BESIDES being seen as a game-changer in how businesses interact with consumers in today’s digital world, the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has not been without its fears for modern-day consumers, too.
Not a few, therefore, believe that for the technology to truly perform its game-changing role and reshape today’s consumer space there is the need for such fears to be allayed.
Allaying such AI-induced fears and the need to frontally battle the menace of price-fixing were some of the issues thrown up at the different symposia held across Nigeria to celebrate this year’s edition of the World Consumer Rights (WCR) Day.
Discussing on the topic, ‘Earning Consumer Trust in an AI-Powered World’ at one of the seminars organised by the Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN) at the weekend in Lagos to celebrate the Day, the founder/Head of Communications and Strategy at a Lagos-based Public Relations firm, Carpe Diem Solutions, Edward Israel-Ayide, stressed the need to take the advent of AI seriously since it is fast reshaping the consumer space and dictating how businesses engage with consumers by helping such businesses understand consumer behaviour, preferences and needs on a granular level.
Such knowledge, he added, allows for the creation of personalised and tailored experience, from product recommendations to targeted marketing messages, which enhance customer satisfaction and engagement.
Using the nation’s business space as an example, Ayide believes the AI technology has continued to revolutionise the way financial institutions in the country engage with customers in the banking sector.
According to him, the integration of AI-powered chatbots into such financial institutions’ websites and mobile apps provides customers with a round-the-clock assistance.
The seasoned PR personality, however, believes one of the challenges standing in the way of the AI technology on the marketing space is that of trust deficiency from the consumers due to reported cases of high profile misuse of the technology.
“Consumers, globally and here in Nigeria, are understandably wary. High-profile cases of AI misuse have damaged consumer trust, prompting greater awareness about data usage and privacy,” he stated.
Citing Ajay Bhalla, the President of Cyber and Intelligence Solutions at Mastercard, Ayide argued that “companies can no longer assume trust; they must earn it.”
Interestingly, Ayide believes such consumer trust and confidence can only be won through a proactive demonstration of responsible AI use and the readiness to explain some of the system’s decisions.
He, therefore, stressed the need to adopt and uphold fair and responsible AI principles since doing that compels businesses to mitigate biases that may exist within their datasets.
Ayide, however, believes media and marketing professionals have a crucial role to play in achieving this by championing responsible AI practices, advocating for transparency, fairness and accountability and ensuring that AI-driven initiatives align with ethical standards and consumer expectations.
In her address, the Chairman of BJAN, Clara Okoro, described the conference as the association’s own way of fighting the various injustices being meted out to consumers in this part of the world.
Also speaking at another event to mark the day in Abuja, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) attributed the rising cost of the goods in the country to the manipulation of some market ‘cartels.’
Speaking on this year’s theme, ‘Fair and Responsible AI for Consumers,’ the acting Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr Adamu Abdullahi, described as ‘unacceptable’ the sudden hike in the price of sachet water in the country, attributing such hike to the activities of the cartel in that market segment.
He argued that there was no justification for such increase since most of the producers already had their machines.
“Yes, power, fuel and price of nylon have increased, but that cannot still explain the cause for the astronomical rise in price. What we have discovered is that most products now have associations, even the sachet water producers.
“When you bring eggs from your farm to sell at Wuse Market, the association of egg sellers will tell you that you have to sell to them at cheaper rates while they resell to consumers at higher prices.
“This has now resulted in emergence of ‘cartels’ and cartels, anywhere in the world, are not acceptable,” he stated.
While warning such cartels of the implications of their activities, such as price fixing to the economy, the FCCPC’s boss expressed the readiness of the commission to locate those cartels and bring them to justice.
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