AI: EMBRACING CHANGE OR SELLING OUR SOULS?

When I first heard about AI being used in marketing and books, a part of me died inside.?

Artificial Intelligence developing content, and there’s the word that made me shudder…artificial.?

Artificial Intelligence creating artificial content with artificial sentiments and artificial messaging.?

Another cruel blow for creativity at a time when we arguably

need it more than ever.?

On paper, AI went against everything I believe in.?

Creating content using the writer’s unique voice that elicits emotion and, as a result, connects you with your audience in a powerful way.?

After all, my new tag line for Turquoise Tiger Press is Your Words. Your Book. Your Way.?

How could AI ever take the place of our unique storytelling capabilities??

But then I had a word with myself. (Not an artificial one mind??) and decided, it can’t. At least not in the same way, which means it may be able to work alongside the more traditional storytelling ways, but not replace them.

This became crystal clear when a client asked me to look over some content recently.?

Having worked with them for several months, I knew their writing style, the tone, the ebb and flow of their words, and this wasn’t them. This prose stood out like a sore thumb. It was like their voice had been muffled and replaced with an emotionless imposter. Factually correct? Yes. Enjoyable to read? No. Dead behind the eyes.?

Then last weekend I picked up a printed book with powerful personal ?stories in it, but that, in my opinion, was let down by the glaringly obvious AI writing style which peppered the latter pages. It stopped the flow of the narrative and I switched off.?

What would have helped bring more of the writers’ unique style through would have been to add a few of their own phrases into the mix after AI had done its thing, to breathe some real life and emotion into its pages.?

After these experiences I took a deep breath and decided to investigate further.

Like it or not, AI is here to stay, so I knew I needed to know more.?

And then I remembered how I had had the same reaction when printed media made way for digital media all those years ago.?

As a journalist who’d cut their teeth in print on newspapers and magazines, when digital arrived it felt like a giant hand had come down from the sky, crushed all my years as a journalist into a tiny ball and thrown it in the bin, then punched me hard in the creativity zone.?

Then I parked cynicism and judgement and saw my first digital magazine. It was magical, like a scene from Harry Potter, with written articles sharing the space with video and audio on the same page, and all at the click of a mouse. I was smitten.?

Several weeks later and Taz Thornton ?????? , Philip Crowshaw and I were launching the world’s first digital magazine for the social platform formerly known as Twitter. ?It was a hit with celebs and commoners alike, including Stephen Fry.?

We ended up on TV, radio and made it into the finals of a national award where we were pipped at the post by Sky Magazine. Not bad for a digi mag put together in our tiny box room while 5-9-ing.?

I’m seeing AI as another one of these change moments. A time to park judgement, embrace tech and discover how it can powerfully complement my skills as a writer, editor, publisher and content coach.?

I can either dig in my heels in or I can do further research into how AI can be a useful tool for my business, without compromising my strong values around free creative expression and emotive content.?

Right now I’m putting AI through its paces by feeding it with lots of juicy questions and ideas to see what it comes up with, and that’s an exciting proposition.?

Who knows where this will take me and how it will enhance my business and the experiences of my customers in the future??

What’s your view on AI??

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