I've been in the data management business for over 35 years now (and even longer if you count my days in 4-H!). And over those years I've seen many examples of what was supposed to be "the next revolution in data management." In my opinion, there have been only three revolutions in my lifetime:

1. Moving data management from one central computer lab to the desktop.
2. Moving from character-based user interfaces to windows-based UIs.
3. Moving from local and wide area networks to the internet.

Artificial intelligence will be the fourth revolution.

AI is already changing how we manage data and will have a huge impact in the coming years. Here's just one simple example:

I've long talked about the importance of documenting processes. In fact, my very first article published by ASAE after I started consulting was called "Documentation is King."

One reason associations give me for not documenting processes is how time-consuming it is to do so. And this is true. I used to provide documentation services and I can attest to how labor intensive they are. Enter AI.

As Evan Reid, Director of Data Analytics at ASHA explained to me recently, when he has to document a process, he meets with the staff who are responsible for the process via Zoom and records the conversation. He uses an AI assistant during the call to transcribe everything that was said. He then edits the transcription down to the documentation required. And to take it one step further, he asks AI to write a spec on how to do it the same/better the next time.

Voila! What used to take hours to create now takes minutes. All thanks to AI.

And that's just one example. There are, and will be, many more. So buckle up! There's a lot of change coming!