Anne Cooper



As 2024 gets into full swing, the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere. Taking a look at the examination of AI at some of the major meetings and shows to date—‘The AI-Powered Organization’ at The Vision Council Executive Summit, ‘Putting the Eye in AI: The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Optometry’ at SECO, and, more recently, ‘What’s Your AI Acuity? Sharpening a Vision for the Future!’ at the Vision Monday Leadership Summit—you will see that these multifaceted and multi-layered approaches to exploring AI have informed talks and presentations that filled a couple of hours to nearly a full day.

For sure, the time dedicated to this topic is justified. In his book “Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up,” author Jerry Colonna, a venture capitalist who transitioned into executive coaching, dedicates some discussion to how people or experiences in our lives can serve as inflection points that reposition us and help us pivot onto a different trajectory. In the optical industry, and perhaps even more broadly in the landscape of our lives, it is fair to say that AI is doing just this.

Through these recent presentations, and within digital newsletters, print publications, and industry talks, AI integration into our individual and collective worlds has been presented against many backdrops: businesses and organizations, optometry practices, and the optical landscape as a whole. The takeaway from these explorations is that AI is here to stay—the train is leaving the station (perhaps it’s already left?), and it’s time to climb aboard, albeit with planning, caution and care.

In her VM Leadership Summit presentation ‘Generative AI’s Transformative Impact…on Everything,’ keynote speaker Samantha Jordan, head of computing and technology at the Future Today Institute, suggested that we could take either an optimistic or pessimistic view of AI (extensive coverage of the Summit starts on page 33). Looking toward the future, she suggested that an optimistic approach could bring with it improvements in areas such as diagnostic capabilities and access to care, but, importantly, the onus is on us and how we decide to move forward.

With that in mind, I would encourage each of us to carefully and purposefully climb aboard the AI train.

acooper@jobson.com