Wednesday, May 1, 2024

I'm increasingly behind the artificial intelligence curve


My brother Mark knows a lot about artificial intelligence (AI). To the point that he's considered an "industry thought leader." (That link, in which Mark talks about the business use of AI, is worth your time.)

To be clear, what Mark knows is generative AI, which our friends at Wikipedia define as "artificial intelligence capable of generating text, images, videos, or other data using generative models, often in response to prompts."

AI that creates stuff for you, basically.

We all use AI more than we think, whether it's a digital home assistant (think Alexa), facial recognition on our phones, or browsing the recommendations Amazon has for us based on our shopping history.

More and more of us are also using generative AI tools like ChatGPT, and I really want to tell you I'm one of them. I am, after all, a corporate communicator. My people have helped lead the generative AI revolution in recent years.

But I would be lying if I said I was an AI power user. Or even a regular user.

Honestly, it just doesn't occur to me to use AI tools day to day in my personal or professional life. ChatGPT is incredible (most people don't understand what it and similar apps like Claude and Microsoft Copilot can really do), but it's simply not top of mind for me.

There's also a certain Lazy Old Guy factor at play. I don't always want to make the effort to learn new ways of doing things, especially when the old ways serve me just fine.

(Of course, Mark is 12 years older than me, and he doesn't seem to have any problem learning how to use these tools to their full potential.)

The more I read about generative AI and its growing importance in 21st-century society, the more I worry I'm missing out.

There's an easy way to fix that, I know. I just need to get with the times and become an AI guy.

But hey, my brother uses it often enough for the both of us. For now I'll stick to my method of doing things, which I know is SO 2018.

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