Abstract
Technology is as old as mankind, impacting on society both positively and negatively. Undoubtedly, the very survival of the human species is testament to the giant strides made in pursuit of knowledge and innovation. Thus, our history is themed with technological breakthroughs which have defined our evolution over time. These landmarks began with the Neolithic revolution on which other technologies were built, from the industrial revolution to the present digital revolution. Digital revolution has greatly enhanced mass communication practices having made possible the science of artificial intelligence and robotics whose social impact we surveyed here. We find that their ‘combined power and potential’ will have significant social effects which we now know, but however choose to ignore for the present or perceived benefits. Hence, the study aims at examining the social impact of employing autonomous systems in the creation of media content with emphasis on brand advertising.
Keywords: programmatic advertising, machine learning, artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, metadata.