Embracing Generative AI with Open Arms! 🧸

Generative AI isn't here to replace us. It is here to act as a force multiplier for our existing skills. Don't fight it. Embrace it.

Hi everybody - as AI assistants keep getting better at generating content, a lot of us who spend time designing, writing, coding, and performing other creative activities are feeling a bit threatened. This tongue-in-cheek Tweet captures the essence of where the worry comes from:

With just a few minutes of tweaking some words in a prompt, you and I can have an AI assistant create an entire web site, touch up a photo with new content, create a grid of logos, generate icons, play sound, cook up an entire presentation, write code, and more. Tasks that would have taken hours or days can now be accomplished in minutes. Instead of needing years of experience, the only skills we need in this AI-enhanced era is the:

1. Ability to clearly describe what we want our AI assistant to do

2. Ability to measure the quality of the output and tweak our guidance to the AI assistant if the quality doesn’t meet our standards

At no point do we need domain expertise in the medium we are asking our AI assistant to work in. Many of us who were content with consuming content now have superpowers to help us generate content as well. Exciting, right?

Ah, the Power Law!

The world of content creation, just like so many things around us, adheres to the boundaries of the power law:

In a system modeled by the power law, there is a large audience of people (aka the long tail) who create good enough content and compete with each other for minimal rewards. There are a few who create really high-quality content and have tremendous influence and pull. These individuals reap outsized results and are often categorized as the winners.

Now, what AI is doing is lowering the bar for how much effort it takes to create content. This is a democratizing moment that brings in more people into the content creator fold:

Those who were already skilled at creating quality content are able to create content with even higher quality by complementing their skills with AI assistants. Everybody wins, right? Well…

Increased Competition in the Short Term

If more people are now able to create content that is good enough for clients and end-users, this means there is now more competition vying for their attention. This added competition puts downward pressure on how much one can charge for jobs. AI assistants are like a level beyond the competition created by marketplaces like fiverr or 99designs where many designers were priced out:

When we focus on the winners, this competition doesn’t affect the outcome. They are insulated. To use an example from the music industry, there are more people in the long tail publishing music than ever before. Yet, there is only one Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, or U2. These artists bring something very unique to the table that others can’t easily replicate. There is a lesson here!

Embracing AI Assistants

When the internet first came out, only a few people had the skills to create content for it:

As tools and hosting services became better, we saw a proliferation of content. Yes, some of the early movers were crowded out by newer entrants. That was overshadowed by the larger benefit of you and I making our voices heard online and stumbling upon successful business ventures. I remember the early web design firms were charging astronomical amounts to help companies go online. Today, some web design firms still charge astronomical amounts to help companies go online. They bring some extra to the table.

Those who successfully ride the technology wave don’t do so by ignoring new technologies. They look for ways which the new technology can strengthen the unique skills they bring to the table. A great example of this is the AI-augmented art by the talented designer walkthroughwonder (aka Edwin):

Walkthroughwonder combines AI-generated art with his own image manipulations to create very unique results that are a mixture of human and machine. You can catch my interview with him to learn more about how he uses AI to take his already otherworldly design skills to the next level!

A Return to Equilibrium in the Long Term

Earlier, I mentioned that this increased competition is something we will have to deal with in the short term. I am speculating here, but I am fairly confident that history will repeat itself, and the bar for what constitutes good enough quality will go higher as a result of AI assistants:

Our expectations will increase, and this will be matched by creators whose output quality will also increase thanks to AI assistants:

The end result will be similar to where we started our conversation. A few people will greatly benefit with outsized levels of impact. Many will continue to compete for finite gains. This equilibrium could happen soon, or it could take a lot longer to fully shake out.

Conclusion

The impact AI will have on you and me (and our surroundings!) is going to be huge. To dive deeper into this topic, I recently chatted with one of the most articulate voices in this field, Chloe Barreau:

There are a lot of great moments where Chloe explains our AI-infused world from a more approachable perspective, but my favorite part is around the 35:06 mark where we talk about AI-generated visuals and why we humans shouldn’t be too concerned…yet! For more ways to watch and/or listen to my interview with Chloe, please go here.

If you want to reach out to me, reply to this newsletter, ping me on Twitter, or go to the forums like the good old days.

Cheers,
Kirupa 😁