These days we probably get asked at least once a week…
“Are you worried that you will lose work to AI?”
Despite how incredible AI is and how quickly it seems to be developing, there is one thing it will always struggle to be… and that is smart. Hear me out.
AI uses a process called ‘machine learning’ which references existing man-made content to teach itself. For example, if you ask it to create a picture of an apple… it will reference a few thousand images and give you a median representation of an apple.
Impressive? Absolutely! But could it generate something representative of a regional business based in Australia?
To prove a point (and have some fun) I asked an AI algorithm to study some content from our website and create a voice over for a promotional video.
It very quickly gave me a fully custom, albeit slightly robotic, story about a café owner struggling to get traction with their demographic… The answer to this issue being: The dynamic team of marketing experts at Websites NOW.
It might not have won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, but it was still a passable, structured narrative that promoted our business and what it does. The big issue… it was the median result of every single ‘marketing’ campaign ever.
“Best-in-class, game-changing, innovative, holistic, data-driven, results orientated…”
Just about every marketing buzzword that has ever existed. Broad stroke fixes like “include a line about SEO” or “Stop using the word synergy” were fine.
Asking it to be a little bit more local?… BIG mistake.
There is no arguing that AI will make certain things easier. It already has.
Will AI ever be able to fully replace local knowledge or the jobs done by local people?
Not yet.