Philip Morris International’s CEO Jacek Olczak wants countries to follow China’s lead in getting consumers to adopt AI faster.
Speaking at Semafor World Economy in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, the tobacco company executive said he was astonished by how China is making AI part of everyday life, including rolling out “consumer type” promotions to download AI apps.
“This is big, because if you think for a second — that will drive the adoption of AI … at the individual level” including consumers and employees, he said. “The adoption rate will be ahead of anybody else, other than obviously data.”
The use of AI on a day-to-day basis could help derisk the technology from fears people have about what could go wrong with AI, he argued “I know there are risks around this whole thing. But the more trust we build to the technology and individual level, it’s going to help everyone around.”
“I wish that in other parts of the world, not just in China, that we also focus on the thing, let people adopt it faster.”
Olczak said he also wants AI to be utilized more in workplaces, though he admitted it will take time to figure out how to do that. In the meantime, there are opportunities to leverage technology in the workplace, he said.
“I stopped tolerating the fact that the people are telling me, sorry, I don’t know,” at meetings, he said. “What’s happened to your smartphone?”
PMI is a sponsor of Semafor World Economy. Jacek Olczak made his comments in an unsponsored editorial interview.