“AI is going to take all our jobs.”
You’re probably tired of hearing this and so am I. In fact, I’m all set on people making every tweet about how they’re using AI to do all their work for them. I’m good with people making me feel like I don’t really know how to use AI, because I’m not having it write code for me, write an entire movie screenplay, or develop my entire sales process.
And the reason I’m over it,
fed up with it,
and had it up to *here* with it is because…
It’s just not entirely true.
Or maybe it is, and I just don’t know how to use AI tools as effectively as they do.
The thing is, I’ve been using ChatGPT4 to help me with my work. Sometimes it makes me laugh at how quickly it can comprehend a concept and give me a good, useable response. It’s not perfect by any means, but it sure does help kick-start a project when I’m struggling to get any ideas flowing. That alone is enough to get me to buy into artificial intelligence. And because of that, I decided to give in and shell out the $20/month to make sure I have the fastest, most concise, and…reasoned version of the tool.
Has this thing completely figured out how I can position Blue Light Media to set me up for retirement by 45 and leave generational wealth behind for my children while doing so? Not yet.
Has it helped me create media plans and presentations in a fraction of the time it would have without it? Absolutely.
The thing is when you’re working with the tool you can’t just expect it to do magic for you. Trust me, I’ve tried. But what you can do is give it as much information as you have, a little structure, and a desired outcome. And if you can do that well, the tool can be wildly powerful for you.
It’s all about the prompt.
From my perspective, the primary reason I don’t think AI is going to take over our jobs (well at least mine anyway) is that the tool still needs creativity and vision behind it to actually be productive. It’s been really interesting working with the tool because it kind of fits this theory that I have that real creativity needs parameters to produce a final product or deliverable. In my personal experience, that means something as simple as getting a budget from a brand client to understand what resources we have to create for them.
Here was mine:
“I am creating a media plan that requires 29 different retailers to receive an equal amount of a $300,0000 advertising budget. The retailers need to be advertised on YouTube and Hulu, and only 4 retailers can be advertised at a time, and each retailer needs to utilize an equal amount of budget and get exposure on both platforms. Can you please create an advertising cycle in chart form which shows the allocated budget for each retailer and the estimated impressions they will receive based on the latest CPMs for each platform”
Here’s what ChatGPT4 spit out:
This was actually pretty dang close to perfect.
What really gets me excited about this response is the note at the bottom. “Please note that for brevity, I have only shown the first two sets in Chart 1. You can follow the same pattern for the remaining sets.”
Without this logic, I may have actually requested that it complete the charts and I would have included all of them in our client-facing presentation. But this reasoning was perfect, and I included it in the deck and didn’t receive any pushback from the client. 🤯
While this work may appear simple, this actually saved me at least 2-3 hours in calculations, organization, and thought processes. My brain just does not operate in spreadsheets.
Don't let headlines fool you, this isn’t cheating. In this scenario, I used a tool to optimize my time so that my agency’s brand partners got the max value out of their partnership with us. Instead of spending hours on busy work, we were able to spend our time on strategy, communication, and execution. Everyone wins here.
The truth is, AI isn’t going to take your job - today anyway.
There are a few things you need to look out for if you’re using ChatGPT or other AI for your work. In this example, the average CPM will vary depending on targeting. Depending on the level of detail you need in your report, be sure to create calculations based on your actual CPM. ChatGPT only incorporates data up to September 2021, so any level of detail you might need that requires data post-September 2021 must be verified. So at the very least, you’ll continue to need to fact-check the tool in this era of AI.
Here are some jobs that could be considered “safe” from an AI takeover for the time being:
Psychotherapist: Psychotherapy relies heavily on empathy, emotional intelligence, and understanding of human experiences. AI might be able to analyze patterns and offer some assistance, but it would likely struggle to truly connect with patients and respond appropriately to their emotional needs.
Copywriter/Creative Jobs ChatGPT has one personality and one personality only. And the reason I know that is because a contracted copywriter sent us an email draft recently that just wasn’t up to par from a brand tone perspective. When we asked chatGPT to write a new version, well, we got the one that the copywriter had sent to us. LOL. Awkward.
Preschool Teacher: Teaching young children requires a deep understanding of child development, emotional intelligence, and adapting to individual needs. While AI can support educational content and tools, it would be challenging for it to replace the human connection, warmth, and responsiveness that young children require for their growth and development.
Funny enough, ChatGPT came up with 2 of the 3 jobs and descriptions listed above. When I asked it to write it in my tone it completely botched it though (psychotherapist and preschool teacher descriptions), so It’s nice to know that I have more swag than a machine.
This is the way
Today it’s important to have a baseline understanding of how these tools work and how you might be able to use them in your daily life. While AI it’s unlikely that AI completely take over our jobs in the near future, it’ll surely be integrated into them. And those who can operate with them will likely be favored over those who cannot. In the meantime, you can at least use the tools to help you do anything from planning your next vacation to developing a meal plan.
If you need a guide that makes understanding ChatGPT and other AI, my friend Sabba Quidwai has been putting out a ton of really helpful content, challenges, and webinars. Check out her Instagram here.
Read My Texts
I thought this was a fun segment last week so I did it again. I asked my good friend Dalip Jaggi about what his thoughts were on work-life balance and what’s his version of it.
I asked Dalip because he’s an entrepreneur at heart and one of the smartest people I know. He started Devise Interactive in his early 20s (maybe teens), a development and marketing agency, and sold it after running it for 11 years. He’s currently co-founder and COO of Revive Real Estate, a company that fronts that helps homeowners get the maximum value for their homes at the time of sale. Revive is making a meaningful impact in the industry, and bridging the gap between tech and the antiquated space.
Oh, and he recently started a family, and he’s still all smiles and full of energy. So I mean, if I’m going to ask anyone about work life balance it’s gonna be this guy. Here’s what he said:
Ironically I asked him on a Saturday. Clearly, I’m the one who needs a better sense of work-life balance - or maybe just a sense of boundaries.
I love what Dalip says about being aware of where he is in his life and being open to the fact that work/life balance might not look the same in 15 to 20 years. I share the sentiment that certain seasons of life call for different versions of balance. Some seasons may ask for you to be head down and in growth mode while others might allow you to take the foot off of the gas pedal.
Today I know there’s a lot required of me at Blue Light Media, and soon there’s going to be a lot required of me at home soon as well as my wife and I are having our first child in June. While most of my energy will be dedicated to those two areas of my life, I have to expect that I’m going to have to take energy from others.
Your life might be calling you to something else. Take a moment to reflect and become aware of what your life needs today to achieve a sense of balance and happiness. And until next time, let good things come your way.