PHD Launches Book on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence

PHD has launched its latest publication Sentience: The Coming AI Revolution and the Implications for Marketing, looking at the impact that AI will have upon the world of marketing.

According to the agency’s worldwide CEO, Mike Cooper, “The impact of AI will result in a radical
reorganisation of advertising and marketing. AI applications will be largely ad-supported, meaning
that marketing will be one of the first disciplines disrupted by AI. In the future, brands will be
marketing to an algorithm, not directly to consumers”.

“Artificial Intelligence will be one of the most transformative technologies the world has ever seen, a
new utility that uses the data from billions of people and objects to perform tasks, provide services
and adapt and learn as it does so. Marketing and communications won’t be spectators to this greatest
show on earth – they will be transformed by it. In Sentience, PHD again explores how technological
advancement will create tantalising possibilities for marketers and agencies. Our algorithms are set to
wake up – get ready to say hello,” said Chris Stephenson, PHD’s APAC Head of Strategy and Planning.

Speaking about the release of the book, Cooper continues, “In Sentience, we have tried to peer
beyond what we know. To scope out a commercially realistic view on the potential products we will
be using and the advertising and data models that will likely support them”.

Sentience provides a comprehensive history of AI – what it is, where it started and the road leading to
today - and builds a picture of ‘the future of intelligence’, offering a peek into the AI-driven world of
2029 and the implications of AI enabled marketing.

The book explores the increasing role that ‘sentient’ Virtual Personal Assistants (VPA’s) will play in our lives, with many of our purchasing choices being made for us, meaning brands will have to adapt to reach consumers.

The book was previewed at last month’s Cannes Lions Festival to coincide with PHD’s keynote seminar, which saw guest speaker Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, give his views on the impact that AI will have on society and business.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee joins leading figures such as Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak who have recently given their views on the impact that AI will have, which according to Stephen Hawking, “would be the biggest event in human history (and)… might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks".

Speaking at Cannes Lions, Sir Berners-Lee asserted that "to be part of the business world, you need
to put data out there", seeing a future where artificial intelligence drives the decisions in major
corporations. He dismissed the clichéd view of physical robots running the world, suggesting instead
that artificial intelligence will actually comprise businesses driven by algorithmic decisions as data
becomes free and open to use. He envisaged robot holding companies that could move and make
investment decisions based on data and algorithms - and without human input.

However, Berners-Lee warned that businesses would be left behind unless they started actively
putting data out onto the web, as a step up from simply creating web pages to push products.
Berners-Lee was positive about open data and AI's impact on business on society, particularly in health
and wellbeing. But he warned that there was a "red line".
Sentience is available to purchase from Amazon, the iBookstore and Google Play, with all proceeds
going to UNICEF.

For more information please contact:
Arun Saha arundhati.saha@OmnicomMediaGroup.com / +65 68766809
Avril Canavan Avril.canavan@phdmedia.com/ +44 (0) 7584680100
Vicky Bloyce Vicky.bloyce@phdmedia.com / +44 (0) 7841 162476

About PHD Worldwide
PHD Worldwide is known globally as an innovator in communications planning and buying across
broadcast, print, digital, mobile, social and emerging media. Founded in London in 1990 as the first
planning-led media agency, PHD is built on a culture of thought leadership, innovation and creativity,
with a philosophy of “Finding a Better Way.” PHD is one of the world’s fastest growing and most
awarded media and communication agencies, with over 3,000 staff working in over 80 offices
worldwide.

PHD was named ‘Media Network of the Year 2014’ by Spikes, Cristal and Campaign Asia as well as
ranked 1st for Creativity in the International Media Image Survey (i-MIS), 2nd most awarded media
agency globally by The Directory’s ‘Big Won’ rankings. PHD’s work for Unilever also took the top two spots in the Warc 100 list of the world’s best marketing campaigns.

The PHD network is part of the Omnicom Media Group (www.omnicommediagroup.com), a division
of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC)
www.phdmedia.com