The power of AI didn’t magically appear with ChatGPT.
But it sure feels that way sometimes, doesn’t it?
Media professionals have been nursing the same chat-induced carpal tunnel symptoms as every other curious human, but with an added case of whiplash ever since a particularly powerful version of OpenAI’s interactive language model debuted last November. Journalists, marketers, advertisers, artists, and production designers — all have been toggling between threatened and empowered since these recent technological waves have quickly become a tsunami.
After a quarter-century in publishing, I can very easily imagine how these conflicted in-house conversations have been going.
But because I have the added benefit of years focused on technological tools that help publishers, you’ll have to forgive me for being nothing but ecstatic about the potential here.
I truly believe this language-model technology and AI as a whole will be as essential a resource as any reference book or software package a publisher currently relies on. Once you spend time learning its limitations and preparing for its promise, it’s easy to see how revolutionary this tool can be for each and every publishing department. The commitment to AI’s independent strengths will ultimately be as essential as the separation of church and state.
In this blog, I’ve highlight both the larger and smaller revolutions that AI can bring to the daily to-do lists of publishing teams. And while I haven’t had the opportunity to test-drive all of these products, the sheer number of AI software options out there speaks to the extensive technological efforts being made to help publishers every step of the way.
Text / Content Creation
With its meteoric rise since debuting last year, ChatGPT has become shorthand for generative-text capabilities. And many companies that promote their AI capabilities are, in fact, using OpenAI’s engines to power them.
No matter how their AI functions are driven, each company that hypes its AI is likely bringing a unique selling point to the table. And for publishers, those USPs can improve so many steps in so many publishing processes.
Rather than repeat many of the same basics that so many generative AIs boast — absurdly fast response-times, more-relevant-than-ever results, inexpensive and scalable output — we’ve tried to highlight the functionality that makes each somewhat unique.
Obviously, to highlight a text-generating chatbot is in no way an endorsement to kick staffer writers to the curb. The sooner these AI-powered capabilities are considered human tools rather than human alternatives, the sooner more humans will get on board with using and embracing them. (That said, publishers and managers need to go above and beyond to communicate to all staff the realistic hopes and expectations they have for incorporating AI into their operations.)
Likewise, to highlight an AI capability is in no way an endorsement to throw all industry standards and responsibilities out the window. Because a tool can generate 5,000 words in the blink of an eye does not mean a publisher should blindly post that text to their site.
Consider how many journalists and marketers came up the ranks as unpaid interns. If a text generator like ChatGPT could be regarded with the same bottom-of-the-food-chain disdain so many unpaid interns have felt over the years — relegated to the ranks of a gung ho but unreliable idea generator, or of a Wikipedia wannabe not yet responsible enough for a byline — then writers will be able to look past the fact it can’t fetch a cup of coffee either and simply utilize this AI for all the right reasons.
I believe publishing as an industry will thrive with AI tools, doing what publishing does best by using all available resources to do the best work humans can do.
For Generating Text, Beyond ChatGPT
Bard
Their words: “…Built to be a creative and helpful collaborator — it works well in creative tasks like helping you write an email or brainstorm ideas for a birthday party. We see it as a complementary experience to Google Search.”
Pricing: Free
Rytr
Their words: “AI writing assistant that helps you create high-quality content, in just a few seconds, at a fraction of the cost!”
Pricing: Packages include free (10k generated characters/month), $9/month (100k), and $29/month (unlimited)
Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash
Related posts
Magazine Training International’s mission is to encourage, strengthen, and provide training and resources to Christian magazine publishers as they seek to build the church and reach their societies for Christ.
