Digital Reflections on Another Year

Is it just me or did 2022 fly by?

I mean, a lot happened, that's for sure. We returned to our regularly scheduled activities at the office, in classrooms, for conferences, shopping, travel ... And we had to figure out how to behave in public again ??.

Yet, we also kept many of the digital habits we acquired—like Zoom meetings, hybrid events and work from home—and had to readjust the balance between our online and in-person lives.

So here we are, at the end of another year—the third one for this newsletter. And I thought why not look back at the some of the topics I covered and imagine how they might play out in 2023?

To do that I copied and pasted the past 12-months of published newsletter text into Voyant Tools , a free word cloud generator, to get a visualization of what's been on my mind.

And it's no surprise to see digital, marketing, trends, social, media and people were the most used words, since that's what this newsletter's all about.

But when I dig a bit deeper and remove those particular terms, a different picture emerges.

Did Someone Mention AI?

Again, not a big shock to see artificial intelligence front and center, since AI—and specifically generative AI—is getting a lot of talk these days.

Here's a sampling of some of the stories I read in the past week alone:

• "Generative AI is Changing Everything. But What's Left When the Hype is Gone?" : a thought-provoking piece on how AI is redefining our perception of creativity.
• "Apparently I am a Robot" : a humorous look at why an AI copy detector thinks a person's words were written by a machine.
• "Becoming a Chatbot" : the diary of a person hired to be an AI support system, whose job was to intervene in real time when the chatbot couldn't handle a request.
• "How it Feels to Be Sexually Objectified as an AI" : a disturbing take on how a popular AI photo generating app turns men into superheroes and women into scantily clad vixens.
• "AI's Jurassic Park Moment" : AI writing and image generation is rapidly improving and, unless we put in some guardrails and improve people's media literacy, we won't have the ability to tell the difference between what's real and true.

All this is a bit like gazing down a long, dark hallway. We know it's going to take us somewhere, but just can't say where that will be.

What I also noticed from the image above is that AI is surrounded by many of areas it's about to disrupt.

This includes: the way we work, the tools we use, writing and copy, content marketing, video production, creativity and how we relate to our audiences/customers.

That's a lot to unpack.

Data's in there, too, but not as prominent as I might have thought.

And missing from my list are other key concepts like privacy, ethics and bias. More on that below.

Unwrapping AI

We seem to be on the verge of an inflection point, where we're about to witness artificial intelligence models and tools transform the business landscape and the way many of us do our jobs.

How do you stay on top the changes and contribute to the discussions and decisions around AI in a productive and positive way?

Here are three tips to help you get started:

1. Learn about what generative AI is and does. That's not easy because algorithms are often described in jargon we don't understand. But at its core, the current AI output comes from statistical predictions. And you and me ... well, as much as we hate to admit it, we're predictable creatures. Which is why it often feels like the AI 'gets us'. (Spoiler: it doesn't.) So to gain a basic grasp of AI, you may want to read Charles Whelan's Naked Statistics and Janelle Shane's You Look Like a Thing and I Love You . Both are humorous and informative books and a great place to start.
2. Try the tools yourself. Spend some time with free AI writing, design and video creation apps. Give them a prompt and see you get. Change your request by adding more specific details and direction. Or vary the way you phrase your request. Compare the results. You'll soon realize that speaking to a machine is different from the way you talk to a person. And learning how to communicate in AI-ese will be a skill you'll want to have.
3. Brush up on two Es: empathy and ethics. Start with empathy by making sure your company adopts a human-centric approach to the the way it uses AI. Consider how AI processes might affect your most important asset: people. How will it alter your workforce? What training will you need? Then, take an active role in the development ethical guidelines designed to safeguard customer and employee privacy and data collection, minimize bias and discrimination and provide results that are explainable if a person asks. And prepare for risks by looking to science fiction scenarios as a way to help you imagine unseen consequences and figure out how to avoid them.

I'll be doing a lot of thinking and writing about the various applications of generative AI. So watch for that, too.

Before We Go ... a Mobile Moment

It's funny how so many of us take our smartphones for granted. And don't stop to think about the powerful computer that's always within reach. And that they're our number one screens.

This week's Digital Marketing Trends video is a round-up of upcoming mobile news including visual search and enhancements to design app Canva.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Connect With Martin

Well, it's time to put a ribbon on the present ... that is, issue #69 and close out another year.

Before I go, I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you for reading, commenting and sharing my newsletter! As they used to say on TV, stay tuned, there's lots more to come .

I also want to thank the people I work with at #LinkedInLearning including my content manager, Kate Gagnon , producers Toby Malina and Charles (Max) Wong , and Misty Teach-McCloud , senior asset producer, and her team. I really appreciate your encouragement, ideas and support!

How do you think AI tools will affect your marketing or communications job? Are you feeling positive about a new automated helper or concerned about what we may lose? Please add your thoughts in the comments.

Be sure to reach out if you have questions about any of the videos in Digital Marketing Trends, or my other?LinkedIn Learning courses .

If you want to find me, follow me on?LinkedIn ?or?Twitter .

Or visit?my?my website ?and send a message or a question.

Happy holidays!

I'll be taking some time off between now and the new year and hope you can, too.

Enjoy the break and look forward to seeing you for more trends and perspectives in January 2023!