Digital marketers have embraced artificial intelligence more than most, and the reasons are clear: AI enables efficiency in content creation, streamlining processes beyond the scope of what marketers previously believed possible.
While it’s cool that a marketer can create 200 versions of an advertisement in the time it previously took to create two or fill their blog content calendar into 2035 in an hour, the general population is starting to feel the clear drawbacks.
The efficiency afforded by artificial intelligence is resulting in less human connection. There is simply a homogeneity in the content making the rounds – even in some hyper-niche verticals that would previously only be written by those with extensive, direct experience. The nuance of personal experience and the depth of emotion are nowhere to be found.
The Larger Point & How We Got Here
To be at such a concerning point during the nascent stages of consumer-facing AI is disheartening. This is the point in the product life cycle at which people believed social media would encourage the free flow of ideas, enable connection, and bring peace to the world. Instead of leaning into the great promise of AI, the discourse is centered on how many people are about to lose their jobs and how plain or inaccurate our AI tools can be.
The vast majority of consumer-facing AI experiences have been through ChatGPT, the text-based interface provided by Sam Altman’s OpenAI. This is materially important as this single experience is driving the vast majority of the public discourse. It’s no surprise, then, that many have heard about AI’s ability to write code, perform legal research, offer (some form of) customer support, or write your next favorite television show. That all seems possible through ChatGPT.
Artificial intelligence is far more than ChatGPT, however, and many AI products are already helping us be more human with each other.
AI That Helps You Transcend Language Barriers
AI-powered translation apps like those from Google are breaking down language barriers, enabling people from different linguistic backgrounds to communicate full-stop. While these tools have been around for a while — I used Google Translate on signs abroad more than a decade ago — advances in technology and layering in advanced artificial intelligence have made translation tools more sophisticated, offering the real-time audio translation we’ve seen in science fiction for decades.
AI That Helps You Be a Better Friend
Some people have the cognitive skillset to remember every face they’ve ever met and essential details about them (like their partner’s name, whether they have kids, and their birthdays). Then there are the rest of us.
In business, companies like Salesforce and HubSpot have introduced their own artificial intelligence features to help build complete customer profiles, including all of those finer points that can be difficult to remember. Users no longer need to keep those customer notes themselves, and some new plugins even invite an AI listener to your video calls to create meeting notes to review.
In your personal life, the Birthday App leverages proprietary artificial intelligence to help you become one of those friends who always knows people’s birthdays – without you or your friend even having to share it in the first place.
AI That Helps You Put Down the Screen
OpenAI is at the center of Humane’s new AI Pin, a wearable pin that sits on your shirt and serves as a co-pilot for your life. It leverages a microphone, camera, and unique speaker technology to allow you to keep your phone in your pocket and not miss the action — whether that’s in front of you or on your phone.
The Case for Optimism with Artificial Intelligence
While it’s fair (and important) to acknowledge the dangers and short-comings of artificial intelligence, it’s more important that we take the long view with what could be a game-changing form of technology and remember this: the potential of artificial intelligence lies in its ability to augment our human experience, not replace or diminish it. There are some great signs that this is possible, and we should pay attention.
Featured Image Credit: Michelangelo Buonarroti; Pexels
