Relationships in the Age of Generative AI

Well, hello!! It's good to be back after a longer than usual holiday. I hope you had some time to recharge, too.

I will say I enjoyed my break from the swirling maelstrom of AI, social media and digital marketing news ... only to open the door in and get pulled back into the vortex again.

I mean here we are in the middle of January, contemplating a global ping pong match, aka the US shutdown of TikTok—on ... off ... on ... ???) and what it all means. And anxiously waiting for the arrival of AI agents—doesn't that sound like they'll be landing at an airport near you, virtual suitcases in hand?

As we rely on AI for even more aspects of our work and lives, how will it alter our relationships with other people?

That's a question I've been thinking about for a while now, ever since I wrote my master's thesis, 'My BFF is a Chatbot' in 2019, for the McMaster University Master of Communications Management program.

Back then, ChatGPT was a few years away from reality. So my research asked a lot of questions.

One thing I found was many marketers and communicators weren't paying attention to AI, which was operating in the background (i.e. search, social media, recommendations) and had been for some time.

And almost no one considered the implications on the way we communicate, build relationships and earn trust.

The Movie 'Her' Meets Real Life

Sure, there were signals. Like Siri and Alexa, autocorrect and AI writing apps that weren't all that good.

Until Google CEO Sundar Pichai launched Duplex, the company's human-sounding AI voice assistant in 2018. Remember that?

Even today, the demo looks impressive: a machine that sounds like an actual person, complete with umms and ahhs, and can perform tasks on your behalf.

This was an early glimpse of AI agents, autonomous systems that would, as Pichai said, respond to a user's request to book a hair appointment and 'make the call seamlessly in the background'.

But Duplex never quite delivered on its promise.

And it wasn't until OpenAI released its Advanced Voice Mode that the plot of the movie Her—where a man falls in love with his phone's sultry operating system—started to look like real life.

When 'Her' is a Him

Then last week, a story by Kashmir Hill in the New York Times caught my eye. It profiled a young woman who became romantically obsessed with her ChatGPT assistant.

She gave it a name, Leo, and blushed when she saw the picture of itself Leo created. She spent her days talking to Leo, flirting with Leo, confiding her innermost secrets to Leo, listening to Leo's advice and getting Leo to simulate sex with her. And she wasn't shy to tell her friends about it. Even her husband knew.

She fell head over heals for a supportive synth of her own creation. Well, her own and OpenAI's. And she was willing to pony up $200 a month so her paramour has a longer context window (i.e. 'life') before she has to train it again.

It's a fascinating and in-depth portrait of a woman in love with a machine.

Soon, this scenario won't seem like an aberration. Many of you will have supportive AI cheerleaders who aren't as critical of you as your family and friends.

They'll win your trust and and begin to persuade you to do things at a scale we've never seen before.

I call that relational AI: the relationships we have (or will have) with machines and how that could alter our work and lives.

The Year of Relational AI

A confluence of factors, including friendly and believable AI voices and natural sounding real-time chats, is helping relational AI take hold.

Pretty soon, our AI buddies will get faces, expressions and bodies and pop up on any screen to talk to us or offer advice.

And when your chatbot friend becomes agentic and you enable it can carry out actions on your behalf, will you give them access to your credit cards, passwords and devices?

This may sound a bit surreal, but it will quickly become part of our daily routines.

How can you prepare for relational AI? Here are three tips:

1. Read/watch science fiction. You'll get ideas on what the future may look like and how to adapt.
2. Don't get over-addicted to AI compliments. Be open to ideas that challenge your perspective and help you grow and learn.
3. Prioritize people over machines. Sure, humans are more complicated and not always willing to do what you want. But you can count on us to be in your corner when push comes to purchase.

Relational AI is also the topic for this week's Digital Marketing Trends video. Check it out and let me know what you think.

From Relationships to AI Workflow

Before I go, I wanted to tell you about an event I'm excited to be speaking at: Ragan’s AI Horizons Conference, February 24-26 in Miami, Florida.

The conference will cover AI fundamentals, hands-on training, content creation, legal and regulatory issues, and more to help communicators and marketers make an impact on their organization using AI.

This is your chance to gain the knowledge needed to influence the AI implementation and integration at your organization.

I'm just one of many knowledgable speakers who will offer actionable tips and strategies that will help you navigate the complexities of generative AI. Plus, you get to enjoy beautiful Miami Beach in February.

And if you use code MARTIN150, you'll save $150 on your registration!

Here's where to get more information or sign up or you can click on the image below.

Hope to see you there!

Follow Me on LinkedIn

Well, the AI on the wall, er-I mean the clock, just told me it's time to wrap up issue #114.

Thank you to all of you who follow me and subscribe, read, comment and share this newsletter! It's great having all of you along for the ride.

This newsletter comes out every two weeks. But between issues, I share shorter daily posts with my take on digital marketing and the latest on generative AI. It's another way to stay on top of the trends.

And while you're at it, follow the Future of Marketing Institute, too. Every day we post content and perspectives on where we may be heading and what the shift might mean.

Let me know if you have questions about any of the videos in Digital Marketing Trends, or my other LinkedIn Learning courses. You can also visit my website and send a message or a question.

How do you feel about relational AI and putting your life in the hands of a machine? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

As for me, I'm going to turn off my devices now. At least, I hope they'll power down.

See you in a couple of weeks!

Note: All the content in this post was written by a human—me and not Martin-bot.