I admit it, I have a love/hate relationship with AI.
I consider it a useful tool that can help us humans in many ways.
It’s great at handling a lot of things that people don’t want to “waste their time” on, like analyzing data, consolidating large amounts of information into simple-to-understand talking points, and even setting up and running automated systems.
But it’s not a replacement for human beings or human interaction.
AI’s “Problem Child” Status
There is already a huge and growing loneliness epidemic happening in our world. People feel disconnected from each other and even from themselves. The constant use of AI as the “perfect solution” is contributing to this
The more we allow AI to “do the thinking for us,” the more disconnected we may become. I realize that AI is useful for a lot of things, including basic therapy and interaction. But it cannot replace a real human therapist or interacting with each other on a regular basis.
Because of this, I strongly believe we need to keep the humanity in our communication with each other.
It’s why I write all of my emails, newsletters, and marketing collateral myself, and have for the last 15 years. No robots involved in the actual writing. Just lil’ ol’ me spewing out words onto the page.
It’s also why I respond personally when my subscribers reply to my emails and when you comment on my newsletters. We have a relationship. You are someone I value as one of my audience members. I honor and appreciate that and want to give you my best, including being the real, live, actual human who writes back to you. (FYI, you can become an email subscriber and get these newsletters delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, 4 days earlier than they show up everywhere else, at the bottom of this page.)
AI Is a Useful Tool
At the same time, I will admit I use AI.
I have tried using it to write my own copy and generally speaking, I’m not that happy with the results. I have to edit heavily, which takes about as much time as it would for me to write original copy, so I don’t bother. And I like writing, so I’d rather do it myself.
I don’t let it write copy for my clients. I feel like that’s what they’re paying me for. Why would I give them anything but the best?
And again, my clients hire me because they want to build relationships with their subscribers and customers. In my opinion, having an actual human involved in those relationships is the way to go.
However, as mentioned above, AI is great for research and data crunching. I can give ChatGPT a bunch of data and ask it to pull particular themes from that data. It can do it much faster than I can.
It doesn’t always get it right. I find I have to be very specific with my instructions or it doesn’t give the feedback I’m looking for. Sometimes I feel like I spend as much time giving AI instructions as I would doing the research or data crunching myself. But I still use it.
And I did create the AI-Powered Subject Line Generator Workshop, which shows you how to use AI to write subject lines and writing prompts customized to your business.
AI is great at this type of brainstorming work, because it can pull ideas out of the information you give it that you may not have thought of yourself.
I’ve even used AI to write what I call a “Messy First Draft” of a piece if I am utterly stumped by writer’s block, just to get something on the page. Then I find the ideas I consider useful, delete the rest, and go on about my business.
I have said this before, I will say it again – AI is a tool.
It is not the end all and be all solution that so many AI companies are promoting it to be. It still has a very long way to go before it reaches that point.
Which is good for us humans in my opinion.
So yes, I do use AI. But when I do, I am what my friend and fellow copywriter, Steve Maurer refers to as the Human In the Loop (HITL).
I do this for two very important reasons.
Reason #1: AI Doesn’t Always Get It Right, Whatever “It” Is
AI is great at pulling together a ton of information and spitting it out in digestible form. However, that doesn’t always mean it’s the correct information, nor is it always relevant to whatever I’m writing about.
I like to compare AI to that over-eager pooch who joyfully brings you your slippers, even though you asked it to bring you the paper. And even when you say “Good dog, thank you for bring my slippers, now please go get the paper” it obediently wags its tail and picks up your slippers again.
AI will bring you exactly what you ask for. And it will frequently bring you exactly what you ask for over and over again, even when you ask for something else entirely, or you ask in a different way, hoping to get new information.
It will also make stuff up and even make up sources to go along with its made-up information. Not a great look when you’re speaking with authority on any subject.
Computers are designed to follow instructions. They are not designed to think for themselves. (At least not yet, though they seem to be getting closer and closer.)
Therefore, I review, and in many cases, fact-check all the information AI spits out before that research goes anywhere near my or my clients’ copy.
Which brings me to…
Reason #2: Keeping the Humanity In My (and Therefore Also My Clients’) Work
AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. What it lacks is EI or Emotional Intelligence.
You may have heard about the chatbot that tech bros managed to pervert from friendly, helpful artificial personality to racist, sexist, homophobic raging robot in a few hours.
“Tay” was created in 2016 by Microsoft’s Technology and Research division and released onto Twitter as an experiment. Within hours, users had subverted it from the “AI with zero chill” it was purported to be to spouting horrible responses that would offend pretty much anyone.
I was working at a tech company at the time and all of our developers were watching this in real time. Comments were flying around the office.
Withing 16 hours, “Tay” was shut down and removed from Twitter.
According to Wikipedia’s article on Tay, “Artificial intelligence researcher Roman Yampolskiy commented that Tay’s misbehavior was understandable because it was mimicking the deliberately offensive behavior of other Twitter users, and Microsoft had not given the bot an understanding of inappropriate behavior.”
The Tay chatbot had no context for any of the information it was receiving. Therefore, it had no context for the information it put out. It didn’t understand how hurtful the words it used could be. It didn’t have a way to discern between “right” and “wrong” for any given situation.
Humans do.
One of the most important functions of my job, in my opinion, is deciding which words to use and ensure they convey the correct message.
Sometimes my inner Inigo Montoya has to step in and intervene.
Reason #3: AI Has No Emotions and No Experience
AI has no context for an experience. It can gather lots of input on what it’s like to bask in the sun while lying on the beach, listening to the waves crash against the shore. However, the output reads as flat and boring.
I can easily describe these actions, as well as how they make me feel because I’ve done them. I’ve experienced those emotions. I have these specific memories.
AI has no idea how to describe any of that because it’s never done it. And if it tried to bask in the sun on a beach, it would just gum up its robotic works. All of that sand is so bad for electronic circuits!
A huge part of what any marketing copy does is to evoke emotions. We are emotional creatures. We may all consider ourselves “rational” but the truth is, every decision we make is based on emotions first, logic second.
If you’re expecting AI, which has no emotional context or experience of the real world, to be able to convey the emotional experience of getting positive results from your product or service, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
That’s why I firmly believe there needs to be a “Human In The Loop” at the very least.
I prefer to have a human doing the actual writing, even if they’re using AI as a research and brainstorming tool.
Please Consider This My AI Manifesto
This is how I use AI in my business and how I personally recommend that my clients use it in theirs.
And yes, I have plenty of clients who use AI regularly in their businesses for many tasks, from organization to data crunching, to yes, writing.
When they show me that writing, I can usually tell it was written by AI. And I point out where they can add in some EI (emotional intelligence). Where they can make it sound more human. More like the person (or company) that their readers want to get to know, like, and trust.
I do this regularly in my Email Writing Accountability Group, as well as for materials my clients bring me to “humanize.”
In the end, our humanity is the true currency we all deal in. And it is the most precious of all.
Please make sure you share this currency widely with your current and prospective customers, your subscribers, your team members, your loved ones, and even strangers on the street. The more of it we put out there, the more there is to go around.
Now that I’ve planted this particular flag, I will ask you: What is your AI policy?
Do you use it in your business? Do you use it in your daily life?
How have the robots been incorporated into, or deliberately excluded from, your world?
Please hit “reply” and share your thoughts with me.
As mentioned, I respond to every email you reply to. And I do want to hear your thoughts on AI and how you use it in your business.
Finally, I took this week’s landscape picture this summer while I was visiting my sister in the UK. It’s on the beach in the southwest of England, somewhere between Dartmouth and Torquay. I hope you enjoy it.
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