Hopper, MakeMyTrip, Indicio on data security with ChatGPT

Now more than six months since ChatGPT seemingly captured the world’s attention, talk of generative artificial intelligence continues to straddle the two extremes of enthusiasm and angst.  

On Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman urged lawmakers in the United States to regulate AI, and several other countries around the world are considering the same.

Meanwhile, across the travel industry, generative AI is at the top of the to-do list for companies of all types, from online travel agencies to global distribution systems and brands across every sector.

Just last week MakeMyTrip announced a partnership with Microsoft to use OpenAI’s technology to summarize hotel reviews and enable voice-assisted travel bookings in multiple languages. And HomeToGo launched “AI Mode,” which returns recommended vacation rentals based on users’ text inputs describing their needs.

As research and development continues at pace, expect to see more complex integrations of this technology by travel brands as they use it to create more personalized, frictionless shopping and booking experiences. 

But what guardrails are needed if both companies and individuals want to share their personal or proprietary data with these types of AI systems?

To explore this topic, PhocusWire convened its third LinkedIn Audio event Thursday, “Let’s Hear It! Seamless but secure: ChatGPT and data protection in travel.”

Speakers for the event were Patrick Surry, chief data scientist at Hopper; Sanjay Mohan, group CTO at MakeMyTrip; and Trevor Butterworth, co-founder and chief of governance at Indicio.

During the 45-minute discussion, they discussed the potential for regulation, the different needs of integrations within a company’s ecosystem versus across organizational boundaries and the importance of focusing on the customer to determine use cases.

“There’s this danger that we see it as this magical tool that we can look for problems to solve rather than coming from our customer and saying what is it that’s bad about our travel experience today, what is it that we can improve about the apps and how can we potentially use this or other technologies to help solve,” Surry said.

And along with rightful concerns about generative AI, Mohan expressed optimism about the way it can be used for positive outcomes, such as making travel more accessible and inclusive.

“And mature and responsible companies will take very deliberate, considered and measured steps as they unleash and unlock the potential of these offerings,” Mohan said.

Listen to the entire episode of “Let’s Hear It” below.  

00:00 Opening and introductions
6:30 – Patrick on what Hopper is doing with generative AI
8:15 – Sanjay on what MakeMyTrip is doing with generative AI
12:15 – Trevor on digital travel credentials
15:30 – Sanjay how MakeMyTrip is managing personal data with generative AI
16:30 – Trevor on importance of GDPR compliance as a first step
18:00 – Patrick on “chain of custody” of data and implicit bias in models
21:45 – question from Jonathan Sutter, senior director of the travel industry practice at J.D. Power 
26:00 – Patrick on working backward from customer problems
27:20 – Sanjay on the difference between moving fast and being reckless
31:00 – Patrick on the importance of providing trusted information
34:00 – Trevor on the role of verifiable credentials
37:30 – Patrick on verified and authoritative data sources
40:45 – comment from Riaan van Schoor, CEO of Agentivity  
41:45 – closing comments and predictions