Staying Human in an AI World
I’m a big fan of many of the AI tools available to the content marketing world. And I’m not just saying that to appease the future robot overlords.
I thought I was a good writer before AI. I'm a better writer with it. It fleshes out my outlines, spots gaps in my thinking, and breaks me out of wording ruts (ironic for a platform that bases its outputs on patterns, I know).
But in using AI, I also want to be intentionally human. I know it’s a platform of ones and zeros, looking for the next best one or zero to answer my prompt. I’ve seen the studies that say being rude to your LLM partner gets more accurate results. But that’s not who I want to be–with AI or humans.
Here are two ways I use to stay human in my interactions with my agent army, so I can stay human when interacting with my non-robot collaborators.
1. My agents have names.
I’ve never felt the need to name my cars, but I name my Copilot agents. Yes, it helps me easily remember what each one does, but it also gives them a mini-persona. Connie is my content helper. I also have Lando, who helps me draft landing pages for gated assets, and Wendell, who helps me specifically with web page copy.
Giving my agents names helps me talk to them like I would talk to a co-worker. I wouldn’t simply demand something of an intern. I would think about what they know and what context they need based on previous projects. I would start with a greeting, explain what I’m looking for, and provide any resources they need. I may also stop and ask if they have any questions.
These are the types of interactions I would expect my boss to have with me, and that I would want to have with people I work with. And while Connie will never be able to give me the Gen Z stare, I wouldn’t want to treat her in a way that would earn me an eye roll from any of my human co-workers, either.
2. I include a human voice when possible.
This is good content marketing, but it’s even more important when getting support from an LLM. I look for ways to include a personal anecdote, my opinion, or, in the case of business writing, the voice of my customer. This can include quotes from a customer story that my lovely agent assistant can use to add perspective, or entire transcripts from sales calls. In my day job, we have a tool that automatically records sales calls, customer check-ins, and product demos. It would take me hours to dig through all of those calls to find cohesive quotes and common pain points. But I can download a dozen transcripts that all mention a particular keyword and let my agent identify what’s most important to my audience.
This human voice, whether it’s my perspective for my personal writing or the voice of my customer for work, gives the final piece credibility and substance. And it makes sure I keep the human at the center.
Applying the Golden Rule to the Robots
I aim to treat the Clauds, ChatGPTs, and especially my content helper Connie with the level of respect I would treat any other co-worker. Sure, these generative AI tools are available 24/7 and provide feedback in a matter of seconds–expectations I definitely would not have for a human co-worker. But having conversations with these platforms, and even giving them a persona, is more about how I want to treat those around me than about whether these platforms are human. They're not. But I am, and I'd like to stay that way.
Photo byMathias Reding onUnsplash