Thoughts on Artificial Intelligence from the CEO.

From the desk of the CEO

In the world of branding and design, there is a lot of talk these days about humans being replaced by AI. In some aspects of our industry, it is right to be a bit nervous. At this very moment, the word processing program I am using is trying to complete my sentences for me. And don’t get me started with autocorrect! I am worried that the use of adaptive AI in communications may do to us what it has done when it comes to navigation. Anyone else so reliant on their maps app that they can barely find their way home without it? Will learning no longer be required of us? Will opposable thumbs be enough to keep us at the top of the food chain?

As humans, we’ve been through some stuff. Our very survival was threatened by the Ice Age, the saber tooth tiger, the Black Death (the plague, not the band... although the band was pretty dreadful too), famine, a couple of world wars, and the looming threat of a nuclear holocaust. We’ve done well to be here today. And, while innovation has certainly made survival possible and improved our lives — cars, medicines, electricity, assembly lines, robotics, etc. — it has brought its fair share of challenges as well. Think about all the monks hand-scribing manuscripts who were put out of work by Gutenberg!

Fast forward 534 years. In the '70s I cut my teeth on phototypesetting and paste-up. (If you were born after 1980, you don’t even know what I’m talking about, do you? Here’s a link.) With the invention of word processing and digital printing, many of the less complex but oddly profitable design jobs left our industry and ended up on the desks of secretaries and typists. We were scared then, weren’t we? Despite all the “advancements,” we’ve managed to survive. How’d we do it? With the help of some software developers (thanks Aldus PageMaker and Quark peole), we embraced the technology that seemed to threaten us, we broadened our skill sets, and learned to use tools that non-designers couldn’t. Obviously, we’re subject to the laws of evolution just like everything else in the universe, but we always seem to be able to bend them to our advantage.

Right now, we’re in a similar boat. Folks at B33 and other firms are using AI not to replace anyone but to enhance and extend capabilities and performance.

Automated Image Editing is an AI tool that can perform complex photo edits automatically, such as background removal, color correction, and style transfer, saving significant amounts of time. We also use AI for inspiration. The hours previously spent searching through books and websites can be compressed by AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of design data to suggest trends, styles, and ideas, helping us stay inspired and informed about the latest design movements. And using AI for apps and websites is a no-brainer. AI’s ability to predict user behavior and preferences enables us to create more intuitive and user-friendly interfaces. These functions help us consistently produce best-in-class materials.

So, am I afraid that AI will replace us someday? Maybe those that don't adapt, for sure, but not all of us. If we do what we’ve always done and make AI the tool that it is intended to be, it will be our creativity and uniquely human interpretation of the world that will save us. Until a computer can do more than learn at a superior rate, it will be our souls that set us apart. In the prophetic lyrics penned in 1967 by The Music Explosion, “And as you go through life tryin' to reach your goal, just remember what I said about a little bit o'soul.”

Michael D. Dean
CEO Brand 33