By UK Correspondent
GLOBAL online short and long term rental firm AirBnB has appointed Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert James Manyika to its board with the San Francisco-based company looking to benefit from his expertise as AI fundamentally reshapes society.
Currently senior vice president at Google, Manyika is one of the world’s leading experts in AI. He is a graduate of both the University of Zimbabwe and Oxford University from which he obtained two master’s degrees and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.
Airbnb confirmed his appointment earlier this week, with CEO Brian Chesky revealing that Manyika had been advising the company since 2018.
I’m thrilled that James Manyika is joining our Board,” Chesky said in a statement.
“He’s dedicated his career to exploring technology’s impact on society, and is one of the world’s leading experts in AI. He started advising Airbnb in 2018 and has been an essential thought partner to me for years.”
He added; It’s inevitable that AI will reshape society and have a profound impact on our business. With James joining our Board, we’ll continue to benefit from his guidance as we embark on the dawn of this new technological revolution.”
Commenting on his appointment, Manyika who will also chair the Board’s stakeholder committee said, “At such a critical point of inflection for technology and society, I’m inspired by the ways Airbnb has bridged people and cultures all around the world.
“I’m honoured to join the Board of Directors and look forward to working together with the entire Airbnb team to build for the future in a way that benefits hosts, guests and communities everywhere.”
Manyika is currently Google’s Senior Vice President of Research, Technology and Society.
Before joining Google, James spent nearly three decades at McKinsey where he led the renowned McKinsey Global Institute’s research on technology, the economy, and major global trends.
Prior to Google, Manyika worked at McKinsey for around three decades, the press release details.
According to McKinsey’s website, he “previously led research on global economic and technology trends and served many of the world’s leading high tech companies on growth, innovation, and strategy.”
He also serves on the board of the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, and on advisory boards at the University of Oxford, MIT, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and Stanford University.
