By Sebastian Dodds-Painter, AI Implementation Manager, Icon Agency
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve no doubt been wowed – or horrified – by the spectacularly impressive feats AI seemingly brings to the table. From writing content, painting talented art pieces to generating myriad pieces of content, AI is capable of almost everything, or so it seems.
But for many of us, especially those traditionally slower at adopting technology, the initial feelings of amazement are often followed by a very reasonable bout of existential dread and pondering the irony of an AI-written resignation letter.
If you’re feeling behind the times on this new fad, you’re not alone. AI has exploded onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere and is causing disruption at unprecedented speed and scale.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. I’m happy to say AI isn’t replacing most of us just yet, and by the end of this article, I’m hoping you will embrace its usefulness and potential.
Why AI adoption is important
If you’re not impressed by AI, it’s crucial to understand that every AI tool you see now is the absolute worst it will ever be.
AI is improving at a rate so fast, even its most seasoned developers and ardent supporters are wanting to hit the brakes. AI is here to stay, it’s not a fad and it’s definitely worth investing in.
At its best AI can automate and improve the most tedious and frustrating parts of our working days and anyone, at any level of experience, can reap the rewards.
You’re better than you think
Speaking as a mid-20s writer and designer that’s spent their entire life on computers and always loved playing around with fun new tools and programs – the scale, complexity and possibility of AI are still unbelievably intimidating.
And that’s ok.
AI tools of this grandeur are new for everyone, and I would argue there are very few capable users and only a handful of true experts in the entire world. The biggest barrier to adopting any new technology is perception – if you believe yourself incapable of learning and adapting, you’ll find it damn hard to embrace all that it has to offer.
Yes, ‘the power of belief’ is a naff trope, but it’s true. It’s ok to feel under-equipped or out-of-touch, what matters most is sitting with that discomfort, and perservering regardless of how much it frightens you.
Tips & Tricks
It’d feel a bit anticlimactic to give a couple of words of positive affirmation and send you on your way, so here are a few brief tips to get you started with some of the flashy new AI tools that are just a keyboard click away:
Start small
You don’t need to dive straight into creating AI masterpieces. One of the best ways to start with AI is to find an area of your day-to-day life where a little bit of automation would go a long way.
Emails are a great example. A writing tool like ChatGPT can write emails from scratch, as well as rewrite an email to give it a more consistent or different tone, fix up a few spelling mistakes, or really anything you can think of.
Look for guides
Most AI tools are designed to be used with casual language and without too much hassle, but they’ve all got some sneaky tricks built in that can boost your results to the next level. Don’t be afraid to hunt around online for guides or tutorials to get a better understanding of the nuances and subtleties of the tools you’re looking to learn.
For tools like ChatGPT or DALLE-2 that work off of user inputs and requests, just googling a ‘prompt guide’ is a great place to start.
AI is dumber than you think
Between writing entire essays and putting an abstract spin on the Mona Lisa, it’s easy to forget that at the end of the day, these AI tools are just hunks of metal with a bit of lighting running through them.
An oversimplification? Yes, but the point stands. AI tools (yes, even ChatGPT) are dumber than you think. They’re very good at looking smart, but remember they’re just tools; they don’t think for themselves, they need you to do that for them.
This is both tremendously reassuring and a very good tip for usage. Remember when using AI tools, you are in control. Any AI tool, no matter how clever it seems, is dependent on you and your input, in order to truly shine. You want a specific tone of voice? Formatted into a bulleted list? Styled to the specifications of a social post? Say it. The more information and specifications you give an AI tool, the closer the result will be to what you really want.
With any luck, this has given you a launching pad to start learning and getting the most out of AI.
Oh, and remember to say please and thank you – you never know which hapless chatbot might wind up being your future AI overlord.
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Sebastian Dodds-Painter is a digital designer passionate about exploring new tech. With expertise in UX, virtual environment design, and Augmented Reality, he’s a self-professed digital native with a love for the extraordinary. As an AI Implementation Manager at Icon Agency, he researches AI tools and their applications to enhance workflows.
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Top image: Sebastian Dodds-Painter Icon Agency
