Background: As of today, it is apparent that with the ever-changing demands and needs of customers, companies are facing enormous pressure to deliver the right value, on time, in the right way, and proper manner. To realize the full potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a careful plan and method need to be established in the development and deployment when incorporating the technology with marketing. Technology is evolving at a rapid pace and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be found in a variety of applications. AI in marketing can provide valuable data clusterization and insights for personalized recommendations, customer segmentation, or even advertising optimization. Problem: To date, a few studies have been made due to the rapid development of AI which has shown an opportunity for marketers. From this hype, companies are looking into speedy implementation where one can forget that this technology comes with risks and threats. “The problem is that everybody has unconscious biases and people embed their own biases into technology” (Kantayya, 2021). Although machines can deliver personalized numerical information, it cannot deliver new solutions such as products and services, nor classify different outputs with a cognitive mindset which could result in biased results. The objective of this research is to utilize the information and insights gathered from experts in the field of engineering and marketing to gain a holistic view of the current and future capabilities of AI in marketing. Purpose: The focus of this bachelor thesis is to provide additional insights in regards to Artificial Intelligence in relation to marketing, taking into consideration bias, personalization, the black box, along with other possible implications of AI systems, also referred to as the dark side. To fulfill the researchers’ objective, qualitative interviews with practitioners and employees with different roles within the field of AI and Marketing were conducted. The paper will be focusing on concepts, theories, secondary data, and interviews which will be further discussed and give opportunities for future research. Method: To perform this research, a qualitative research design was applied, and 12 structured interviews were conducted with those who have knowledge and experience with AI, marketing, or both. Results: The study elucidates the potentials and fallbacks of Artificial Intelligence in marketing. Where the findings suggest a mixture of human intervention and technology is needed to work against the perceptions, bias, and manipulation the technology can possess. The aims then guide towards the conclusion presenting the important cognitive and emotional skills that humans obtain that are currently lacking in AI. This study finds several key areas both in terms of opportunities and risks. Such key areas involve the possibility of delivering new, unique personalized content to a mass audience at lightning-quick speed and at the same time presenting a handful of risks by giving machines the permission to make human decisions. Risks found in this study presented as the dark side include the bubble, bias, manipulation, fear of losing jobs, lack of transparency creating the black-box phenomena. Therefore, this research is interesting especially for marketing managers in how AI could be used both from an opportunity perspective and possible risks to consider.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hj-52744 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Lindström, Sofia, Edemalm, Sebastian, Reinholdsson, Erik |
| Publisher | Jönköping University |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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