Everyone is talking about AI but everyone needs to talk even more because of AI.
I'm talking about speaking out loud to people - to your team, colleagues, friends, customers - everybody. These days that's the only way to know that you are for real.
Think of what's happened to the written word. Since we all adopted Chat GPT, Gemini, Claude and other useful little helpers, we are never quite sure if we are reading the thoughts of the writer or of the Large Language Model.
Many of us look for the tell-tale signs : predictable structure, standard vocabulary ( "timeless, iconic, take a journey" ), a certain inoffensive tone ( I often think of it as how an an anodyne, Mid Westerner school principal might express themselves), no quirky personal stories or chance quotes which only you could know.
Here's the thing. Even though stylistically it's better than the writer would have produced on their own, somehow it feels unsatisfactory. Â What's missing is authenticity.
But today this is true for any video, clip or reel you see on a screen. You could be watching an AI generated twin of the person you believe you're seeing, saying AI generated things. The best of these twins are indistinguishable from the real person.
Reed Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, has one of these AI digital twins. It's a sophisticated created version of himself which you can't tell apart from the real man. See the spooky Youtube of the real Reed interviewing the AI Reed here Â
The authenticity and trust issue here is even stronger.
Oded Granot Head of Visual Effects at Hour One - the company who created the Reed AI digital twin - is aware of the challenge.
He said in September 2024
"There are all kinds of questions that arise from this. ........ Why should we believe someone if you can make everyone say what you want them to say?"
That's why you should loose no opportunity to get yourself out there actually talking to people - even though you may have used AI to prepare what you want to say.
The ums and ahs that afflict us all, the searching for words, body language quirks, the creases on your shirt or your slight cold we noticed give us a more authentic you.
So get out there. In the flesh, living, breathing , speaking, yawning - entirely authentic and gaining people's trust. As AI continues its ascent you have to speak more and loose no opportunity to make it real.
P.S All my own work. This blog post was written by little me not by the little AI helpers mentioned in this piece. No luddite sentiments here but somehow that feels good.
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