10 Paranoid Android: AI

Indie Business Club

Hi, Mel here,

Today’s episode is called Paranoid Android, and it’s all about AI. Specifically, generative AI. Even more specifically, the large language model (LLM) kind. Think ChatGPT and the suchlike.

This one's a re-record because my mic - despite being plugged in and switched on - wasn't picked up by the software. Even though the software said it was. I’m over it, though.

Quick disclaimer...if you use AI, we aren't judging. We're just giving our views as (spoiler alert) humans who value human words.

This episode includes a voicenote from one of the cleverest people we know, Tom Albrighton. Tom's author of multiple books including the most recent AI Can't Write, But You Can and you can find him at abccopywriting.com.

Tom explains how the beauty of communication is that it's one human to another; something AI can never replicate. If nobody could be bothered to write it, why should we bother to read it?

I mention some of the latest uses around AI I heard about when I spoke at BrightonSEO. Brands are now creating content with the specific intention of content being used to train up LLMs. The favoured method appears to be a hybrid "teammate" approach where brands use generative AI and have humans as the prompters and editors.

We acknowledge we've been in an AI-less bubble, surrounded by people who are similarly as disenchanted with the whole prospect. Visiting a tech conference was an eye-opener for me regarding how widely used it is outside that bubble.

Is it cheating to use gen-AI? Perhaps not if both parties agree to it first. We discuss the wider ethical considerations of using LLMs. For example, it's estimated to "cost" 500ml in water per 100 words ChatGPT generates. So the considerations go way beyond just contracts and disclosure.

Some commenters have compared the cold, metallic churn of AI to how humans get inspired by other words and works of art/music. Ultimately we find this an incomplete, frankly insulting comparison.

The human sum goes...

inspiration + your skills + your life experience = unique creative output

With AI, it's…

input + prompt = unoriginal output

We liken the creativity to wallpaper paste, to avoid offending fans of the colour beige and the flavour vanilla. Sorry, painters and decorators.

For us, it comes down to a matter of

professional pride

the satisfaction of getting from A to B by earning it through mental effort

questionable ethics, on every level

icky vibes

But we asked the question, are we getting left behind? Will we look back and wish we'd embraced our robot overlords sooner? We're okay with going against the tide for now.

Our advice to anyone who's concerned about the impact of AI...

Start to differentiate what you offer

Stand out from the boring content

Become essential to your clients

Ask yourself, “How am I different? How am I better?”

There is so much you can do for your clients that AI just can't. So get out there and make it visible.

We also highlight how important it is to have a strong verbal identity/tone of voice and subtly (shamelessly?) point out that we can both provide that service to clients.

Sound guy (and sound guy) Ant finally gets his “personal brand” words we forgot to give him previously. And Ant’s band got a mention, too. Can you spot him?

Your Friend And Mine

This time we shout out a freelancer we respect for her short, funny and fact-sprinkled newsletter almost as much as we respect her for her ability to create low-carbon websites and speak at events. She’s also just a genuinely ace human we both have the honour of calling our friend.

You can find Molly Scanlan on LinkedIn and at her website mollygetsitdone.com.

Find us wherever you get your podcasts, and on the indie business club LinkedIn page.🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible

The back catalogue

01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans, Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock07 A Design for Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland

See ya,

Mel & BenFind our producer, theme composer and labrador Swiftie Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barfieldandmckinney.substack.com/subscribe