You’re Holding The Hammer

Hump day and all that. Middle of the week, it’s still warm, and the sky is blue. I’ll tell you what else is warm, the debate over AI and how it fits into our lives.

I like AI. It’s a useful tool for a whole bunch of things, but I am getting tired of reading and hearing all the screeching about it. I try to avoid writing rants. I’ll do my best to avoid turning this into one.

But …

I need to clear something up first. I do ALL my own writing. I use AI for illustrations and to discuss ideas. And I like doing that, it’s a great tool for it. BUT the writing is mine. So, if you insist I use AI to write? I’ll tell you to fuck off.

That’s rude and impolite. Yeah, I know. So is accusing me of using AI to write. I’m 61. You might expect I’d be terrified of the machines. I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I use them for anything more than as a useful tool.

And that’s the thing. AI is a tool. In the same way your word processor is. Your browser. Your email client. Or, if you want to push it, a hammer. Very useful when you need to hit something. Less useful if you don’t know which end to hold.

Let me deal with the “AI slop” argument. If you ask me to write 800 words on “Innovation in Business” you’ll get slop. Because what else could I write apart from a generic breakdown of innovation in business?

Likewise, ask an AI the same thing and you’ll get slop. Of course, you will. Ask an AI to make you an illustration featuring office workers in a corporate office. The illustration you’ll get will be bland, commonplace, and yeah, slop.

Then there’s argument that An AI doesn’t know what’s good. Doh. Nor does MS Word or any other software. That’s not the point. An AI can guide you based on the data it has trained on. You know, like an AI.

Here’s a better way to work. Figure out what it is you want. In detail. Work with the AI to refine your brief. Yeah, think “brief” rather than “prompt”. It helps. Makes you refine your thinking. If you don’t get what you want, refine the brief until you do. It’s not that hard when you apply a bit of common sense.

Like I said: I’m knocking on in years. But I like working with an AI. I always double-check any research. And I never expect the AI to somehow deliver human context. So, in other words, I use it like a tool. Because that’s what it is. I said that already as well. But it’s worth repeating.

Here’s the key point. You’re the one holding the hammer. You, the human being. If you want better from AI? Learn to write a better brief.

I know many people will go on about AI being evil, it produces junk and all that. But that overlooks a simple fact. It’s we humans that provide the instructions. Like I said, we are the ones holding the hammer. There’s the adage: garbage in, garbage out.

Right, I’m going to get on with my day. Looking after the people I work with because I’m a People Ops Director. The machines will wait until I need them again. In the same way my kettle will.