The most crucial piece in the AI puzzle is not the right data but the right context behind it, an expert told a Calcutta audience.
“If you think about doing things in real time, you have to capture context. That is the world we live in. That is what AI is driving,” said Arun Kumar Parameswaran, executive vice-president and MD, sales and distribution, Salesforce, South Asia.
Parameswaran delivered the keynote address at the annual Bengal Chamber Marketing and Brand Conclave, organised by The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with The Telegraph.
The theme of the 15th edition of the conclave was “Navigating Through Transformation: How Brands and Marketers Can Differentiate in the AI-Driven Consumer Landscape”.
“We have to be able to bring all of that consumer behaviour over the past many years, digest all of that, hyper-personalise it, and be able to offer that to the consumer in real-time. We are talking less than 300 milliseconds,” said the Calcutta-born Parameswaran.
“You can imagine going through an incredible amount of data. Not just data but an incredible amount of context. This is the place where most organisations get it wrong. We have seen many failed AI projects. The number one reason is not that they don’t have data. It is because they don’t have the context behind the data. The meaning becomes extremely important. Data is, at the end of the day, just bits and bytes. The context is the toughest piece to capture,” he added.
An array of experts shared their thoughts on a world where AI is not just a tool but a force reshaping consumer behaviour, brand identity and business strategy.
Abhijit Roy, MD and CEO of Berger Paints India and president of the chamber, set the context. “Today, AI in business is like salt in food,” he said.
Jayen Mehta, managing director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul), delivered a virtual address.
Anoop Hoon, chairperson of the marketing and brand committee of the chamber, delivered the welcome address. R.P. Banerjee, author and chairman and director of EIILM-Kolkata, gave a special talk.
A series of panel discussions, involving senior representatives from different companies, followed through the day.