AI Powered People

Written by JD Chua | Graphics by Yusak Prahadi

Read the title again and give it a thought. 

From a simple program where we can pilot a spaceship to fire upon descending aliens (that somehow have an invading strategy involving perfectly lined formations) to an advanced one that can do your homework, we are currently being rapidly boxed into an era of artificial intelligence. 

Just last week, AI wrote articles for us. Now there’s simply too much innovation to keep up with: from removing backgrounds on pictures, to creating audible lectures, to programming algorithms that assess our health. It seems that every day, a new AI program is being created. Its growth seems to compound every hour. I even got fooled into thinking that Jay-Z dropped a new track, which turned out to be AI generated. 

It feels like there’s an AI program for anything! 

Recall the awe you had when you first saw Boston Dynamics’ machines performing tasks that might replace dangerous occupations (or our dogs). With AI programs performing complicated tasks and calculations, and seemingly capable of deep thought, I want to make a proposal; soon we have to recognise a new species: robots. 

No apologies from me for geeking out though; I am a fan of science fiction. I’m ready to bow down to our AI overlords, as long as SkyNet doesn’t write a new law to bring forth Judgement Day. 

If you think about it, we do have a choice: we can either resign to our AI overlords, or start learning how we can live with them. So I’d like to share a list of actions to cope and acclimatise, before we become the next generation of grandparents overwhelmed and struggling to understand how electronic mail works. 

We only fear what we do not know

Nope, I’m not paraphrasing Dan Brown. I’m encouraging you to Google an AI version of your work. Experiment with it and understand how it can ‘supercharge’ your skills.

Spend an hour each day on it and be self aware: if you don’t find yourself entering the flow state and stopping after a few minutes, that AI program is not for you. I’m willing to bet that once you find the right tools for your work, it’ll be more than an hour that whizzes by.

It’s the same principle: learn something new, really rock at it and add value to your own skill set.

Experiment! Mix and match

If there aren’t any programs to help with your work a hundred percent, consider mixing and matching. 

Use the questions listed by Google searches and enter them into ChatGPT to generate a script. Then bring it to a voice generator and animate the script with an avatar. 

Now you’ll have a host providing short content on topics that people are actually searching. Go forth and upload them on YouTube. 

Adapt or die (Inside)

You certainly do not want to be in a position where you are forced to learn how AI works against the clock. Do you recall teaching generations before us how the internet works or how to send an attachment via email? 

Imagine how that would feel. Imagine how that would feel for you being in that position right now. 

Understand that it is still stupid

Now, artificial intelligence requires initial input. It does not know what to do without a human keying in commands, so take in small comfort that AI is still dependent on us. Imagine it’s a kid getting used to the idea of object permanence; but don’t push your luck. Yet. 

Always be curious

There might be programs out there that don’t affect your work. But it wouldn’t hurt to learn new things anyway. Feed your curiosity and you’ll have an extra set of keys to an array of knowledge. One day, the right lock might come along and you have the right keys for it. 

Learn how generally Adobe Podcast works, out of curiosity. You never know, one day you might chance upon a working partner who needs to generate podcasts. 

There have been stories of how AI has helped and destroyed jobs. An image generator even won a photography competition! It is up to us to learn how to be relevant by harnessing its power. 

But also, use them ethically. I’m very certain that one day, that Man will use AI generated videos to frame innocent people, claiming they pulled the trigger first: 

Till that day, remember, AI is meant to be a tool, not a replacement… at least for now. 

Right now, it is best to get onboard. At this stage, text-to-image seems pretty locked down. And text-to-video seems unstable… this will change. Best to learn how t2i works before t2v takes over. Also get into other AI software more relevant to you. 

We can be AI powered people. 

I leave you guys with a thought: remember Knocker-Uppers? A 1940s and 50s job to wake up sleeping people so they got to work on time. Whatever happened to them? 

Thank god I have always expressed appreciation for everybody, including SIRI. Oh by the way, thank you Grammarly (and Way Lin, yeah… but he’s human, so less appreciation for him), for proofreading this very article. 

Sincerely written without ChatGPT. 

(Be kind to those automated machines mopping the floors of our malls! They have rights too!)

Read more from Click2View:

1. AR and VR: Engaging in the Metaverse
2. Marketing on a budget done right
3. Crafting your brand’s story
4. Click2View’s Year in Review

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