I know a ChatGPT article when I see one. Have words like “foster”, “tapestry” “testament” popped up one too many times? These are some of the words on the ‘most used’ list by ChatGPT. Now I don’t have anything against these terms and in the right context they can be useful, but the overuse of them is creating a universe around us that lacks authenticity, creative flair, imagination and above all else, empathy. It makes sense. How can a robot embody and express the multi-layered technicolour array of human emotion? And yes, OpenAi and Gemini and many other tools will continue to advance and get as smart as humans, maybe even smarter. And maybe I will look back at this article and think well heck, this isn’t relevant anymore, but let’s talk about the present moment. Allow me to state openly that the world is not quite there yet. You need to be creative in your work to set you apart from the noise and I will tell you how.
It’s complicated.
I will begin by saying that I am by no means an anti-AI person. I use ChatGPT and many other generative AI tools in my work to speed up and advance processes, to help trigger thoughts and ideas that may take longer to research, to support all types of projects with its versatility and to support the daily mundane and repetitive tasks. Time management is crucial and using an AI tool enhances my workflow.
Where ChatGPT falls short is the amount of errors it can make without real-time live data in some instances, and it’s lack of creativity. Humans are complex beings. There are very subtle nuances and distinctions to everyday conversation and ChatGPT is limited in this regard, resulting in miscommunication and misunderstandings. Without very clear prompts, they will shoot out answers faster than you can say cheese, and that requires multiple attempts to try and clarify your proposed question. And of course, most importantly, it lacks human emotional depth and awareness. There is talk that AI will eventually develop human ‘feelings’- a scary thought at that, but for now there is no sensitivity in the work, and it cannot understand or emulate the full continuum of emotion that allows us as writers to fully connect with our audience in building trust and inspiring loyalty. We all have a unique history, a background, a cultural reference, a story. We like to call this context. To get someone to listen to you and to present yourself or your brand as a thought leader requires you to tap deeper into the human soul to craft fresh, compelling narratives that innovate and inspire the hearts and minds of your community.
The clue is in the name.
Have you ever wondered what does GPT stand for, a language model developed by tech startup openai? I’ll tell you- Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer. Let’s unpack that for a second. It is a chatbot that is pre-trained to generate responses. I’m not sure about you, but I can’t tell you how many times I have shouted into the phone at an automated voice assistant robot or bashed my keyboard to tell the chatbot I NEED TO SPEAK TO A HUMAN. Sometimes we crave human interaction and a human will know exactly how to solve my intricate detailed problem instead of wasting my time and the robot and I going back and fourth in a game of “Is this what you meant? Type yes or no”. Again, allow me to re-iterate that I have implemented chatbots for businesses before that would allow a customer to interact with us at potential busy or odd times and then be connected to a dedicated customer service support team. I am not against them. As a marketeer and business strategist, it has improved our company’s workload, processes and customer service. As a customer, it can help me connect faster to a helpline to address my query, but it can also be very annoying. It is painful to see brands removing all telephone numbers from their websites. Alas, I digress. Utilizing chatbots that generates pre-trained responses to go on to create your next ‘BIG picture’ creative campaign that captures hearts and grows your business, isn’t enough to cut it. Us creatures, we’re smarter than that.
Language is a powerful tool.
Every word you use is fundamental in conveying your message to the world and misuse can be potent. What you say and what you don’t say is as important as how you say it. We grew up on the belief that “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me.” Well, that’s a lie. Words can cut you deep. And we’ve seen that manifested online across all social media platforms with cyber bullies and keyboard warriors. AI tools can be used to support your diction use and inspire you to think of synonyms and different analogies to express your message. However, what we have seen come up time and time again, is how these tools are biased and lean in certain political directions. Robots now have the control to sway our minds and belief systems.
Keywords, the use of particular text and phrases and the flavour of your writing that stays true to your brand identity in developing game-changer marketing campaigns cannot rely solely on AI tools. You need originality. You need an authentic story. You need to connect with your audience in a rich, meaningful and colourful way. You need to deliver impact.
We’ve become a little addicted
That moment you type into ChatGPT your prompts and there is an error loading. Panic! Mayhem! ChatGPT is down. You google it to see how long it’s been down for, and when it will be back online. Anyone with an internet connection can sign up and log onto ChatGPT. According to Yahoo! Finance, ChatGPT GBT hit 100 million global followers in 2 months, above any other platforms out there.
AI has become tantamount to our everyday life. The other day a friend called me up and said, I’m out with my son, and we have some time to kill but I can’t connect to the internet, can you do me favour quick, and type into ChatGPT “Write me a challenging practice English test for my 9 year old.” And within seconds, I had a test to copy, paste and share and enable her son to practice whilst waiting in the car for his cricket match. Wow. I was blown away. I had never even thought of it being used in that way.
I am amazed each day how it has weaved its way into the fabric of our very existence. You can learn or translate languages, design games, get the best cooking recipe ideas, and apparently practice tests that would otherwise take time to create or be found once scrolling endlessly on various other search engines. Our time is so precious. A commodity we are not willing to sacrifice and so more and more each day, we turn to solutions that give us our time back. We may have already become a little addicted. And this is only the beginning.
So where to from here?
AI detectors are becoming more and more prominent. Every university, school, company is going to start using them, if not already, to detect plagiarism, fact-check and ensure the ethics and integrity of the written content. These AI detectors will become more prominent. Some companies are already clamping down on AI tools in the workplace for a variety of reasons including this, and owing to privacy and security concerns. Be warned about the level of personal details and information you plug in to them as they constantly collecting data about you. Research also shows that many young employees feel slightly awkward and guilty for the use of AI tools in the workplace, with feelings that it hampers their critical thinking and creative skills.
My view is simple. The best way to view an AI tool is a bit like a calculator. You can write down 37×3+189 with a good old piece of paper and a pencil, remember those? and you would derive the answer 300 with some BODMAS and brain use or you can type it in the calculator and get the answer in a second. We need a little bit of both in our lives, in the same way that the future is emerging into analog and digital spheres. In the same way that we crave human interaction on the other side of the customer support helpline or in the same way that a walk in nature amongst the tweeting birds and a green glow of trees will always trump a walk on a treadmill to an AI generated robot workout. There are some tangible things we can’t replace. And when you’re sitting in a meeting having a face-to-face dialogue with no ChatGPT to run to your aid, you will need to think on your feet. Those years of maths and critical thinking training will require you to flex that brain of yours.
I don’t believe AI is here to eat our lunch. I think it’s going to help make our lunch. It has touched every one of our lives in ways we could never have dreamed of. It will continue to enhance our productivity and support technological innovation in all industries including healthcare, farming, manufacturing, transportation, and marketing. As the old saying goes, adapt or die. If you want to distinguish yourself and be a cut above the rest, bring out your artistic talents and creative and imaginative skills. Understand what your customers really care about. Tell them a human story- we are all wired for stories. Connect with your people. Strike the perfect balance, and in this way, humans will win.
Written by Courtney Truman
Founder of Brand Stori