How We're Approaching AI
Adam Rozenhart and Tyler Butler, Co-Founders of Adverb Communications presenting at #SocialWest
At Adverb Communications, we’re thinking a lot about AI. And despite apocalyptic claims that it's going to end the communications industry, we’re feeling optimistic.
We’re at a sea change moment. AI is disrupting the creative industry. We know that it can generate reasonably good text and images. We know that it has significant limitations, but also presents incredible opportunities. And we know that the future will only bring stronger iterations of this technology.
We have this crazy idea at Adverb that creative, insightful stories can be a force for good. It’s what we do. We tell stories that matter. And we’re better at it than AI.
AI is good at repeating things it’s heard. But only great writers can dream up something new. That’s what creativity is. And AI is always going to struggle with it.
So, what’s our approach to using AI in our work? We see AI as something that doesn’t replace creativity, but amplifies it. AI can take on the boring, repetitive parts of our work, and let our team focus on telling great stories.
We’ve come up with four guiding principles for how we’re going to approach any AI tool. These principles help us understand how AI can help our work—and demonstrate the value that our team brings to the table.
Here’s what we’ve come up with:
Transcribe, Not Interview: AI can help us quickly turn meetings, calls and interviews into text. But our team leads thoughtful, inspiring interviews that draw the best insights out of our subjects.
Summarize, Not Write: AI can help us to rapidly review and summarize large amounts of text. But our team takes pride in our writing, and writes in a way that AI can't—with a strong voice that shines through every sentence.
Edit, Not Editorialize: AI can help us to edit documents quickly and efficiently. But our team applies a critical lens to ensure that all content is thoughtful, accurate and excellent.
Brainstorm, not Create: AI can act as a creative partner that offers inspiration, thought starters and ideas. But it can't replace human creativity. We share ideas that work for our clients, and bring their brands to life in exciting and authentic ways.
AI can be a powerful creative tool that helps us to move faster, eliminate rote work, and push the limits of our creativity. But only with the right approach.
These principles give us a framework for how we use AI, but there are significant limitations and concerns—like accuracy, bias and ethics—that we don’t fully understand yet. We’re going to keep thinking deeply about how we can use it without compromising the quality, creativity and authenticity of our work.
And we’re eager to learn what you’re thinking about AI. So fire me a message and let’s keep the conversation going.