A.I. Might Suck

A.I. Might Suck…And 3 Reasons Why It Won’t

A.I. Sucks, Really…

A.I. really does SUCK!!! It took me over twenty iterations and prompts to get the generative A.I. visualizer, MidJourney, to create the picture above of three cute little babies “sucking their thumbs”. I asked MidJourney to draw babies sucking their thumb or pacifier, I also asked for backup help from ChatGPT and Bard to weigh in with their recommended prompts relative to my writing a blog about how “A.I. Might Suck”. And yes, you can ask A.I. for help in refining your own prompts directed toward it.

Babies Smoking Cannabis

The results were less than stellar: MidJourney seemed to struggle with showing a baby sucking its thumb, so I received several three-fingered babies and a lot of babies sucking on things that ranged from sticks to what looked like little cigarettes and even several looking like they were smoking skinny cannabis joints . Yet, despite all my frustrations, I had to pause and think about how easy it was to type a few sentences and while it took several tries, the final product is nothing short of amazing given it was created by me without a camera, talent agency or crying babies and with an assist from A.I.!

No, Really A.I. IS F*ucking Amazing

So while A.I. might suck now in some limiting ways, it really still is very f*cking amazing when you consider how a novice creative like myself was able to create the images above in a fraction of the time at a fraction of the cost.

The Spin Cycle

And while the gratuitous news cycle has jumped on the latest spin in questioning if A.I. is overhyped and if the honeymoon is already over. I would disagree and to prove it, Gartner’s 2021 Tech Hype Cycle showed A.I. approaching the top of its hype curve and that is OK as all technology generally goes through a similar peak to leveling valley cycle. https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-08-23-gartner-identifies-key-emerging-technologies-spurring-innovation-through-trust-growth-and-change

Peaks and Valleys

The Personal Computer and Internet, both hit bubble like peaks not long after reaching and proving their true super star status. So all tech generally goes through a sucky phase prior to proving its true worth and that is OK.

Three reasons why A.I. won’t suck:

1. Humans + A.I. = BFFs: Maybe not exactly BFFs, but you get the picture! Rather than replacing humans, A.I. is positioned to complement and enhance our capabilities. A.I. excels at processing vast amounts of data quickly, identifying patterns, and providing insights that humans might overlook. This synergy between human intuition and A.I. analysis is already evident in fields like marketing, where A.I.-driven analytics offer marketers a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and preferences. By harnessing A.I. to handle data-heavy tasks, marketers can focus on creative and strategic aspects, fostering a partnership that drives innovation. Plus the last three sentences were written with the aid of A.I.

2. AI is an ACE. A.I. is getting smarter and more accurate. As AI systems are exposed to more data and are trained by more experts, they will become better at understanding human behavior.

3. AI is getting more transparent. Businesses are starting to open up about how they are using AI, which is helping to build trust with consumers.

A.I. is f*cking amazing!!! It really is pretty amazing and it will only continue to grow and get better. The only early wishes I have is to see it solve some of society’s more chunky problems like world hunger and the unsheltered and then click in at solving some less chunky but still wanting problems like reducing the time to deplane a commercial airplane and solving the average American freeway traffic merge bottleneck to be more efficient and faster. Until then, I will continue to humor A.I. for helping me generate mostly off the cuff images and for being my writing and research assistant on this newsletter and blog journey!