Generative AI: Generational Tech
Exploring the advancements and impact of generative AI
By Mark Waks, Pamela Harris, and Tamarah Usher
In October of 2022, I received an email from a former colleague inviting me to the beta version of Midjourney. The invite almost seemed to be intentionally ambiguous — like being invited to the secretive Omakase lounge hidden in the back of The Taco Stand in Midtown Miami. A little too campy, but irresistibly compelling, nonetheless.
Midjourney is an application built on a machine learning (ML) model known as Stable Diffusion, accessed through another modern application — Discord — that’s championed by gamers. Imagine a single platform that combines text, video streaming, imagery, links, and everything else on the internet. It’s become the go-to for a generation raised on multi-tasking and effortlessly synthesize endless streams of data.
Once in Midjourney, I created images with the help of AI that not only processed unreasonably fast, but also produced concepts of staggering fidelity and limitless diversity. In my first image, I asked for a vision of Florida driven by the spirit of adventure and led by modern pioneers, imbued with the pastels of Key West and in the famous Mimo style of Miami.
When the AI returned its “art,” (see above) I realized I was looking at perhaps the most exciting technology I had seen in a decade. This technology — known as generative AI — harnesses the power of the internet to generate original ideas from old ones. The exact thing we used to believe would never be the province of computers — creative work — now is. And the results are amazing.
Around the same time, ChatGPT entered the world stage. Using OpenAI, ChatGPT is designed to write prose with the same efficacy, swiftness, creativity, and detail. Every day exciting new ideas are published, tapping into the power of this tool.
Unlike extended reality (XR), digital currency, and so many other modern-day, hype-train technologies, Generative AI has the promise of truly disrupting and making impact in our day-to-day lives. Much like “social” or “cloud,” this space feels like a step-change. As we consider the ramifications of such powerful emerging technology, it’s important to examine both what’s unique about it and how businesses might be impacted by it.
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How Generative AI is different
1. Generative AI has a “killer use case.”
Emerging technology is either:
- A solution created to address an existing problem — a.k.a., a better mouse trap.
- A solution looking for a problem. These don’t work as often, but when they do, they lead to significant innovations (like the iPhone).
These approaches to emerging technology are helpful, but incremental — not exponential.
Generative AI is the latter: A solution looking for a problem. Much like the iPhone, there’s a myriad of ideas for how it might delight people. However, at the time the iPhone debuted, the concept itself was not novel; people could already make phone calls, take pictures, and access the internet. But it quickly found a killer use case: texting.
Much like the iPhone, Generative AI seems to have found a killer use case almost immediately: A more human search engine. In today’s version of the internet, the fastest way to find information is through a search algorithm — such as Google or Bing — where queries are returned with a list of links. Some search engines have even found a way to pull forward the most popular answers embedded in those links from other user searches, but they’re still just pulling from a single result.
Conversely, with ChatGPT, the answer is synthesized from many relevant search results and returned as a single, articulate response that is far more intuitive, contextual, and — dare I say — “thoughtful”.
The tool has gained popularity quickly and the queue is often overwhelmed with a message that reads, “Come back later when we’re not so busy.” People are drafting essays, emails, news articles, advertising copy, and so much more with the tool already. Applications are as endless as their users’ imagination. Making an immediate connection to a meaningful use case rare, yet a significant indicator of broad acceptance and stickiness.
2. The technology is advancing rapidly.
By its very nature, AI is designed to learn and improve. The more people who are inputting, querying, and engaging, the smarter the tech gets. And to give you an idea of how many people are using ChatGPT alone, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman declared in December 2022 that the application had gained one million users in less than a week.
These numbers are eye-opening and for some, alarming. Microsoft has already invested over $1B in the technology and (at time of this publication) is in conversations to inject another $10B. Many technologists are frothing at such an enormous capital investment from an enterprise giant like Microsoft supporting the rollout to the masses. Of course, competitors are taking note. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have been requested by Alphabet to come back and consider their response.
3. The user interface is remarkably intuitive and simple to use.
This has been critical to the adoption of the technology. There are no challenging dialogue boxes, security walls, or splash pages to speak of. In the case of Midjourney, it’s a single command line: /imagine (key words). In the case of ChatGPT, it’s as simple as writing directives in the chat box, watching the bots work their magic, and receiving a response in moments.
There are opportunities to add fidelity or upscale results, but the precision of the “first draft” is amazing on its own. This feeling will only increase with third-party applications and additional technological achievements.
Immediate opportunities
To highlight the adoption curve and find entrepreneurs in the space, Sequoia Capital — a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley famous for early investments in NVIDIA, Apple, and Google — released a series of insights and a framework for identifying opportunities in different mediums. The author of the piece even leveraged AI as a co-writer.
Telling higher fidelity stories through art and copy
OpenAI can accelerate response time to customers and uplevel communications. As an example, when I was asked to write my own recent promotion bio, and not wanting it to sound like I wrote it, I asked OpenAI to write a bio in the style of Jack Kerouac. Here is what it gave me (and what was sent to the company):
Mark, a wild and restless spirit, is a man on the move. With his promotion, he’s staged to continue to help us grow profitably with purpose. He’s a master of experience design, a true leader of people, and a visionary in digital transformation. He’s a restless seeker of new horizons, always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. He’s a man who lives for the thrill of the chase, and the rush of the win. He’s a true road warrior, always pushing himself and his teams to be the best, always seeking out new adventures and new challenges. He’s a man who’s made for the fast lane, a true king of the open road. And now, as he takes on the role of Managing Director, he’ll be leading the charge, blazing new trails, and leaving his mark with us in Florida.
Democratized coding and accelerating the creation of software
Software development has become a central theme to the projected disruption of Generative AI and represents one of the most exciting opportunities. To illustrate, several days ago I was talking to an old friend who happens to be an AI leader at a top electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer. He raved about the possibilities for ChatGPT, especially the cost-benefit analysis of coding for experimentation.
He explained how he often imagines more innovative approaches, wishing he could prototype these solutions in his day-to-day work for vehicle software. But the time it takes to write the code, test, and learn is too expensive for the deadlines he and his team must meet. But using ChatGPT, he can execute code in seconds by simply asking for it and running as many experiments as his heart desires. As I sat there in astonishment and asked him how he could trust AI-generated computer code, he smiled and said, “Because it works.”
Marketing for the win
For marketers, generative AI offers the most compelling immediate use cases for original, computer-generated content. This includes copywriting, highly stylized 4k imagery, branding, video, and even film. Early examples are primitive but powerful, and many on Madison Avenue are in full adoption mode. In one case, storied ad agency BBDO says all its employees are already expected to be integrating OpenAI in their work.
Final words
Opportunities for generative AI are extraordinary. So too, are the ways it will evolve and be applied. As with most “hyped” technologies, early adopters and investors alike are racing to learn, exploit, sponsor, develop, and condemn, depending on their vantage point. AI, however, isn’t new, and generative AI — although disruptive — is still just another tool.
What’s most important is to begin experimenting, prompting, and better understanding this innovative technology. The more we can leverage it, the smarter it will get, and greater the impact we can have.
So if you found this article effective, you should really be asking yourself one question: Do you know who (or what) wrote it?
Slalom is a global consulting firm that helps people and organizations dream bigger, move faster, and build better tomorrows for all. Learn more and reach out today.
