Why AI is a shortcut that's already costing you business

First off, hi!! Long time no…. Talk? Liz here, and not only was I recently inspired to bring this blog back from the dead, but I’m also making a commitment to posting at least every other month (if not every month) again. Accountability will be needed, so you have my permission to email me and ask where the blog is if I go dark.

I was thinking about AI recently (because I can never escape it in my work or even online in general), especially when I saw the reports that it's already costing businesses way more than they bargained for, as well as Ford having to rehire their engineers because AI failed them so hard.

After deep consideration, I've come to the conclusion that AI is a manmade shortcut for the things in life that shouldn't be rushed, and that we as a society need authenticity.

Humanity loves to speed run things -- games, the ride home, the uncomfortable moments, Tiktok vids. "How to make money overnight" and the hustle culture that we've been pushed into. In trying to optimize and be more productive, I think we've lost the plot on what we're truly here for. There are just some things in life you can't shortcut, and one of them is human connection.

Take a seed for example: I'm sure everyone would love if we were able to plant it and harvest the abundance right away. But that would mean that we'd lose out on the journey of patience (an important lesson I'm still learning, though it's deeply embedded in my work as a marketer), and how the seed actually grows; It needs to be nourished, watered, and the shell has to soften before a shoot starts peeking out, buried deep in the darkness of the soil, before it goes on it's search for the light. It can't be rushed, it can't be forced. But with time and care, it will inevitably break the surface.

"AI is totally the future so you should just get on board now or you'll be left behind!"

Such is true of the best things in life, and it's honestly unsurprising that men came up with AI because it's so toxic masculinity coded. Taking art without consent, putting it through a program and repackaging it as theirs -- it's a tale as old as time. When I hear things like "AI is inevitable" and that "intelligence is on track to be a utility, like electricity or water", I can't help but think of the memes of women being talked at by a man, and that’s exactly who created these tools (ie. Elon Musk).

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what people want -- they want good cars made that they can drive for years (that don’t track them), they want fresh produce free of forever chemicals, a good school system that protects their kids. They want to be able to enjoy the earth, each other and all the beautiful things it has to offer. But at every turn, despite having all this data, and AI seemingly mirroring the darkest parts of humanity in legitimately every single facet that we learn about it, the only reason left for anyone to act this way is greed/ego. They know what we want, but they use our data against us so they can make as much money as possible - look at Mackenzie Scott, giving away 26 billion of her fortune thus far, and Elon of course commenting that "it makes the world a worse place". Yeah, it makes it worse for him because it's contributing to the growing realization that we don't need billionaires, and closer to him having his money taken away from him via taxes and all the settlements he's going to have to pay out for all his crimes.

But I digress....let’s talk about the good I’ve seen: people using what little money they have to shop locally, supporting their neighbors with mutual aid, commenting on social media posts that use AI flyers that they want real pictures. And mark my words -- the tide is turning back to the artists, as art being made in these times resonates with people, a coming together and the realization of “oh! I’m not the only one” is closer than you think. I’m seeing it in my community, and beyond in different regions across the state. 

Here is where I’d normally stick a call to action about hiring me to do your marketing, but truly as long as it’s not AI - your daughter made it, a friend wrote it, you gave a stranger some things from your garden to in exchange for their expertise in graphic design; in these times, we all need to walk each other home.

~

And now for a return of Honestly _____ Marketing, where I give my opinion on what is and isn't working that I’ve seen lately!

Honestly Great Marketing: Now full disclosure, my Nana worked for Polaroid so I already had a soft spot in my heart for them, but this campaign made me love them a bit more. We'll be seeing a lot more Anti-AI marketing soon, and it's great to see a company surf the first wave.

Honestly Bad Marketing: Meta is a card carrying member of this club and just know they've been the recipient of this honor every month since my last blog. However, they get special recognition this month as

Facebook rolls out a face ID passkey for users to lock their app. We all know they’re going to sell that information just like they do everything else, and I wouldn't be surprised if they go the way of Twitter/X in the next year or so. Mark Z is just trying his darndest to milk as much money out of it while he still can, while continuing to lay off a shitload of people. ew.

Finally, to honor the first HGM blog, a song to tie it all together: