Three AI Behaviours to Leave Behind in 2023

2023 was a watershed year for generative AI - who had the knowledge who had the tech and who had figured out how to make the most of it. It was as much about its impact on humanity as it was about industry and business. But 2023 was also a massive learning curve in our interactions with AI; so what old behaviours should we really be leaving behind as we go into 2024?

AI isn’t the cyber wild west - don’t treat it as such

AI is changing incredibly fast - that’s a given, which makes it all the more important to over-index our focus and energy on developing and using it ethically,  and often in arenas that transcend marketing. 

There has been a lot of media attention as countries wrestle with their own AI agendas , as evidenced by the UK’s AI Summit, Executive Orders from the US, the far-reaching EU guidance and nations including Spain and India working on their own interpretations. But as governments and regulatory bodies work towards a more coherent world order for generative AI, business too has a responsibility to establish its own ethical parameters. 

A pragmatic approach is to pool expertise and establish guidelines through independent initiatives. At OLIVER, we’ve set up specific AI councils both internally and with our global clients to explore and understand ethics, tech and practical usage. We’ve found that the on-going learnings from these initiatives have the added benefit of guiding our own development down a path that is more aligned with emerging regulation, to save us and our clients time and resources in the future. 

AI isn’t an expert - its needs expert humans 

OLIVER’s recent research among UK clients revealed that 63% of UK marketing leaders feel they lack the expertise to use AI strategically and effectively. This lack of knowledge can lead to the use of generative AI in the most perfunctory way, especially when you throw in barriers of copyright, security and vague regulations. 

Industry-wide initiatives, focused on continuous education and collaboration throughout businesses internally, can be instrumental in overcoming this challenge. By emphasising the importance of AI compliance training for all employees, the marketing industry would set a new standard for responsible AI use, which again has benefits not only across our, but also adjacent industries as it raises the AI competence baseline.

Another best-practice is to bring in expertise, either by cultivating it internally, or sourcing external expertise through your in-house teams (as our clients do) or through standalone specialists. Looking externally to bring in this expertise can also overcome job market conditions particularly with the rest of the market searching for this same skill set, as well as having the added benefit of bringing broader expertise to the table.

AI isn’t a silver bullet - it’s not right for everything

One of the key lessons of 2023 was that the generative AI race is as much about context as it is about technology. While GenAI is the term du jour - and will continue to be heavily discussed - it’s not a silver bullet.

Falling in love with the promise of the tool rather than the result is a common pitfall with generative AI, where it’s wedged in where it doesn’t belong because it's the shiny new thing. The results is detrimental at best and dangerous at worst . Generative AI just isn’t useful everywhere and the expertise comes from as much from knowing when to omit it as to knowing how to use it most effectively when it is appropriate.

While understanding the tech is vital, true differentiation lies in combining technology with smart people and bespoke processes, all with a clear focus on leveraging AI as a tool to deliver unique and sustainable outcomes. 

Emphasising the context with an eye on the desired outcome, rather than the specific means of getting there, is key to ensuring that AI enhances operational procedures and efficiency and yes, creativity too.