AISW #004: Anonymous2, USA-based creative strategist 📜(AI, Software, & Wetware interview)
An interview with an anonymous creative strategist working in NYC on their stories of using AI, and how they feel about their data and content being used by AI.
Introduction
I’m delighted to welcome our next guest in this 6P interview series on “AI, Software, and Wetware”! They have chosen to be anonymous. Today they’re sharing with us their experiences with using AI, and how they feel about their data and content being used by AI.
Note: In this article series, “AI” means artificial intelligence and spans classical statistical methods, data analytics, machine learning, generative AI, and other non-generative AI. See this Glossary for reference.
Interview
Thank you so much for joining me today! Please tell us about yourself, who you are, and what you do.
I’m a creative strategist in my late 20s, located in Manhattan, and work predominantly within the creative agency world – specifically advertising for now. My job, in an oversimplified nutshell, is to be an expert on people and culture to help brands effectively resonate with different demographics.
That sounds like a challenging role!
What is your experience with AI, ML, and analytics? Have you used it professionally or personally, studied the technology, built tools using the technology, etc.?
I would say introduction level at best. I’ve used it elementarily for work – to help me with ways to tackle different business problems and ideate creative strategies.
Can you share a specific story on how you have used AI/ML? What are your thoughts on how well the AI features [of those tools] worked for you, or didn’t? What went well and what didn’t go so well?
I’ve used it repeatedly to help storytell for brands/clients and help me write creative briefs. I was working on a campaign for a large brand and tasked with coming up with strategic “territories” that would best help sell this brand’s products. AI was great for pulling out the five most important points of an article I needed to be well-read on (which was time-saving and helpful), but horrible for coming up with sharp, innovative ideas.
Ultimately, AI helped me move through the mandatory busy work, but was no help when it came to creating. It was very limited in its ability to ideate and come up with compelling, novel ideas.
If you have avoided using AI-based tools for some things (or anything), can you share an example of when, and why you didn’t use it?
I honestly avoid it any time I’m communicating interpersonally with anyone in my life. I know some people think it’s perfect for navigating how to respond to a difficult or prickly message, but I would never risk being dishonest and not sounding like myself – or worse, not speaking from the heart to someone I care about and respect.
I love that.
A common and growing concern nowadays is where AI/ML systems get the data and content they train on. They often use data that users put into online systems or publish online, and they’re not always transparent about how they intend to use our data when we sign up.
How do you feel about companies using data and content for training their AI/ML systems and tools? Should ethical AI tool companies get consent from (and compensate) people whose data they want to use for training? (Examples: musicians, artists, writers, actors, software developers, medical patients, students, social media users)
It gives me pause. I certainly think companies of all kinds should get consent from people whose data they use for training. I'm a bit cynical and don’t think that will happen or be properly mandated, but it absolutely should.
As a member of the public, there are probably cases where your personal data or content may have been used, or has been used, by an AI-based tool or system. Do you know of any cases that you could share?
I’m truthfully not aware of which pieces of my personal data/images have been used – but I’m sure they have. As someone who uses Instagram quite actively, there’s no doubt they’ve used my images for machine learning advancements… I remember when you had to start giving apps permission to either limited or full access to your camera roll – that’s when I imagine they really bogged down on pulling your personal images for ML.
Do you know of any company you gave your data or content to that made you aware that they might use your info for training AI/ML? Or have you been surprised by finding out they were using it for AI? If so, were you credited or compensated in any way for the usage?
I haven’t been made aware of any data or content of mine that has been used by a company, nor have I been compensated.
Has a company’s use of your personal data and content created any specific issues for you, such as privacy or phishing? If so, can you give an example?
Not yet (and hopefully not ever)... but I worry.
It’s a real concern, definitely.
Public distrust of AI companies has been growing. What do you think is THE most important thing that AI companies need to do to earn and keep your trust? Do you have specific ideas on how they can do that?
I think it’s to be utterly honest about how they’re going to store and use data. I think being super matter-of-fact about it and not trying to sugarcoat the information they have would be best. But again, I highly doubt that will ever be the way it works. (Sorry, call me a realist).
Anything else you’d like to share with our audience?
I’d personally urge people not to lose their humanity in all of this. I think AI is an incredible tool that empowers us to conduct and polish our lives in a transformative way – but my hope is that we don’t lose our ability to connect with and rely on each other.
That’s an important concern with any technology — I completely agree with you.
Conclusion
And that’s a wrap! To my anonymous guest, thank you so much for joining our interview series. It’s been great learning about what you’re doing with artificial intelligence, and why you still use human intelligence for some things. Best of luck to you in your life and in your career as a strategist, or whatever you choose to do in the future!
About this interview series and newsletter
This post is part of our 2024 interview series on “AI, Software, and Wetware”. It showcases how real people around the world are using their wetware (brains) with AI-based software tools or being affected by AI.
We want to hear from a diverse pool of people worldwide in a variety of roles. If you’re interested in being an interview guest (anonymous or with credit), please get in touch!
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