26 years ago, a six-game chess match between an IBM computer dubbed Deep Blue and world chess champion Gary Kasparov captured worldwide media coverage. Millions tuned in to watch an epic battle between man and machine. After six tense and very close games, Deep Blue emerged as the winner. Kasparov was stunned into silence, and IBM introduced an early version of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Today, AI is the most talked about digital innovation since the launch of the world wide web. More than likely, it's everywhere you go in the form of recommendation algorithms that suggest what you might like to cook, purchase, or listen to. According to Forbes, 71,600,000 American homes own Amazon’s AI-powered smart speaker. So ask Alexa for game scores, weather forecasts, or the world's best margarita recipe.
Text generators like ChatGPT and Bard use machine-learning algorithms to search through mountains of human-generated content or data sets to research and create the desired article. Besides creating copy, generative AI can create or enhance photos and illustrations. Apps like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion allow users to turn readily available images into works of art.
Add to that list: press releases, white papers, onboarding documents, and just about any other communication you can think of. Then, in seconds, the AI generator delivers the requested content in the format requested. A dream come true for busy marketers or small business owners who need to stretch their marketing budget.
Kickoffs and fumbles
In its first five days, over a million users signed up to try the Microsoft-funded AI-generated content creation app and would-be unicorn, ChatGPT. Barely five months into the launch of the latest multi-billion-dollar space race, the tech giants are encountering unexpected turbulence.
Within two months of the ChatGPT launch, Google released its content creation app, Bard. First-day glitches are not unheard of, and Bard stumbled right out of the gate when a product demonstration contained errors, known in tech speak as AI hallucinations. The site shut down, and Bard engineers went back to work. Users eager to try the next version can join a waitlist to get first-come-first-serve access.
ChatGPT has experienced its challenges, with sporadic outages lasting from a few minutes to half a day. Reuters reports that the app reached 100 million monthly active users in January, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history.100 million! It's no wonder that the servers couldn't keep up.
Who owns the content generated by AI?
In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Google, suggesting that the "fair use" law protected its use of web-scraped data to create a new Android operating system. To be covered by the law, newly created content must be considered transformative. In other words, the new work has significant enough changes to differentiate it from existing content.
Responding to concerns from writers, designers, and artists, Stability AI will soon allow creators to opt out of the dataset they use to train the Stable Diffusion app.
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has partnered with stock giant Shutterstock to license portions of their image galleries to train the app. Even though the “fair use” law permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission, smart developers have chosen to work with creators to address their concerns.
As the popularity of AI continues to explode, expect creators, copyright attorneys, and big tech to create, revise, and implement guidelines and processes that address issues as they arise. Of course, we're in uncharted territory here, and there are bound to be questions, concerns, and a few “we’ve never been here before” moments. But, just as creators find inspiration in the world around them, artificial intelligence observes the digital landscape similarly to find meaningful statistics, words, phrases, images, techniques, videos, and sounds to expand its capabilities.
Use AI as a tool, not a crutch
Is it possible to use generative content without losing your brand voice? How you approach storytelling is as important as consistently using your logo and trademarks. You’ve honed the craft of genuine human connection through every stage of the sales funnel. Can AI-generated content match the tone and personality you've worked so hard to establish?
The answer is yes if you don't surrender total control of your messaging to the latest shiny new technology. It's understandable for companies to want to be on the cutting edge, but when it comes to AI, you want to be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Instead, add AI to your marketing, advertising, and communications arsenal to facilitate ideation and research. While creating the next big thing, you could always use another "brain" in the room. An AI content generator could offer new perspectives that inspire greater innovation. Often, the most demanding part of any new initiative is taking the first step. Use the best available tools to jumpstart the process and keep on track.
Are you working on SEO-focused blogs, a social media post, or an eBook? Instead of staring at a blank screen, use generative AI to develop outlines with your key goals and strategies to break through writer's block and drive leads more effectively. Do you have the perfect image in mind but need to know how to articulate the details to an in-house or freelance illustrator? Try an image-generating AI like Midjourney or Stable Diffusion to create preliminary sketches that you can use to develop and refine content for your business.
Will AI content generators replace human creators?
There's always a concern that automation could replace human capital, but that seems unlikely in the near future. At their core, artists, writers, and programmers are strategic thinkers that use readily available tools to generate the best possible user experiences. Many will recognize AI technology as an opportunity to increase productivity, perfect techniques, and broaden their reach. Think of it as a tool for creatives rather than a replacement for your creative, technical, and customer service teams.
There will always be a need for human gatekeepers in marketing. Brand guardians who understand nuance, innuendo, and style guidelines use their knowledge and intuition to refine content that remains true to the brand and company values. Your message, delivered in your voice, helps maintain a uniquely human connection with your client base. Embrace the tools that can expand your reach and increase the quality and frequency of your communication without losing your team behind your brand.
Comentarios