Veemal Gungadin: “AI itself will not replace you; but somebody using AI may/will."

Magazine:
3rd Jan, 2025
Category:
Image:
Body:

Events are about to enter a dynamic multiverse of various platforms and tools, and organisers and participants are themselves navigating an omnichannel landscape. However, many professionals fear integrating these technologies will overwhelm them regarding their capabilities and understanding, while others sloppily place many of their responsibilities on generative AI.

Gevme is an omnichannel event management platform designed to streamline events across all touchpoints, from continuous registration and website building to data-driven insights and AI-powered features. Responsible for the innovative Sustainability Hub for Events, a platform designed to plan sustainable events with actionable insights based on AI, this tech company has been ahead of the curve, collecting awards and championing this hybrid revolution. We spoke to Veemal Gungadin, Founder & CEO of Gevme, about this brave new world.


1) As the meetings industry evolves, what skills should professionals focus on developing to stay competitive in a tech-driven environment?

More than ever, it feels to me that sticking to the basics in terms of skills is what we can and should do. The rate of technological change is accelerating. Less than two years ago, it was crazy to think that you could write a personalised birthday song in less than a minute. Or craft a concise, professional email reply within a few minutes. This is already normal for many. While technology will continue changing, now is the time when we should double down on what sets us apart from any technology or AI out there. First of all, when dealing with new AI systems, more than ever, it is important to question the output that you get. Treat new AI tech being deployed as a colleague presenting you a piece of work, by critically analysing it. Secondly, having a mindset of adapting to change will give you the willingness to move beyond the status quo. Lastly, once you have a growth mindset, you will continuously learn. And learning, these days, does not necessarily have to be within formal courses. For example, one of the skills you need to have today is “prompt engineering”. You can easily learn this on YouTube and many other platforms for free. But this is a skill that gets outdated rapidly with new techniques coming around.


2) What are some common challenges meeting planners face when integrating new technologies, and how can they overcome them?

Integration of new technologies typically happens on a small scale, where only a handful of people are involved in the initiative. When this small group is aligned and have an early adopter mindset, then things move pretty fast. Most of the time, the challenges come when a larger group is involved, and some status quo needs to be broken. By default, most people do not like change. And meeting planners are busy people. They already have their hands full of tactical things to juggle. New technologies may burden many, and we then find resistance to change.

So, whenever a new technology is being integrated, start small. Identify one champion or a small group of early adopters who will be excited to work on the project and who will want it to succeed. Dream big, but start small. Get a small success fi rst and then build on it. Spread it to more projects/events and eventually work towards changing the whole organisational mindset.


3) How can technology, particularly AI, enhance the efficiency of meeting planners and improve the overall attendee experience?

We live through times that are very similar to when the Internet was just new. Just imagine the early 2000s when there were big promises about how the Internet would revolutionise our lives – how we communicate with each other, how we buy things, how we learn, how we work, etc. These all seemed farfetched for many back then. But, I would venture to say that almost everything that was predicted that the Internet would do has already happened within two decades. We are at around the same juncture now with Generative AI. This is a branch of AI that has caught the world’s imagination regarding costs and the forms in which this technology can be adopted and integrated into various processes. As such, almost every industry is and will be impacted.

One of the areas definitely involves the attendees' experience at events. I feel that mass personalisation is where we shall see the most significant impact. When you attend an event today, it is up to you to absorb and make sense of all the content. Some may resonate with you, while some will not. But now, imagine that you have AI that can capture all the content and personalise the insights for you. So that you can now see the trends that will impact your career or your company, this is mass personalisation, and the tech to make it happen is already here. We shall see a broader deployment of this. This means that attendees will have more time to spend networking, knowing that the content will be personalised.
 

4) What would you say to meetings industry professionals who are still hesitant to embrace technology and AI, believing it may not be essential for their work?

Think back to the 2000s. Many people thought the Internet was irrelevant. Go back further; you will find people who said that a computer was dumb and they did not see any value in it. So, do you want to be that person ‘fighting against’ tech & AI? It is clear that the adoption of tech & AI only accelerates yearly. AI itself will not replace you. But somebody using AI may/will. So, embrace change.


5) With the increasing reliance on technology and AI, what best practices should organisations follow to ensure the safe use of these tools and prevent data breaches?

The good news for organisations within the meetings industry is that cybersecurity has already been one of the top concerns over the past years. Laws like GDPR in Europe have already made it expensive for organisations that suffer data breaches. As such, there are already systems and people in place to check the security requirements of software before deploying any new technology. I think this needs to continue. There is, to some extent, a sense of euphoria around AI currently, but we all need to stay sane. IT departments need to be pragmatic and continue asking fundamental questions about data security and privacy around any system that will be adopted. Questions such as, how is my organisational data going to be safeguarded? Will my data be used for AI training purposes? What data privacy processes and certifications are in place?

Other Articles

About Us

Supported by the Union of International Associations (UIA), the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) and the Interel Group, the global public affairs and association management consultancy, Headquarters Magazines serve the needs of international associations organising worldwide congresses.