Ahead of the event on October 2-4, titled The Human Revolution, four travel leaders have reassured us that machines aren’t set to take over humans anytime soon… unless we let them.

Technologies like AI and machine learning are evolving rapidly, and we need to learn how to merge them with our human capabilities if we don’t want them to take over, warn the experts.

Here are their top tips as to how:

Humans must be in the leadership roles – “Whether we like it or not, humans and machines are joining forces,” said Baidi Li, Senior Vice President Commercial, APAC at Go City.  “To stay in control, humans must assume proactive leadership roles in this collaboration and need to take full accountability in the outcome.  If we get this right, the possibilities are infinite – probably beyond my imagination.  I’m super excited to see humans’ abilities being supercharged on all fronts.  We can all become superheroes in our field without the capes.”

We need to understand all the risks – “The merging of human creativity and machine power is an exciting prospect that offers real potential,” said Amy Read, Techsembley.  “We are already seeing machines automate tasks that are currently time-consuming, freeing us up to focus on more strategic work. My own team has quickly adopted AI tools in their daily tasks, such as OpenAI, Google’s Bard, and Midjourney. While the opportunities appear endless, I believe it is also important to highlight that the merging of human and machine capabilities is a complex issue with risks that will need to be deeply explored as AI technology continues to develop.”

We must make and use machines responsibly – “Machines are only as good as the programmers who build them and the users who leverage them,” said Mary Li, Founder and CEO at Atlas.  So, the real question is: How capable are we as humans of developing ‘good’ machines and using them responsibly?
Machines can extend our own capabilities. They can help us scale and process tasks faster than we can on our own—calculate and analyze large volumes of data, leverage data to power new tools and solutions, expand our horizons, and free up our time.

It’s what we do with these time savings and insights from machines that truly matters.

There is an opportunity for humans to employ our imaginative thinking, creativity, and life experiences to nurture relationships, enhance lives, support our children’s growth, and make the world a better place. If we do so, then machines become powerful enablers, and the sky is the limit for us.

We must focus on pushing humanity forward – “When you look back at history, it was always super intelligent individuals that dramatically pushed humanity forward – Einstein, Newton, Marie Curie and the likes,” said Idan Zalzberg, Chief Technology Officer, Agoda.  “Imagine we could create a machine with those kinds of capabilities, our advancements in science, medicine, space exploration might grow exponentially. And, if that happens, while there are indeed things to be worried about I think there are far more things to be excited about”

Find out more about how to merge human chemistry and technology prowess at the Web in Travel mainstage session, Human Chemistry & Tech Prowess: The Trio Turbocharging Agoda on October 3, where Agoda’s leaders, Chief Executive Officer Omri Morgenshtern, Chief Product Officer Ittai Chorev and Chief Technology Officer, Idan Zalzberg will delve deeper into the pressing topic.