Company Interview / The human factor shaping AI's future

Key points:

Human intent and regulation shape AI’s impact more than the technology itselfQBD Books uses AI to extend customer service hours rather than replace staffCroydon calls for international AI guardrails to protect authors and publishers

Nick Croydon from QBD Books frames artificial intelligence as a tool whose impact depends entirely on human use. Croydon points to criminal groups adopting AI quickly for malicious purposes, while businesses apply it to improve service and efficiency. QBD Books has just launched an AI customer service agent to extend support to 24/7, which Croydon sees as complementing, not replacing, human staff. He stresses AI’s usefulness in meetings and data analysis, arguing the debate should focus less on whether AI is good or bad, and more on the intentions and controls of those using it.

Croydon views current Australian government efforts on AI regulation as a welcome start, particularly for protecting authors and publishers, yet regards them as insufficient in a borderless digital environment. Overseas large language model operators can still scrape Australian sites and data, so he calls for coordinated international rules to safeguard creative industries more effectively.

Drawing on his interest in Alan Turing, Croydon highlights Turing’s refusal to accept “unsolvable” problems as a model for how society should approach new technologies. On the consumer front, he reports a resurgence in printed book sales at QBD Books, driven partly by younger readers treating special editions and sprayed edges as collectables, and viewing books as strong value for money versus streaming.