Learnings from a recent Media Matters event, hosted by the Financial Times.
AI, AI, AI.
‘E’ is the most common letter in the alphabet. But with all the commotion about artificial intelligence we’ve seen these past couple years, it certainly feels like ‘A’ and ‘I’ are giving it a run for its money.
This was especially the case at July’s Media Matters event, hosted by the Financial Times (FT). This series of networking events is a great opportunity for the very best journalists and B2Bers to get together and learn something new about all kinds of business-relevant topics.
This session’s theme was Exploring the Impact of Tech, presented by three esteemed FT editors: Global Media Editor Dan Thomas, Management Editor Anji Raval, and Tech Editor Murad Ahmad.
As you might have guessed, AI took the spotlight here for both positive and negative reasons. Here are several key takeaways from the session about the current and future state of AI.
1. AI’s ‘Hype cycle’ journey is unique
Dan opened the session noting that, although it feels like AI has been with us for a long time, it’s only going to continue evolving and will stay front-of-mind for companies as a result.
What’s interesting about AI – as opposed to previous advancements like Connected TV, Meta, and Viewability – is Gartner’s finding that AI has passed the ‘Peak of Inflated Expectations’, yet the hype still grows.
Dan emphasized that this makes the move toward AI ‘feel different’ – likely giving it a more impactful role in shifting the job market, our behavior, and how we perform day-to-day operations.
It’s not all sunshine and r-AI-nbows, though. Many are fearful of the damage AI might inflict upon jobs and organizational infrastructure. Dan stressed that this may not necessarily manifest as job losses, but rather shifts in job types that we may not be ready for.
2. Strategic spending is key
With all the hype surrounding AI, there’s no doubt that it’s here to stay for a while. So, what do you do about it? Anji stated that businesses should take advantage of AI’s relative infancy to disrupt the market, but they must also be conscious that today’s solutions may be obsolete tomorrow.
The wrong investment can be particularly costly – both financially and environmentally – so organizations must really consider their long-term AI strategy when investing.
3. AI still depends on the human touch
76% of adults say they cannot tell if an image is real.
These kinds of stats suggest that we’ve reached a new level of digital realism with AI-generated content. This is certainly the case with images and videos – though human hands still need some work. Murad called this AI revolution a Toy Story moment; the 1996 film marked a clear transition from 2D animation into computer-generated imagery, and we’re now at another transition point where this can be done with a single prompt.
However, we aren’t quite there with the written word. When it comes to writing ads for example, AI is great for generating text but struggles to fully understand the emotion behind the language – a necessity for getting your work noticed. This is particularly clear in comedy – here’s one painful example of AI’s idea of a joke:
“Why did the spreadsheet go to therapy? Because it had too many cell issues!”
The panel agreed that, while AI is going to revolutionize the way organizations work, we still need human authenticity to make the most of it. As Murad put it, AI is a predictive engine and not a sentient being (at least for now…).
4. Crisis communication is critical
Deepfakes. Fake news. Privacy violations. AI is a breeding ground for harmful and even criminal acts when in the wrong hands – especially while regulations are playing catch-up with this new technology.
The panel brought attention to the increased need for crisis comms: technologies, systems, and protocols that let organizations communicate during major threats, which now include AI-orchestrated attacks.
Anji mentioned that businesses should use ‘the four-hour window’ to establish what has happened, figure out how to respond, and publish a response. Refining this process will become more important as AI becomes increasingly ingrained in the world of work.
AI: A case of cautious optimism
Cutting through all the AI hubbub, July’s Media Matters stood out as a truly insightful session taking a realistic stance on how businesses can harness AI today and in the future.
The main advice from Dan, Anji, and Murad was to be prepared for, but not anxious of, all these AI-driven changes. It’s also important to do your research around the negative impact that AI-generated content can cause and put policies and strategies in place to ensure rapid responses.
I personally left the event feeling that AI should be a definite focus point for businesses, but not an all-encompassing, mystery entity to praise – à la 2001: A Space Odyssey’s monkeys around the monolith.
I also feel that it’s important not to get too carried away with it, either. Keep things simple by using it to manage repetitive day-to-day tasks to start with. From there, gradually expand its responsibilities – and with it, your business’ potential.
It also goes without saying that businesses must be ready to take advantage of the AI revolution and stay vigilant for when the AI ecosystem inevitably changes. And the right agency partner can make AI a breeze.
Reach out to us to talk about harnessing AI and gen AI to boost marketing effectiveness.
