Well, the verdict is in: AI is here to stay and it's changing everything.
And not in a "Terminator rise of the machines" sort of way (I wish)...
But suffice it to say that everything you read, watch, or consume will be partially or fully created by AI in a few years.
Honestly, it probably already is.
(I mean, did you see Rebel Moon??)
If this is upsetting, and you hate me for saying this, now is a good time to close your browser (and go outside and practice your best grounding pose).
BUT!...
...if you get a little tingle in your loins that maybe this is true, and you're wondering what to do about it, keep reading.
So I've been working on a ***redacted***....
(super secret AI project)
...and in the process, I discovered some interesting things about AI...and business...and humanity, and I wanted to share them with you (well color me a modern-day Thoreau).
Here are my thoughts, in no particular order:
Insight #1. AI is here, Mr. Burton
Whether you like it or not, every major brand, company, and organization is already using AI to improve efficiency, streamline workflows, and speed up solution implementation.
Newspeak translation: below-average white-collar workers are getting the axe (or will soon).
I don't see this happening quickly or all at once. And it will be more of a tightening up than a mass exodus. But already I can see that companies are looking to cut the fat and do more with less, and that's where AI comes in...
Insight #2. AI is slang for AI
AI is a catch-all term. In our current lexicon, "AI" basically means anything you want it to mean.
- A new app that automatically creates a transcription? AI!
- A new feature that summarizes your notes? AI!
- A widget that feeds you ads based on your clicks? AI!
- A gif of Tom gyrating? AI!
This is amusing to me because all of these "features" have been around for years (decades?), yet here we are.
So while AI can be whatever you want it to be, here's what it's NOT:
AI is not AUTONOMOUS. And most 'AI' isn't even a 'learning computer' in any sense of the term...a better way to think about it is like a very advanced set of APIs that communicate with one another, and allow you to control them through the written (or spoken) word.
Practical? Sure.
"Artificial Intelligence?" Will Smith would slap you for a lesser claim.
Insight #3. AI - Fad or Fiction?
The AI 'fad' is no fad. The significance and utility of these AI tools are REAL (unlike NFTs).
That being said, it's totally hyped up.
And like all major 'hype cycles', this one is most certainly engineered by a handful of powerful people who generate billions by such hype (but we can't name names because, well...that's just rude, you see).
So while the hype (gravy) train will end, AI will still be with us (not like his dead cousin who was found in a ditch a few months ago -- RIP NFTs)
Insight #4. How to capitalize on AI (right now, and later)
There are ways to capitalize on AI in the short and long term.
In the short term: there are things that AI tools can speed up and do, that require a TON less manpower than they did before.
So if you're in the industry of creating social media content, or SEO, or transcriptions, or repurposing of materials, etc. -- basically, if you run an agency -- these tools can do all the grunt work for you.
Your job is just to be the Geppeto that puts it all together.
(and if we learned anything from that movie, it's that you should NOT send your AI off alone to do tasks in the world...or to public school)
In the long-term:
What can you do that is uniquely human? Lean into that.
AI won't replace people.
...It will replace lazy people. And maybe some dumb people...
But there's absolutely no way someone will choose AI over an experienced trainer, or coach, or consultant, or practitioner of anything. Not when serious money or life and death are on the line.
And it goes without saying that there's absolutely no replacing any blue-collar job that requires hands and brains at the same time (no amount of Boston Dynamic CGI could convince me otherwise).
So yeah, there it is.
AI is here. It's here to stay. And it's comin' for ya...
So the question is -- what are you gonna do about it?
Welcome to the meat grinder.
(but maybe not really...)
Tom "AI Ideations" Morkes
For more content like this, join the newsletter (it's good. and free. and written by a HU-MON BE-ING...see? no way an AI would get away with so many spelling, capitalization, and grammar errors - or be so... uncouth).
I played around with ChatGPT. I asked it to create a paranormal mystery synopsis giving it a few details (female main character) but not much about the plot. It came up with a witch born in the forest.There were lots of elves, gnomes and all that cliche stuff. There wasn't much originality to what AI produced but I did keep the name of the MC. My take away is that it serves a purpose but it lacks the creative spark that only humans have.(And perhaps my dog-he's really smart).
Yup, this is exactly my experience too. And like you said, it's possible to use it for certain purposes and tasks (ideation, brainstorming, organizing, etc.)...but it does not replace the creative spark of humans. And my hot take: I don't think it will...it might get closer by getting better at 'mimicing' but I think you'll always know it's not the real thing. Like wonderbread.
Tom,
The Reality of The Meat Grinder is the “Brick Wall” I smashed into last week.
Thanks for dusting me off and helping me back to my feet!!
This statement you made is my key:
Follow along as I share my successes, failures, and lessons learned.
Hey Bob, thank you for the comment and the feedback! Yup, sometimes we hit a brick wall...but there's always a way around. Keep going! I'm excited to see your next project come to life 🙂
I thoroughly appreciate the information you share, Tom, and I have looked forward to your emails for a number of years now---through your content, I have been able to do further focused research and fact-finding by exploring the insights that you give in your presentations---thank you so much for those opportunities to expand my personal knowledge base to increase the value and depth of my writing for my readers!!!
Thanks Linda! 💯🔥🥳
Hello there Tom,
In view of having received your prior permission
to do so, and *encouragement* even, thank you,
and being as keen to keep satire alive,
as I am keen to see the defeat of the Adversarial Impostor,
I will stick my oar in, while simultaneously weeing in the well.
Well, you'd expect a yogi to be flexible enough
to manage such multi-tasking, wouldn't you? 😉
That said, my willingness to be flexible reaches its limit,
when it comes to humanity's far too sudden, obsessive,
and reckless capitulation to... Eh? Aye? ... HELL NO!!
There is *one* way in which my first book (launching April),
"The Way of The Fearless Yogi", will be
rather an *unusual* book. It will be one of *very* few
these days (non-fiction at least) in which AI
will have not been involved in any way shape, or form
(not even for so-called "prompts").
I did visit fapGPT once, (first and last time):
for no other reason than to ask it:
"What is GPT short for?".
(How many using it, *pushing* it even,
can tell you the answer to that?)
I was unsurprised that it didn't answer with
"Great Piss Take", or "Grand Population Trap". 😉
But "Generative Pre-trained Transformer"
gives me no cause for comfort whatsoever.
Pre-trained by whom or what?
And *for* what?
Transformer? As in transforming us,
via transhumanism, into synthetic human 2.0?
Post-humanity?
Our increasing infatuation with
the *A*dversial *I*mpostor X,
will all end in tears.
(Unless it ends in the *inability* to laugh or cry.)
Trojan horse. Bait and switch. Boiling a live frog.
You can "pick 'n' mix" these metaphors,
for they all apply equally...
Neuralink AI X Nano-chip is coming to a store near you, soon.
Windows 666. And it will be mandated, if we don't wake up and refuse.
Thank you for reading. (And for being a reader!).
Cheers!,
"Yogi John".
P.S. There is *much* more I could write about this -
have already begun to do so on LinkedIn, and will soon
be adding more in an opt-in subscription, free email "yogazine",
which will immune to the effects of shadow-banning,
ie, Safe and Effective!!
Haha, bring it on John!
I see the bait and switch too. Primarily in that I think heavy use of this tool will lead to less thinking (which is already evident).
And given that these tools are engineered with bias in mind, mainstream adopted use will create standardized ways of thinking and beliefs. Granted, that's what the internet was for in the first place. The convenience of AI is just another step along that process.
I look forward to your writing on the topic!
Thank you, Tom. 🙏
And yes, the loss of creativity is just one thing
to which I'm pointing, with the "fapGPT" witticism.
Lest I'm accused of plagiarism - AI will cause lots
of *that* btw! - I'm aware that the copywriting teacher,
Ben Settle is using that term, but I affirm that
I came up with it independently. It's rather obvious, really.
Just one of *many* things I'm indicating with that, is that
just as masturbating to porn will destroy a man's virility,
so will fapping to GPT destroy anyone's creativity.
(And you're no more "chatting" with it,
than you would be with some webcam porn "star".)
Plus, it's every bit as addictive as porn. Denial being part and part
of addiction, you can tell this from the vehemence with which
its adherents defend it, and even push it on to others.
(As a recovering alcoholic in my thirtieth year of joyful sobriety,
I know a thing or two about addiction.)
And to the *other* good point you make, yes, AI will bait us in,
just like Google did, with fairly objective results at first,
before switching to promulgating the prevailing propaganda
of the ever more totalitarian technocratic tyranny.
AI will do likewise. On steroids.
Thank you, 🙏
John.
Good point. Interestingly AI is already a part of just about every software now. There will come a point where you can't not use it (unless you stick to typewriter or pen and paper...which will likely open up a new industry or niche, as i think about this...just food for thought)
I love AI and I use it a lot. I use ChatGPT, Bard (Gemini now), and Copilot, but the reality is we've all been using AI for quite a long time. I used ChatGPT to help me plan our trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton; I use it to help me find meal ideas; I use it to help me outline blog posts and generate bullet points. I use it to help me get better wording when I don't like how I've said something. I use it to help me find the right powershell command for my work. I use it to figure out how to troubleshoot something at work that isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing. I use it to generate ideas for my blog posts. I also have an ETSY shop where I sell my photography artwork, and I'm using it to help me generate narrative descriptions for each listing. I'm not afraid of AI, I'm afraid of not learning how to get the most out of it.