Aww man, not another ChatGPT blog!
I know, I know, we’re all pretty sick of hearing about generative artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT in blogs, on LinkedIn, in our newsfeed and everywhere else. But as someone who makes a living writing words, I feel like I HAVE to talk about it. I mean, it’s pacing at the doorstep of multiple career paths in the creative space, not just word-writers. And since learning new things is my jam, I attended this year’s AI for Writers Summit, a Marketing AI Institute virtual event (#notanad 🙃). Within the first five minutes of the opening keynote, I was hooked. The kind of hooked where you mute your phone, switch to full screen and attempt to be as present and engaged as possible.
Here are my top takeaways from the day:
Straight from the Marketing AI Institute, "Artificial intelligence won’t replace writers, but writers who use AI will replace writers who don’t." This triggers a wide range of emotions for me (Intrigue! Anxiety! Horror! Excitement!), as I'm sure it does for other creators.
It can’t be stated enough that AI requires a human to oversee and fact-check any output generated. A big part of this is because AI “hallucinates,” a term the presenters used to describe how these tools produce writing that sounds good but can be completely inaccurate. Think of someone you know who talks a ton and it sounds great but you know it’s mostly BS.
ChatGPT has received the most attention/hype, but there are many other AI tools for writing, social, SEO, etc. I was already familiar with Jasper, Grammarly, and several others, but there are at least 15 additional tools I'll be checking out. It's all a little overwhelming, tbh, but exciting.
AI tools are amazing, but you may not own or be able to protect the output, including any images generated. Per the morning's outstanding keynote from Paul Roetzer, copyright only protects material that is the product of human creativity.
If you or your business are actively using AI, spend some time developing your own responsible use policies and guidelines. And even before you do that, make sure you have established foundational elements for your marketing strategy including a brand voice (a vibe, if you will) and a style guide.
Like it or not, these tools are evolving what it means to be in the creative space. But, fellow writers, YOU are still in the driver's seat! And robots can't replace authentic human experience. Be curious and explore. I still believe (now more than ever) that humans + AI make for the most powerful pairing that can energize and elevate your content strategy.
I’m choosing to be curious-but-skeptical friends with the robots. 🤖❤️