I’ve been intrigued to see the recent proliferation of national news stories and personal conversations about artificial intelligence. Relentless optimism or doom-and-gloom forecasting that reminds me a little of the Y2K panic, AI seems to be on everyone’s mind. That includes Beth Luberecki—a real person and not a computer algorithm—who discusses some of the possibilities, good and bad, with local business leaders in “Rise of the Machines” on page 42.
While years of TV and movies might have conditioned us to envision computer intelligences turning murderous, along the lines of 2001 or The Terminator, I think the very real threats are subtler: plagiarism and intellectual theft, accidental spread of bad information and deliberate attempts to lie and deceive through computer-generated images and fake identities. The political world, especially, is more than turbulent enough without “deepfakes,” and not being able to tell what’s real is a dangerous slippery slope.
On the other hand, ignoring this tech won’t make it go away. I keep coming back to what the article said about AI being not an adversary, but a tool. If it’s used incorrectly or with ill intent it can create awful outcomes, but it’s not meant for annihilation; it’s a resource that can help with anything from brainstorming to time-saving.
It’s true that some technologies that seem like a great idea can ultimately prove detrimental—remember that there was a time when we filled homes and offices with asbestos as protection against fires—but advancement comes with trying new things. As long as we don’t destroy what we’re trying to improve in the process, experimentation can lead us in new directions, including some unexpectedly positive results.
Case in point: local innovation within the new issue of Name, Image and Likeness rights. I’m not a devoted follower of college sports, to put it mildly, but I like the idea of athletes being able to receive some of the money from sales of their jerseys and such—and I love what FGCU is doing within the larger arena. Although our local school doesn’t have the established fanbase or colossal donations to compete with bigger schools in Miami, Tallahassee or Gainesville for traditional recruiting, as Sheldon Zoldan explains on page 54, it’s making good use of advantages such as the school’s entrepreneurship program to give its athletes creative benefits.
Of course, if you’re looking for local entrepreneurship leading to creative benefits, this is the right issue for you: We’re extremely proud to share the winners of our 2023 Best of Business readers’ choice poll. The honorees are exemplars of excellence in a spectrum of industries, and each one has some thoughts on what makes their organization stand out in the increasingly crowded Southwest Florida business landscape. The list begins on page 86; hopefully perusing it will serve as a reminder how fortunate we are to have such vibrant, dedicated local corporations in our community.
