Artificial Intelligence: Taking the First Step

Author: Blake Babcock

On September 27th I attended the Greater Cleveland Partnership Middle Market Forum where Paul Roetzer discussed

“The Future of Business is AI, or Obsolete.”

Paul stated that in 3-5 years 80% of what we do will be automated.  Now before you go hide in a closet because you fear that you’re losing your job, let’s get comfortable and approach this from a mindset of abundance and how much more efficient this will make your job.  I, like most, have a baseline understanding of AI, but have never pursued further understanding of how it works and what tools might make sense for me to research.  Fortunately, Paul’s approach to the subject was very easy to understand and digest with very specific examples.

After Paul made the topic of AI much more approachable there was a break out session on 30+ AI tools to consider and here is where I bring you value.

Before we jump into the tools Mike Kaput (leading the breakout) gave us a few good things to consider.

  1. We have way too much data and not enough time or insight.
  2. Don’t be afraid to think small.
  3. Seek quick wins vs giant pilot projects.

This was specifically important to me because when I historically think of AI, I think of large transformative projects.  Now I’m looking for small quick wins to get my feet wet.

  • Advertising – Is there an AI tool to create Ads?
  • Analytics – Is there an AI tool to make predictions on a subset of data?
  • Communications – Is there an AI tool to write emails or blogs?
  • Content Marketing – Is there an AI tool to create images?
  • Customer Service – Is there an AI tool to automate common customer questions?

Three tools I’m currently researching for quick wins:

Dall-E 2

This tool can create realistic images and art from a simple description entered into the tool.  Fun fact – the images below were created with the tool.

Description I entered into Dall-E2: “Lion in a suit in a conference room, digital art.”

Description I entered into Dall-E2: “Lion in a suit in the jungle using a lap top, digital art”

Problem Solved: The awful process of finding the right “stock image” to use with marketing materials.  This makes the process more creative and fun.

Check it out yourself here: openai.com/dall-e-2

Descript

All-in- one audio & video editing, as easy as a doc.  Edit videos, podcasts while having the tool transcribe.  When you share the recording, it comes with an interactive transcript, allowing your customer to skim, search, and leave comments.  In my short time looking into this – editing is much simpler than other video editing tools.

Problem Solved: Easier editing of videos plus added tools to make the content more interactive.

Check is out yourself here: www.descript.com

 

Jasper

Makes it fast and easy to create content for your blog, social media, website and beyond.

Problem Solved: Beat writers block and or accelerate the content creation process for emails, blogs, newsletters and more.

Check it out yourself here: www.jasper.ai

 

Hopefully you’re now more comfortable to explore areas in which your work can be automated.  Remember, start small and seek quick wins.  If there’s other tools you’ve used or considering I’d love for you to share those with me as I continue to dive deeper into the world of AI.

Let's Get in Touch