The incorrect perception that the use of artificial intelligence is necessarily faster than human is a mistake. We must understand artificial intelligence as an enhancer, a source of energy or a motor. The human being is the driver of artificial intelligence. This implies that the creation of the idea and its execution are separated, and that the approach of the idea is not necessarily as fast as its execution.
As anyone who has used a mode of transport understands, writing the instruction can take a long time, and each time an iteration is performed, time is invested. That is, it is not as immediate as it seems. It is also true that the results are less uniform than it seems, since the same instruction can obtain different results.
The correct way to look at it is that artificial intelligence is like the genie in the lamp and the result is based on the wish that is made of it. This necessarily implies that the number of wishes will depend on what is paid. Artificial intelligence should speed up the industry. Investments in this technology by communication agencies would turn them into technology-assisted creativity creation companies. It could be argued that the most recent purchases of the WPP group position it as an artificial intelligence company rather than a communication group. This is the normal reflection of the industry, since with the arrival of the “big four” consultancies, our industry invested and competed. The same was true with Facebook and Google. Advertising agencies that do not invest in artificial intelligence will be out of the game. It’s equivalent to not having bought Apple computers in the 1990s.
The marketing user of artificial intelligence will be as important as the tool itself. The idea of the genie inside the lamp is valid. Therefore, we must have the best lamp, the best genie and, of course, the most capable Aladdin. For advertising and marketing agencies, the operator will be as valuable as the current creative; ChatGPT replaces Sharpie. Much has been said about the instructions that are requested from artificial intelligence or “prompts”. It is estimated that they can be copied. However, it is not just the prompts, but also the order in which they are requested and the different paths taken, which can lead to unique results.
Marketing assisted by Artificial Intelligence
We are facing a revolution in creativity. So why are so many agencies banning the use of AI? The answer is the risk that the creations are not original and are actually an iteration of something that already exists. Perhaps the concern is that the artistic and creative factor is lost, but as I have argued, the human touch is far from gone. The artificial intelligence revolution is much bigger than previous metaveso fads, and even bigger than the entire digital marketing movement. The amount of content created by these tools is of such magnitude that Google’s policies openly acknowledge it: “Automation has long been used to generate useful content, such as sports scores, weather forecasts, and transcripts. AI has the ability to power new levels of expression and creativity, and to serve as a critical tool in helping people create great content for the web.”
The phenomenon extends beyond marketing. The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) recently published a study which estimates that by 2026, up to 90% of online content could be generated by artificial intelligence tools or synthetic media. In most cases, synthetic media is generated for gaming, improving services, or improving quality of life, but the rise of synthetic media and improving technology has also given rise to possibilities for misinformation, including deepfakes.
The study points out that deepfakes are related to the increase in misinformation and the spread of false content. The ability to create convincing fake videos using AI has raised concerns about the impact they can have on society and trust in information online. As a result, it is crucial to take steps to combat the manipulation of synthetic media and ensure the authenticity and veracity of online content.
For marketing and advertising, the goal remains the same: to create work that makes a difference for brands and consumers. Artificial intelligence is just one tool, but a much more powerful one, to achieve that goal.