Months ago I first wrote about AI by tasking Dall-E with creating images for an imagined watch brand campaign. The results look a little weird, but still amazingly impressive. I was blown away, like so many, by what you can quickly achieve with a few simple prompts. Future photo careers seemed suddenly in jeopardy.
It was then that I realized AI was going to change our lives and our work very soon, and I didn’t want to get caught off guard by it. As a journalist who entered the industry right when the web began to crush traditional advertising models, I felt like I’d seen this show before. Better to embrace the tech shift than resist it and be left behind.
So in the last few months, I’ve studied AI use cases and tried to figure out ways to incorporate it into my own work. I took an online course with the University of Virginia Darden School of Business to try and formalize my study a bit. What I realized is that AI has been around for years, but it was the launch of a consumer-facing AI tool (chatGPT) that drove the current AI fever. Big companies (Netflix, Airbnb, Ford, The Washington Post, etc) have been using AI to improve their business with insane success for some time and we’ve all been part of it, perhaps a bit unknowingly.
Are we in a hype cycle or is AI really revolutionary? I think both. But either way, my approach is to embrace it as much as possible while also being very skeptical of the broader societal implications.
Here are a few ways I’m using AI now and also very accessible examples of consumer-based AI programs you can use today.
Otter.AI: This transcription tool records meeting conversations and automatically transcribes them. This has been the bane of every journalist’s work for years. This tool saves TONS of time. Of course, there are also concerns with Otter AI if you need to protect sensitive information. otter.ai
NOAN - This is a new tool that helps you develop your business with AI, with a focus on brand, content, social, membership, experience, growth, product and business strategy. I haven’t used it personally, but I’m friends with one of the founders and got to peak at it and it seems immediately valuable for startups. getnoan.com
Dime a Dozen - Starting a business and want to pressure test the idea? Here’s a tool that leverages ChatGPT to save you a ton of time googling around for competitive landscape info. I also haven’t used it because I don’t have a need, but if I were starting a business I would happily drop short money on this service. www.dimeadozen.ai
Photoshop AI tools: Adobe is pioneering a lot of AI-enabled photo and video editing tools and the newest version of Photoshop puts a lot of powerful AI tools in many people’s hands. I’ve had mixed results. Useful, yes, but also clunky. One thing I’ve realized is that AI and digital photo manipulation and creation will greaten the divide that already exists between film and digital. There’s a reason (more than just nostalgia) that there’s so much love for film photos. I think that will increase even more as we see AI-type images begin to show up in campaigns, advertisements, profile pics and everywhere else. Film work will be appreciated even more.
Smart Compose in Gmail: You’re probably using this as well. Gmail’s smart compose feature predicts text and seems to learn your own unique writing quirks. It certainly saves me time and spelling mistakes.
Reading this Week
Tools like Google’s Pixel 8 AI photo editor are ushering in a deepening distrust of everything we see. Welcome to our new counterfeit reality. (Wired)
Food media pioneer Chris Kimball on media as transformation, why uniqueness is everything and making commerce work. (People Vs Algorithms)
Before I go: Why Journalism matters (Columbia Journalism Review)
Yes, it’s true, LinkedIn is where it’s happening. Influencers and CEOs take their brands to LinkedIn (FT)
Viewing
The Magnum Square Print Sale is happening now and ending 10/22. It’s always an easy and affordable way to find quality art. I have a few square prints in my apartment. More here.
Watching
I’ve been digging into Yeti Cycles video work and damn it’s very good. There’s deep narrative-based storytelling, like this profile of RJ Ripper from Nepal, playful creative executions like in Cafe Americano, and tons of helpful utilitarian how-to-type videos. A must-look for anyone thinking about how to put together a YouTube strategy that includes a mix of videos that draw in multiple audiences and tell a strong brand story too.
Listening
Some Family Man for a rainy workday in New York always works.
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I wonder what Apple will do with AI, they've been quiet for a while now.