As readers know, I am mesmerized and mystified with artificial intelligence. I am certainly not alone in my sense of wonderment. There is not a day that goes by or a trade event that does not address AI in one way or another. There is not one aspect of our lives personally and professionally that is not “touched” by AI. In my never-ending search to understand AI and its complexities I began my attempt at sharing what I am learning by writing a trilogy explaining the origins, significant dates, how it “technically” works at the 30,000-foot level, and the “good, bad, and concerns” about AI. Most recently I wrote about the elements that humans can do that AI cannot. File this article under more food for thought as I continue reading and viewing everything I can that moves the proverbial AI “ball” down the field.
I recently viewed what turned out to be a special keynote address given by Renard Jenkins President and CEO of I2A2. You may not be familiar with his company, but it is a leading-edge technology and consulting firm, as well as a research and development lab and content experience creation studio. His audience was the cinema content creation industry, and the focus was the growing concerns over generative AI and its effects (pun intended) on the film makers. I strongly urge you to view the entire address on You Tube so here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUeWocG_t50. So much of what he said ports over to the digital signage industry and our efforts. The following are just a few pearls of wisdom that he shared.
One of his major objectives was to demythologize and “undemonized” AI. He directed us to “Look at what AI is and not what you hear it is”. He correctly points out that AI is not new. It goes back to the first phases of the internet. He was quick to delve into generative AI since so many are concerned about the ramifications (pro and con) and he began by demonstrating that AI “is nothing more than mathematics, probability, and statistics”. In fact, AI is math and not magic, but it can appear mysterious to the uninformed. Of special interest was his show and tell section where he demonstrated that math is truly used in every art form whether we realize it or not.
He segued into a discussion of what AI at its core can do for us. He noted that our industries tend to think about money as our currency, but our “real currency” is not money per se but rather time, and the goal should be saving time. He provided several specific examples but concluded this section by simply stating “AI does not save money up front. It does end up saving time.” And yes time saved can translate into money earned…what goes around comes around.
He wrapped up his remarks by addressing the fears of the content creation community. There was no attempt to disregard or minimize fears. In many ways AI is in its infancy. He likened it to a toddler who is cute but can be ferocious. Images were shown that were photo realistic and videos that appeared at first glance as if live actors were involved but he pointed out the areas that were lacking. These “blanks” would continue to need to be filled in by the human content creation community. AI is not the be all and end all of content creation rather a tool for the creative community. He left the audience with the following words of wisdom: “AI learns, and you create. AI speeds up the process of change. Think enhancement to your efforts not replacement”. I can only add that the only constant is change and with AI the processes will change but the creativity will continue to reside in the heads and the hearts of the artists who make image decisions.
