MKTG Week 5: Don't be Afraid of Artificial Intelligence

 Don't be Afraid of Artificial Intelligence

Within the first week or two of class this semester, my computer art professor played a video for us to watch on the screen at the front of the room. 

It was a news report from a couple of years ago, and you may already be familiar with it. Following the 2022 Colorado State Fair's fine arts contest, artists cried out in protest that the winning piece was invalid as it had been created using artificial intelligence tools. Meanwhile, the artist of the winning piece himself filed a lawsuit when he was refused the rights to copyright and protect his work. While it was certainly a much larger controversy then, the debate over what role AI can be allowed to play in the creative world continues today. 

I personally hadn't had much experience with artificial intelligence prior to this semester, particularly with creative AI tools such as Midjourney or Adobe Firefly. My professor explained we would be learning to integrate these tools as part of our process in this class, and as I began to play with them and experience them for myself, I grew very anxious. Artificial intelligence is powerful, and only continues to undergo development. Did that mean it was a potential threat to the field I love and my career goals?

But as the semester went on, I quickly began to realize my fears, while understandable, were unfounded. It was only natural to fear something that felt so new and unknown, a fear that so many others are experiencing as well. We are humans; we are cautious around the things that we doubt or don't understand well. But with every project in this class, I understood artificial intelligence better, at least from a creative standpoint. I saw that it wasn't perfect- it too has its flaws- and I saw that it wasn't an intimidating force, but rather a tool like any other we designers use. 

Just like Todd Kelsey advocates in his book Surfing the Tsunami, I am beginning to adopt AI tools into my own work process. Instead of refusing its presence in fear, I have learned by experience that artificial intelligence tools are a help rather than a hindrance. 

In his book, Kelsey, a university professor and experienced marketing professional, explains his advice for learning how to use artificial intelligence tools effectively. He lists out what he calls the three "levels" of integrating AI, each one better than the last. 

"1. Adapt (good): learn more and pay attention; keep aware of where things are headed.

2. Adopt (better): adopt AI-related tools and platforms, so you can be involved in managing AI. 

3. Adept (best): get directly involved with developing AI, by learning coding and how to work with related data."

      - Surfing the Tsunami, Todd Kelsey 

I learned to adapt by choosing to learn more about the capabilities of artificial intelligence and what role it can play in helping graphic designers complete projects. Through my computer art class but also through my own personal research, I learned about a variety of different creative AI tools that are currently available. Through trial and error, I also learned which ones produced better results than others. 

I then adopted AI into my own creative process as a design student. My computer art professor taught us the basics of how to function several different AI tools, such as Adobe Firefly, Luma, and ElevenLabs. Outside of class, I experimented on my own with these tools and the others that I found, investigating different ways to more effectively produce the results I needed. Functioning artificial intelligence tools is more than just putting in a prompt and hoping for the best. You must play with the settings, try different tools, and go through much trial and error to create the desired result. 

I have not become adept with AI, but I will be taking a basic coding class as part of my major. While my ultimate goal is not to become a developer of artificial intelligence, this class may help me better understand how it functions. That will surely only benefit me as I continue to use the tools in my day-to-day work as a designer. 

Despite my initial fears, I no longer feel threatened by AI tools, and neither should you, whatever your path of study or future goals. From electricity to computers to smartphones, there have always been new technological advances that we have introduced into our lives for the better. Artificial intelligence will be no different, if only we understand how to effectively use it. 

Until next week!

Marielle 









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