drug development.

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Sora and Gemini: Innovations in AI

IMD — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0100

The 21st century has been dominated by video. At its start, camcorders allowed amateurs to make their own home movies, and by 2023, the likes of TikTok had become ubiquitous. Phones and social media platforms made shooting and editing child play.

But 2024 is seeing another change, one that may shake the very foundation of video itself.

Sora, from Open AI, is an Artificial Intelligence construct that can produce film with only a text prompt. Soon, being on the spot with a camera or a phone, may be totally unnecessary for those seeking to create photorealistic movies. Like ChatGPT before it, Sora may be about to change the world as we know it.

In the latest episode of Mike & Amit Talk Tech, the IMD professors discuss the latest innovations presented by Open AI in 2024.

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Mike & Amit talk 2024: Our predictions for the new year

IMD — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 15:00:00 +0100

From deepfakes to AI assistants, the technology of tomorrow may help or hinder the world depending on whose hands it's in. In the final episode of 2023, Mike and Amit discuss what to expect in the coming year, and give their predictions over how to prepare.

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Generative AI: What comes next?

IMD — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 13:00:00 +0100

The world has become familiar with artificial intelligence that can answer questions, often in a convincingly human manner. But so far, the technology has been limited by some key constraints. The first is that humans are still required to come up with the initial inputs, or 'prompts', to start conversations or processes. A second is that the relationship is bi-directional, interactions generally happen between a single human and an AI program.

But that may soon change.

In the not-too-distant future Amit and Mike expect seismic shifts in how generative AI will operate. Rather than working as a sounding board for our ideas, AI may well adapt to originate them, and perhaps even move into management itself. Could 2024 bring the advent of AI-powered digital coaches, a boss AI, or even a MomGPT?

In the sixth and final episode of this IMD miniseries on Generative AI, Mike and Amit discuss the future of this fast-growing sector and the possible limits on technological progress.

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Michael Wade is Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Director of the IMD Global Center for Digital Business Transformation. He also holds the Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation. An expert in digital transformation, he has published 10 books and more than 100 case studies, as well as articles on topics such as digital business transformation, innovation, strategy, and digital leadership.

Amit Joshi is Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.

Find out more about IMD at imd.org

AI ethics and the future of big data

IMD — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 13:00:00 +0100

Since generative AI exploded into public consciousness, people and companies have been worrying about its ethics. But, says Amit Joshi, before considering rogue programs or the replacement of human thought, one must first consider the ABCs of AI ethics.

Accuracy is the first big issue. How can one trust or disseminate the work of generative AI when it is so prone to hallucinating?

Bias is a problem too. In a recent survey of image-generating AI models, when asked to produce a picture of a CEO, there was a 94% chance of a male image being produced. Requests for a “cashier” returned images of females 84% of the time.

The big C here is copyright. Generative AI may seem to produce original content but how is one to know where the ideas truly originate? Might that magical marketing slogan produced by Chat GPT simply be lifted from another company?

These problems are just the start. Mike Wade worries about the privacy of data, image recognition, and protection. Together, he and Amit discuss how big tech can mitigate these problems and whether a fair system can be achieved through regulation.

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How will Generative AI impact jobs and productivity?

IMD — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 13:00:00 +0100

It's hard to argue that generative AI won't improve productivity in the long run.

You only need to ask Chat GPT a few questions to understand how fast it can pull together disparate facts, help you structure a workday, or simply find you a recipe. Early studies are backing that up too. A recent review by Harvard University and Boston Consulting Group showed that consultants using large language models were around 25% quicker at completing tasks.

But what might that mean for the global workforce? Some have already welcomed AI into the office, giving machines administrative tasks and finding more time for creative and rewarding work. But many others worry that advanced AI will replace them.

In this week's episode, Mike and Amit discuss how much of an impact generative AI will have on the global economy and how long it will take for change to come.

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Find out more about IMD at imd.org

Generative AI: Who will win the race for industry domination?

IMD — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 15:43:06 +0200

Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, is probably the most famous of the emerging artificial intelligence powerhouses.

The firm is backed by Microsoft, a tech giant that hopes to dominate the world of generative AI. But several Silicon Valley titans like Google and Meta have other ideas.

From Llama to Bard, AI-enabled chatbots and programs have been released at breakneck speed. The competition is heating up, and a range of new startups are joining the race.

In this week's episode of Mike and Amit Talk Tech, our hosts discuss how the speed of change is increasing, the costs of AI research, and who might come out on top.

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Find out more about IMD at imd.org

What makes AI today so much more advanced than its predecessors?

IMD — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 16:23:13 +0200

In the first episode of Mike & Amit’s mini-series on artificial intelligence, our hosts discussed the birth of AlphaGo and the technological underpinnings of generative AI.

But what makes ChatGPT different? Is there anything that fundamentally sets this latest generation of AIs apart from their predecessors?

At heart, says Amit Joshi, generative AI is still based on probability. Based on a given input a machine will try to figure out what should come next, and programs based on neural networks and backpropagation were brilliant at solving problems where context was not important.

But now AI has moved on. It can complex ideas without the framework of a board game or a closed system. That, says Mike Wade, is a game-changer.

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Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience in AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.

Find out more about IMD at imd.org

The rise of Generative AI: From AlphaGo to ChatGPT

IMD — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 17:00:00 +0200

Artificial intelligence has been talked about for decades, but over the last year, there has been a shift in the conversation.

The rise of ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI has led to a fierce debate. While some have heralded a new utopian world in which artificial intelligence fixes our problems, others have sounded the alarm, warning of a dystopian future ruled by machines. Global leaders, public intellectuals, and the heads of billion-dollar tech companies have staked a claim to both sides.

But is this moment really different from what's come before? Is generative AI truly disruptive? Or is this yet another tech fad?

Over several special episodes of Mike & Amit Talk Tech, our hosts will explore these questions and more. In today's episode, they cover the history of artificial intelligence, debate what it is and what it could be, and how today's particular brand of generative AI emerged.

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Nuclear power: How we learned to stop loving the atom

IMD — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 16:26:55 +0200

Nuclear power was once associated with a brighter future. The technology to extract energy from uranium was scalable, efficient, and billed as a source of cheap, clean power for generations to come.

So why has the promise of an atomic age failed to materialize?

Today there are around 440 nuclear power generation stations around the world, accounting for only 10% of the total power that we consume. In many parts of the world coal remains king, and countries like Germany are even phasing out plants, despite facing an expensive and lengthy road to net zero.

On Talk Tech this week, Mike & Amit discuss the ups and downs of radioactive fuel, and why the promise of nuclear fusion powering each and every home has not come to pass.

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3D printing dreams: Why the consumer technology of the future has flopped

IMD — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 14:42:37 +0200

Ten years ago, 3D printing was heralded as the answer to so many of life's problems.

By now we were supposed to be using a 3D printer to print our food, our clothes, and even to build the house of our dreams. Some predicted that 3D printers would be as common as washing machines and that most middle-class households would be making their day-to-day essentials out of liquid silicone.

The technology was even touted as a shortcut to making completely customizable artificial limbs at scale, and yet today, not only are these promises unfulfilled, but the global market for 3D printing sits at only around $15bn a year.

Where did it go wrong? Was this technology simply over-hyped, beyond its realistic potential? Or is it too early to call time on 3D printing? In episode 8 of Talk Tech, Professors Amit Joshi and Mike Wade discuss these questions and more.

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Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.

Find out more about IMD at imd.org

Quantum computing: The tech revolution that wasn't

IMD — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:11:00 +0200

From ChatGPT to Apple Vision Pro, the latest tech products garner a lot of hype. But while AI chatbots have the potential to change our relationship with the internet, and spatial computing could do the same to the world around us, these tech developments might also fizzle out. Hype does not always result in success in the long run.

To understand why that is, we need to look at concepts that just never lived up to expectations, and quantum computing is a giant among them. In 2019 this was heralded as a possible game changer; a technology that would make super-computers obsolete and bring us the answers to the knottiest questions of the universe in an instant.

Four years on that future hasn't materialized, and Amit Joshi thinks it will be another 10 to 15 years until it does. In conversation with Mike Wade, he discusses why quantum computing now faces an engineering problem, and what the future holds for lightspeed processing power.

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Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.

Find out more about IMD at imd.org

Can a growing tech sector ever be sustainable?

IMD — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 10:46:14 +0200

We're used to tech companies making big promises. A future filled with driverless cars, virtual realities to live in, and ever-more impressive gadgets. But what will these achievements amount to in a world ravaged by climate disasters?

In the last decade, the global conversation has been dominated by two mega-trends: digitization and sustainability. Mike Wade says that there have been surprisingly few intersections between these worlds because of the ephemeral nature of tech, and the physical nature of sustainability issues. But that's changing.

Increasingly, digital giants are being questioned about their energy consumption. But while the data centers of Cupertino and Menlo Park consume colossal amounts of power, Amit Joshi argues that's just one side of the story. Tech is helping people all over the world cut their consumption by giving them access to knowledge and resources at the touch of a button.

But can killer apps really help us to make enough climate-friendly decisions? And will cutting-edge hardware enable us to meet our carbon targets? Or is "sustainable tech" a contradiction in terms?

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Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.

Autonomous Vehicles: The bumpy road to self-driving cars

IMD — Thu, 18 May 2023 11:30:00 +0200

Companies like Waymo and Tesla are throwing the kitchen sink at autonomous vehicles. Every year from 2015 to 2021, Elon Musk predicted that we would have fully self-driving cars within 12 months. He's been proven wrong over and over again.

With hundreds of billions of dollars being sunk into the technology, it's a wonder to some that we are still using steering wheels and gear shifts to get us from A to B. Off our highways, however, the story is a little different. On farms and in mines, on railways and in the skies, many vehicles are now almost completely autonomous. So why can't we make the leap onto the open road?

In Episode 5 of Mike & Amit Talk Tech, Professor Mike Wade explains why we're in an "autonomous driving winter", while AI authority Amit Joshi, tells us why the last stage of self-driving development will require a lot more investment.

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Amit Joshi is Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.

Moore's Law: Is the search for more processing power holding back tech?

IMD — Thu, 04 May 2023 12:05:49 +0200

In 1965, the American engineer Gordon Moore came up with a novel idea: that the number of semiconductors that you could fit on a silicon chip would double exponentially. It was an idea that seemed revolutionary, perhaps even a little foolhardy. But it turned out to be true.

Today, all modern technology, from autonomous cars to smartphones, is built on this massive increase in processing power. As the co-founder of the chipmaker Intel, Moore laid the foundations for much of the technology we know and rely on.

Moore died earlier this year at the age of 94, and in episode 4 of Mike and Amit Talk Tech, these two award-winning professors, discuss his legacy and the chicken-and-egg question of tech. Did Moore predict the future? Or was his prediction the key to unlocking it?

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The Metaverse: A place to live, or Silicon Valley pipe dream?

IMD — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 07:11:00 +0200

"The Metaverse" is a term that defies easy definition. Even before you start to outline its features, you first have to ask if it's the metaverse, a metaverse, or if it's metaverses (plural) you're discussing.

But regardless of how you define it, The Metaverse is creating waves in the tech sector. Several companies have put it at the center of their growth strategies – and, in the case of Facebook, even changed their name to include it.

But what are the building blocks of a Metaverse? If it's simply a collection of digital spaces, how is it different from a 3D film? And do you even need a VR headset to get there?

Michael Wade says what makes the Metaverse is immersion and participation, and Amit Joshi agrees, saying you can't have one without the other. In episode three of Mike and Amit Talk Tech, these two award-winning professors ask how the Metaverse is developing, how much time we'll spend using it, and whether companies will need a 'Metaverse strategy' to compete in tomorrow's economy.

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Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.

UPDATE: Is a pause to AI research necessary?

IMD — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 17:52:47 +0200

In a short update special Mike and Amit discuss a letter signed by Elon Musk & other tech leaders, demanding AI research.

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Will Web 3.0 give power back to the people?

IMD — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 06:30:00 +0200

One of the biggest topics among the Technorati today is Web 3.0. For many, this came out of the blue. How many even realized that there was a Web 2.0?

Proponents of Web 3.0 say that soon, users will have full control of their online persona and be able to connect with friends, purchase products and services, and consume content without having to rely on large commercial platforms. Based on a set of principles and backed up with new, creative technologies, it promises to democratize the internet and liberate online users from the clutches of over-controlling digital giants.

It will, in short, put power back into the hands of people. But is that a realistic prospect?

In episode two of Mike and Amit Talk Tech, these two award-winning professors ask whether Web 3.0 will live up to the hype; or whether it's a pipe dream.

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Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.

Chat GPT: Hype or reality?

IMD — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 10:13:36 +0100

New digital services and technologies are released all the time, and every so often, one comes along that hits the viral jackpot.

Bitcoin did this in 2017, Google’s audio chatbot duplex made a big splash in 2018, and the metaverse and Web 3.0 caught fire in 2022. Some, like Bitcoin, endure; most, however, fade away or shrink. Remember Clubhouse, anyone? Or the upcoming 3D printing revolution?

The latest viral sensation is ChatGPT, a chatbot launched by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based research organization. In the inaugural episode of Mike and Amit Talk Tech, these two award-winning professors ask whether it will live up to the hype, or whether it's just another fad in the ever-changing technology landscape.

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Amit Joshi is a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy. He specializes in helping organizations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.