You could easily be forgiven for thinking Deus Ex Machina is just the quirky name of a lifestyle fashion brand born in Parramatta, that has become particularly popular with men of a ‘certain age’, writes Rupert Price, DDB Group Sydney’s chief strategy officer in this latest edition of Culture Bites. However, the phrase goes back much further than that.
The translation from the Latin literally means ‘God in the machine’, a reference meaning that a man-made object may somehow take on the human characteristics of its maker. However, the term goes back even further than that. In ancient Greek theatre, particularly in tragedy plays, it refers to a plot device where a seemingly impossible situation is resolved by an unexpected and unlikely intervention, often a divine one. An actor, playing the role of a god would be lifted onto stage by a crude device, to give the appearance of rising through the earth or descending from the sky. Literally a ‘god in the machine’.
I recently had my own god in the machine moment. One that included a plot twist to resolve one of those seemingly impossible situations. As you’ve probably already guessed, of course I’m talking about Generative AI.
Now I have a confession to make. As one of those ‘men of a certain age’ I have been sceptical of Generative AI. As someone who has worked in advertising for nearly three decades, it has always been drummed into me that leaping to the first, obvious idea is at best uninspiring and at worse, just downright lazy. When it comes to quality ideas there has to be an effort to reward ratio, where the more you’re prepared to push past the obvious, the better the idea will become. Surely using technology to get to an idea in a nanosecond can’t get us to a quality output?
So I dismissed Gen AI as a tool for the lazy, formulaic thinkers that are not only satisfied with good, they are perfectly happy with just good enough. This view was reinforced by my earliest encounters with the technology, which had led to some very ordinary outcomes, in terms of both linguistic and visual examples.
But of course, deep down, this reaction is driven my in-built confirmation bias. As someone whose role is primarily to shape and frame thinking to get to an inspiring place, I’m terrified I will be replaced by a machine at any minute and all my experience will have no value, rendering me obsolete.
Hence the more I resisted its advancement, the more I could convince myself it just wasn’t for me. Like previous transformative technology, if I ignored it long enough it might just go away, (remember the Metaverse anyone?).
More recently I was forced to face my demons. I discovered many progressive clients are already openly encouraging the use of AI across their organisations. So where clients go, agencies are sure to follow.
Unilever is a marketing organisation I have worked with in the past and is one I continue to admire. Esi Eggleston Bracey, its CMO, is already a champion and advocate for the open adoption of AI in everyday working practices. “In marketing, we’ve moved from pilots to choice scaling while always experimenting, given the speed of change. But what really makes me proud is seeing people’s confidence grow as they master these new tools. We’re giving marketers the space to do what they do best – think bigger, be creative, push boundaries and create magic for our brands.”
It was time for me to re-engage with generative AI and I have to say the results have been profound. The technology has come so far in such a short a period of time, the difference between now and 12 months ago is incredible. Two recent examples at DDB have completely reframed my view of using AI in our everyday work. First, a pitch for a large client which typically would have taken weeks was turned around in a couple of days. Was the quality of the work any good? It was better than good, it was transformative; people and machines working in harmony to reach higher, stretch further and all in a fraction of the usual amount time.
The second was an interesting experiment where a number of DDB’s planners were given the exact same brief and had to solve it using AI in just two days. Not only did 20 different individuals come up with20 different answers, they arrived at far reaching solutions that went well beyond what they typically would have discovered in such a short period of time.
So my mind has been changed. The future for creative businesses relies on us running towards Generative AI, not running away from it. We need to celebrate its attributes and embrace how it can make creativity even stronger. Rather than replace us, it will allow all creative thinkers to reach further and stretch higher and all at a faster speed.
Generative AI will help to break off the shackles of the traditional agency charging model, creating new revenue streams and unlocking the potential of all its talent. It will redefine what the intersection of commerce and creativity looks like and ensure creativity will have no bounds to where it can go next.
So having seen and experienced first-hand the positive effects of Generative AI, I am now a convert. Working in tandem with talented people technology can positively transform the way we work. I am no longer afraid of its impact. Instead, I’m excited and inspired.
The ending to the tragic plot line I had feared has been happily resolved through an unexpected intervention. God truly is in the machine.
