AI stole my job!

The bottom line

A solid comparison to the ongoing AI revolution is the invention of the first car and its stormy reception by the general public. After the initial outrage, it took less than 50 years for the horse and buggy, the most popular way to move around, to be almost entirely replaced by Ford's Model T automobiles. In this comparison, you and I are the horse, while AI is the shiny new embodiment of convenience looming threateningly on the horizon. Are we also going to be replaced? No.

At least, not immediately.

When did the takeover start?

As you read this article, you will notice a number at the end of each paragraph. The reason for this will become clear by the very end of this brief dive into a hot topic and should help you see that the takeover has already happened. (1)

Conversations around AI have been around since the 1950s, with academics and scientists debating the possibility of a thinking machine. Over half a century later, the debate continues, kindled anew by the emergence of ChatGPT, a chatbot with the seemingly limitless capacity to answer any career-specific question. ChatGPT can be used to develop code, product launch roadmaps, debug software, and even write feasible marketing and digital strategies. Once again, we find ourselves faced with the genuine possibility of even more jobs being taken over by AI and more humans finding that they need to reinvent themselves or face redundancy. (2)

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Beneath the growing conversation around AI and its capacity to function a thousand times better than humans is the use of AI tools to enhance workflows and make jobs a lot easier. With every new tool developed, You and I stand to benefit the most because AI tools need to be trained by humans, meaning free trials for anyone looking to enhance their output capacity. (3)

But first, AI must learn to walk

As great as AI tools are, they still have a lot of learning to do. Articles and essays written by AI sound rather odd, images generated by them can be unsettling, and the marketing solutions they suggest feel very generic. They lack that special ‘something’ that humans seem to imbue into all their work. Perhaps this would be the human soul, but I digress. That’s a discussion for an evening of coffee. Many of the AI tools available in the market today are but toddlers at best - but look at all the noise and attention they command. Marketers stand to gain much from these tools, allowing lightning-fast processing of incredible amounts of data to create actionable insights. These capabilities can change the very nature of how businesses work, and a strong case can be made for whether or not they outshine humans in their areas of speciality. (5)

Something new, someone better

AI has several advantages when it comes to creating digital marketing content for a business. It can work quickly and efficiently, generating large amounts of content in a short period of time. AI can also be trained to produce content that is tailored to a specific audience or target market, which can help to increase the effectiveness of marketing efforts. Using AI can also help to reduce the workload of human employees, allowing them to focus on tasks that require a human touch, and can reduce the cost of producing marketing content as it does not require payment for labor or employee training. (6)

That said, before subscription fees get involved, put your job title in a Google search and find the AI tools to help you work smarter. Try “AI tools for (insert career here)” or “AI tools to help (insert problem here)” to explore the options already available to you. (7)

Can you find the AI?

As promised, here’s an explanation for the numbers at the end of each paragraph. One of them is 100% written by AI. Let me know in the comments which one you think it is. If you can’t find it, you must agree that the AI takeover is already well underway, don’t you think?

#AI #AItools #AIforBusiness #AIforMarketing