Since the release of ChatGPT 4, I’ve been experimenting with generative AI.
And while I’ve learned so much and gained efficiencies, one thing sticks out:
It is making me dumber.
Let me explain: Humans only have so much cognitive power to use, and while outsourcing low-value cognitive tasks to AI is excellent, it has an unintended consequence.
This became clear recently when I was given a low-level task that required some thinking. Without even thinking (PUNS!), I deployed my Gen AI tools and began to solve it. While this has and will likely continue to work, as I then use my thinking on what it outputs, it goes against a core concept: Diagnose before action (link to Alamanac principle once finished).
The premise of “diagnose before action” is that we jump into solve mode too quickly and should stay in diagnose mode instead. The reason is to truly understand the problem/project before solving it. When we fail to do this, we struggle to formulate an effective and sustainable solution or aggravate the problem further.
When I work best with AI, I’m entirely in control. That means I diagnose the situation and then deploy AI in a beneficial way. I create an approach or process and plug AI into the places where it can help. This touches on another principle of mine: Process first, tools second (link to marketing concept once finished).
We must have a process to maximize AI’s contribution. Don’t find a tool; build a process and then find tools to improve (e.g., speed up) the steps of that process.
So, how can one avoid a Generative AI Brain Drain? I don’t believe it’s possible.
Instead, I want to share __ techniques to combat it as you dive into using Generative AI in your marketing:
Before using Gen AI, ensure your process is documented. I’ll use content creation as an example. My process for creating content is simple: (1) Ideation, (2) Creation, (3) Editing, and (4) Publish.
Because ideation and editing are a key skills of Gen AI, that’s where I deploy Gen AI. I use ChatGPT, WriteSonic, and other tools for ideation while using Grammarly GO for editing and refinements.
Rather than jump right into using Gen AI to ideate, write, edit, and publish, I defined my process and then fit the tools into that process.
Generative AI performs better when a human is in the loop. Analyze every output and use questions or prompts to refine the output. Using content creation as our example, here’s what I mean:
When ideating with ChatGPT, I’ll specify how many ideas I’m looking for. And then, to improve the ideas, I will say, create X more ideas like #2,5,9. This will generate better ideas than if I would have copy/pasted the first batch. Another example would be when editing, I will ask it to act as a marketing strategist to find ways to make my arguements or narrative stronger.
When you control the tool and refine the output, you’ll get better outputs and continue using your critical thinking (aka your brain).