The importance of imagination is re-awakened every time someone experiences the power of AI for the first time.
“Ask it anything.” The marketer said to his wife who’s a skeptical molecular biologist. “OK.” she said with a tell-tale smirk as she planned to stump the AI, and prove her husband wrong about all this gibberish he’s been going on about. “Can you please tell me if the Influenza A virus causes cell permeability?” She prompted.
Within a few seconds, the language model came back with “…it is important to note that the viral envelope, which is derived from the host cell membrane, contains viral proteins that are involved in viral entry, replication, and budding from the host cell. Studies have shown that IAV infection can cause changes in the host cell membrane, including an increase in cell permeability, which can lead to the leakage of cellular contents and can also facilitate viral entry and release. The viral hemagglutinin (HA) protein, which is involved in viral entry, has been shown to disrupt the cell membrane and increase permeability, leading to cell death.” And then it cited several scientific research papers on the matter.
“Holy Shit!” she exclaimed. “It would have taken me four hours to find the sources alone…”
There are three typical reactions to experiencing AI for the first time.
- “I am going to be out of a job soon.”
- “This is going to help me do awesome things.”
- “Where is the whiskey?”
While AI models have certainly made impressive strides in recent years, they cannot replace the importance of imagination, creativity, and original thought. AI can analyze data and make predictions based on statistical patterns, providing some very impressive outputs. But, it cannot think or come up with truly original ideas. As Elon Musk once said, “The danger of AI is not that it will become too smart and take over the world, but that it will be too stupid and we will give it too much power.”
AI is having a significant impact on events and marketing in general. It is also changing the way we work. There are three fundamental impacts AI will have in the near-term.
- Tasks that will be eliminated due to AI automation
- Opportunities will be created for those who learn and know how to work with, and improve AI
- Roles will be empowered and elevated as a result of leveraging AI
The more repeatable and routine the task, the higher the opportunity for AI automation. According to a report by McKinsey, up to 30% of current work activities in the United States could be automated by 2030. On the other side of this, is those tasks that require the most imagination, creativity, or original thought will enjoy the highest level of AI augmentation.
In events, AI is already automating audience segmentation, ad targeting, and media planning and buying for event promotions. It’s being used to run registration and check-in processes, as well as attendee customer service. AI can also format creative elements in different sizes, shapes resolutions, colors, etc. for different marketing channels.
New jobs are being created by AI, including those that focus on data science, machine learning, and AI engineering. These roles are beginning to become specialized by channel or discipline including events.
There are roles that are being empowered and augmented by AI including those responsible for experience design. This includes marketers, strategists, and creative directors who can leverage research and insights into audience behavior and preferences to create more targeted and personalized brand experiences.
Famous artists, marketers, and business leaders all agree that imagination is essential for success. Steve Jobs famously said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” No matter what your role is, it’s important to position yourself as one who is empowered by AI, not replaced because of it. There is imagination and creativity in every role. A survey by LinkedIn found that creativity is the most in-demand soft skill among employers. And research by the World Economic Forum found that creativity will be the third most important skill for employees by 2025, behind only critical thinking and complex problem-solving. And there’s good reason. A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that companies that prioritize creativity are more likely to have higher revenue growth and market share.
How are you using AI in your job? Which AI platforms are you using for your events and to augment your work and empower your success? Please share!