Artificial intelligence, the sparring partner of creatives

In Web 3.0, this system of 'automated creativity' has literally exploded. In this article, we take an all-round look at artificial intelligence, identifying the pros and cons and how best to employ this technology. 

Let's start with the numbers 

According to a report by trend forecasting portal WGSN: 

"The global generative AI market will grow at a CAGR of 36.10% between 2023 and 2032, reaching a value of $188.62 billion by 2032"

Tools such as Midjourney or ChatGPT are literally changing the face of content production systems. In fact, according to several studies, AI in the years to come will be able to provide tools that can be used in sectors such as art, design and culture. 

What is the role of creatives in this landscape? 

Certainly not to see artificial intelligence as a competitor to be ignored or confronted. It will be crucial that a relationship, a liaison, is created between creatives and these tools, capable of producing unprecedented and exclusive content. To see AI as an ally capable of arriving where the human being only arrives with a very long lead time, then to be able to exploit the potential of this technology without being frightened by it. 

Not seeing artificial intelligence as a threat but as a chance to create something new, an era in which humans and technology work together.

AI for all tastes

There are different types of artificial intelligence, the best known of which today are certainly chatbots, but there are several applications with different purposes. 

Chatbots

Let us start with the most famous one made famous by ChatGPT. AI chatbot systems are tools capable of providing 24-hour assistance to anyone in need. These chatbots are capable of translating sentences into any language or generating even complex texts relating to a specific topic or answering questions such as search engines.

IDP (Intelligent Data Processing)

This section of AI applications is undoubtedly the largest and includes all those tools capable of processing data already acquired by means of Artificial Intelligence algorithms. These solutions are mostly employed in companies dealing with Forecasting and Classification. 

Physical Solutions 

Physical AI solutions are not widespread so far. They are currently deployed in three different categories:

• Autonomous transportation vehicles, vehicles capable of moving without human intervention;

• Autonomous robots, i.e. robots capable of moving on their own;

• Intelligent objects, i.e. objects that move or make decisions without human help.

Computer Vision 

The AI applications section on computer vision analyses and studies algorithms and methodologies to enable computers to achieve a high degree of visual comprehension. 

Recommendation Systems 

Recommendation systems are the type of AI that we all know very well without knowing it. In fact, these applications form the basis of all those business models on social platforms and beyond. We are talking about tools behind Amazon, Spotify, Netflix and many others. We are talking about software that, by means of algorithms, manages to keep track of the user's behaviour, and provide the latter with solutions in line with his or her habitual choices.

NLP (Natural Language Processing) 

The ultimate goal of NLP is to create a connection between man and machine and thus generate mutually comprehensible languages. 

Using artificial intelligence to get to the heart of people 

Using AI to get to the heart of flesh and blood people may seem a contradiction in terms. In reality, artificial intelligence is a technology that makes it possible to collect a range of data that manually would be impossible, especially in a short time. 

To cite a case study, we can look at the case of CarMax, a US used car resale company. The company decided to implement within its website Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, a tool capable of architecting a customer-focused experience through the car search section of the portal. 

The software is able to collect a large amount of information on users visiting the site, and to use this information to guide the user towards the most suitable car for him according to his needs and requirements, following the recommendation system algorithm.  

An effective tool above all to meet the needs of the 3.0 user, a user who is at ease between the digital and analogue worlds, who likes to be guided, listened to and above all understood.

Man and AI: Quid pro quo

Very often we see artificial intelligence as something unreachable, a computer-controlled intelligence, something a la Blade Runner that will sooner or later overtake us and rule. In reality, no, it does not work that way. 

It is important to realise from the outset that artificial intelligence, however powerful a tool it may be, has limits and must necessarily be supported by humans. 

AI is based on the human being, which is why it tends to systematically pick up the biases of mankind and pour them on the results obtained. These errors, lead to imbalances in the data, which is why it is imperative that any artificial intelligence tool be flanked by someone capable of filtering the results obtained and thus develop quality and neutral content. 

Coca Cola and co-creation 

Another case study concerning artificial intelligence is the initiative launched this year by Coca Cola. The drinks giant has planned a three-day workshop to be held in Atlanta during which participants will be invited to create original visual content, generated using chatGPT-4 software and the AI DALL-E tool. The winners' work will be displayed on iconic Coca-Cola billboards in both New York's Times Square and London's Piccadilly Circus. 

Coca Cola's Real Magic Creative Academy is designed to raise awareness of the importance of this new technology and enable everyone to learn how to collaborate with automated creativity tools.

The three cornerstones of AI at a glance

Consumer Centric 

Generative artificial intelligence is indispensable for creating consumer-centric content. Content that is able to recognise the different peculiarities of the user and use them to understand them and propose custom-made solutions.

Beware of bias

It is of paramount importance that human and artificial intelligence work together so that content and/or results can be filtered and cleansed of bias assimilated by the new technology, and the data obtained is neutral without social or cultural bias. 

No panic

Artificial intelligence is a tool to be seen as a collaborator, not as a system created to harm, overtake or take the place of humans. AI applications must be seen as an opportunity for creative teams, a method, a channel to enhance their imagination.