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Terrif-AI-ng? Does AI have to be so scary?

By Greg Carson

I’ve seen Terminator 2 no less than a half-dozen times. For those who haven’t, here is the synopsis (spoiler alert!) The villain is Skynet: America’s first fully automated defense system – a highly-advanced, artificially-intelligent computer network created with control over all battle units. Skynet goes sentient, and the whole world goes kablooey. I get why AI can be scary.

At 62ABOVE, we are starting to implement AI into our daily practices, but we are being very measured and conscious about when and how we use it. With so many ethical and legal implications yet to be sussed out, we see it as our responsibility to be, well…responsible.

I asked some of our amazing 62ers to explain what they think about AI and how they are using it today.

Alex Herron, Director of PR & Social Media

As with every industry, there will be winners and losers as AI becomes more advanced. Simple tasks like drawing up media lists, first drafts of press materials, summarizing research etc. will be accomplished by AI, enabling PR professionals to spend their time on higher level, creative aspects of the job. It’s likely AI will revolutionize the whole media ecosystem, much like the internet and social media have, bringing exciting (and lucrative) opportunities for the agencies that can adapt the fastest.

Jenn Bollman, VP Media

Tardy to the PAAARTY. AI has been used in digital media for years and continues to improve the efficiency of buys based on available metrics. However, the “special sauce” that makes media really impactful, is the combination of quantitative metrics where AI currently excels, and the qualitative metrics that currently require much more of a human role. Will AI be able to play this role in the future? Possibly. If it does, those who embrace it to better their job performance will excel, and those who don’t will be left in the dust. Regardless if you like it or not, AI is not going away.

Erik Dargitz, Creative Director

As a creative team, part of our job is knowing the tools and technologies that are available to us. That’s how I look at AI. We’re constantly experimenting with AI’s capabilities and have found some pretty cool tools that can help us visualize ideas faster. For example, we’ve used Photoshop’s Generative Fill to build quick and easy comps for proof of concept. We’ve started playing with DallE for storyboards, too. I think AI is all about learning how to harness its power to work for you.

Marketing agencies are really 8+ industries in one, plus the categories of business our clients are in. As you can see, 62ABOVE is experimenting with AI in many different ways. I encourage you to jump in, and not let fear paralyze you. Will AI cure cancer? Will it write the next award-winning campaign? Will it pick up the dog poop in the backyard? Not today. But it might make some of your daily tasks a little easier.