“Be Very Afraid! AI Will Destroy The Ad Industry” (Or Is That Only In The Movies?)
B&T’s regular guest posters – HOW&Y’s Brian and Evan Mitchell – are back with a new column. This time the duo take a look at the “big idea” VS “big data” debate and the repercussions it will have on agency land…
Are “thinking machines” on the verge of replacing human ingenuity?
It’s an enduring theme of science fiction, usually to tragic or horrific ends. Manufactured machine intelligences develop self-awareness, then turn on and usurp their human creators.
In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the sentient “Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer” 9000 model (personified as HAL) subverts our most far-reaching and audacious space expedition to his own ends, prepared to execute human astronauts along the way.
The Skynet network in The Terminator franchise is a vast hive mind, every computer a functioning neuron, every machine an agent, and determined to rid the world of its upstart creators.
And in The Matrix and spin-offs, horror meets the supreme insult to human pre-eminence – as people in forced pod-hibernation are exploited for energy, a kind of vast mechanistic vampirism.
Is this the future for adland? With clever creatives surrendering to even more clever machines? If so, let’s hope the AIs are more like Alicia Vikander’s Anna (Ex Machina) than Arnie’s cyborg.
Far-fetched, right? Not so, say some. Plenty are predicting blood on the ground (and we know whose) as the battle lines are drawn between Big Data and Big Idea. The ideational conflict around this pending battle is also becoming more contentious – as laid out in an earlier article.
Spokespeople for data giants and “adtech” proponents predict a very near future in which ads are not the output of verbal and visual creative genius – the inventive synergy of copywriter and artist – but rather created by computers.
This disturbing dystopia (at least from adland’s point of view) would see the digital advertising space (and earnings) “owned” by Google and Facebook.
Opponents of this bleak view – and we count ourselves firmly among them – offer in argument the “same old shit” scenario. That is, that “machine learning” is far more limited than its exponents would admit, true “artificial intelligence” is not decades but centuries and possibly millennia away (if it is even possible at all), and that all these creative-replacing “creative” computers are doing is giving people what they have shown themselves habitually to want… right up until they don’t want that anymore.
Then what do they do?
Intuition is counter-intuitive.
The most enduring brand messages are not simply slogans. They are themes that represent both the soul of the brand, and the fundamental basis of the consumer’s need, desire and engagement. They also come with the element of surprise, the counter-intuitive slant that proves itself truly intuitive.
Think “Think Small” – the iconic DDB ad for Volkswagen. The synergistically convoluted process that spawned this most counter-intuitive of all advertising messages couldn’t have come about through machines. It was too un-programmed (chaotic almost) to be the outcome of a programmed “intelligence”.
Or Nike’s “Just Do It” – a demand expressed as a flippant throwaway line, but with a basis of connection far superior to any computer-generated exhortation to buy.
Data, however big or small, does just one thing – it paints a picture of what people currently do, currently want, currently respond to.
It has little predictive value, without human creativity to make the subtle and unpredictable leaps.
It lacks the dimension of inspiration and intuition that creates new responses, reactions, desires and directions in consumers.
It can only keep adding layer on layer to the existing mould – when what’s needed so often in truly creative campaigns and innovative product design is breaking the mould.
Before sci-fi writers began extrapolating the potential horrors of AI, its pursuit was seen as one of the most noble, if impenetrable, pursuits of science, philosophy and linguistics.
In 1950 Alan Turing (cipher-breaking hero of WWII, mythologised in the film The Imitation Game) revealed a test for AI, “The Turing Test,” disarming in its elegant simplicity. A computer was deemed to display AI if its answers were indistinguishable from a human’s – from the point of view of another human asking it questions. While a breakthrough at the time, and an invaluable contribution to the direction of research in the field, the Turing Test actually says less about the abilities of the computer than of the credulity of the subject. It requires no self-awareness, no sentience on the part of the computer, just the availability of responses that can fool a human (and while human creativity might be the highest form of creativity, best not to dwell on human foolishness).
Still, AI is hell sexy. Futurists and venture capitalists like to talk up the “where we’re going and how quickly we’re getting there” shtick because it’s good for business. Their business.
Recently the venture capitalist with a future-fetish, the so-called “godfather of tech” Brad Feld, talked about the “human being who can augment themselves with technology.” His example, superficially convincing, is actually one of staggering asininity. “When I was a kid I had an encyclopaedia… and now you type a couple of words into a box…” He completes the flawed analogy, “Extrapolate twenty years from now and imaging a scenario where that’s physically implanted in your brain.” Twenty years!
Feld completes the ludicrous claims with the erroneous parallel of joint replacements – which are based on a fundamental understanding of mechanics, a far cry from the largely unknown and mind-bogglingly intricate nuances of cognition, emotion and intention.
Another prevalent trope in recent science fiction, when we are all actually walking around with those brain implants Feld reckons we’ll be sporting in twenty years, is of genuinely tailored ads – holographic ads appearing just to me (and others, just to you), enabled by the deepest reading of our personalities and thought-patterns.
Marketers of the world lick their lips in anticipation.
And neuroscientists are on the case. But the current status of what they know (as opposed to what they speculate) is somewhere around the level of those anatomists who were convinced that blood just “sloshed” around our bodies, before Galen came around and set them straight about circulation.
Investigations into neurophysiology will require a good deal (perhaps centuries) more research in both directions – reductionist, teasing out the minutiae of processes at the level of individual neurons and synapses, and expansionist, wrestling with those fields where science meets metaphysics: epistemology (the philosophy of knowing), ontology (the philosophy of being) and the respective claims of dualism (the ghost in the machine) versus materialism (the absolute primacy of brain processes).
Till then, marketers can ditch their dreams of “thinking machines.” There’ll be no genuine substitute for human intuition and ideas-men-and-women.
Sleep well adland – and keep creating.
Please login with linkedin to comment
Brian Mitchell cigarettes Designworks HOW&Y us presidential electionLatest News
Revium Snags Peter Bauld From Deloitte Digital
Revium, a leading full-service digital and AI consultancy, has announced the appointment of Peter Bauld (lead image) as Executive General Manager. Revium is a full-service digital and AI consultancy with over 20 years of experience creating engaging digital experiences for leading organisations and their customers. Bauld joins Revium after an illustrious career spanning over two […]
EMG/Gravity Media Names New Managing Director
The makers of Australia's Got Talent has been a magnet for senior hires in recent times.
Opinion: Shark Tank’s Sabri Suby Slams Politicians Jumping On TikTok Ban Bandwagon
Are politicians actually scaremongering about TikTok or just fed up of you doom-scrolling in the work bogs?
TV Ratings: “Ivana Was Robbed” – Final Three Contestants Revealed On Australian Idol
B&T's unsure if these Idol contestants look extra young or whether we are as old as we feel.
Veridooh Snatches Prashand Menon From ScentreGroup
Out-of-home OOH) and digital media leader Prashand Menon (lead image) has joined OOH ad tech company Veridooh as group business director within NSW and QLD. Menon joins Veridooh from his most recent role as ScentreGroup’s group business director and brings with him more than 10 years of experience in Australian media. Previously, he held positions […]
Creative Content Studio OK COOL Answers APAC’s Call, Opening In Melbourne
Life set to get extra confusing for new agency staffers mistaking OK COOL for a pass-ag housemate text message.
Harry’s Cafe de Wheels & Hipages Launch New Pie To Fuel Tradies While On The Tools
The pies should apparently be better for tradies' health, apparently but won't be better for on-site ribbing.
Women Leading Tech’s Woman Of The Year Megan Dalla-Camina: What’s The True Cost Of Cutting DEI Spending?
Cutting DE&I spending might seem easy but you might change your mind when faced with Dalla-Camina's ire.
Thrive Introduces A Batch Of New Senior Leadership Roles
You could say that Thrive is set to thrive with these new hires. But that would be too obvious.
It’s Coming Home! Sponsors Make Subbuteo World Cup Finals Free
No idea what Subbuteo is? You clearly had a more exciting childhood than our editorial team.
Media Bigwigs Bet On Predictive Intelligence Platform Prophet In $5M Seed Funding
Prophet, profit, geddit? Must be laugh-a-minute in this startup's office.
CommsDeclare Brands Shell Energy An “Olympic Gaslighter” & Urges Agencies Not To Pitch For Creative Account
And we thought the gaslight Olympics took place in the Coogee Bay Hotel smoking area!
AFL Wins Battle With Warner Bros. As New AFL Team Is Revealed
There hasn't been this much wrangling over a cartoon animal since, well, ever!
BBC Podcasts Go Global With Amazon Music
Ironically, BBC podcasts unlikely to be available in the Amazon given the lack of signal.
Johnson & Johnson’s Former Consumer Healthcare Arm Reviews Creative
J&J inspired by Scottish term for knowledge 'ken' in its rebrand; nothing says 'wise' like a shot of Listerine.
Kat & Co Transforms Into THE WORLD OF Experiential Agency
After more than twelve years of producing experiences for some of the world’s most innovative brands, including Hermes, Van Cleef & Arpels, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co, Kat & Co has quietly metamorphosed into THE WORLD OF. THE WORLD OF is an experiential agency at the juncture of culture, technology and the human condition. […]
Adobe Brings Firefly Generative AI Into Substance 3D Workflows
Still unclear of what generative AI actually is? Steer clear of this story.
Clemenger BBDO Introduces Saucy Campaign With Declan Cleary & Lee Kum Kee
When we heard this was a saucy campaign, we thought it be the barbecue and ketchup showdown we'd been waiting for.
Gawk Acquires 40 Billboard Locations From Transad
Gawk makes it move out of VIC into NSW with acquisition. Has promised to stop going on about Melbourne nightlife.
All About Attribution: Commission Factory Releases New eBook
Ever wanted to dive deep into channel attribution? Consider this the perfect springboard.
SMG Studio Launches Risk: Global Domination X Dune Part Two
Through a licensing agreement with Legendary Entertainment, SMG Studio inked the rights to adapt Dune: Part Two into a game based on Risk: Global Domination, Hasbro’s interactive board game. Inspired by Denis Villeneuve’s cinematic masterpiece, Dune: Part Two, this new digital adaptation, RISK: Global Domination X Dune: Part Two, is poised to captivate players from […]
RMIT Study Reveals That 73% Of Employees Don’t Believe Gen AI Is Relevant
Noticing staff switching off when you tell them about gen AI? Understand why here.
Australian Eggs Launches Egg-citing New Campaign Via Connecting Plots
How do you like your eggs in the morning? We usually skip them and go straight for the darts and whisky.
Future Lions 2024 Invites Young People To Be Heard With Spotify
Future Lions, of course, is the AKQA-backed student initiative at Cannes Lions, not a feeder for the rugby team.
QMS: Taylor Swift, Lunar New Year & Mardi Gras Were Boon For OOH Market
Taylor Swift, Lunar New Year and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival have had a dramatic impact on the number of people moving in and around Sydney over the past month, drawing big crowds into the heart of the city and its surrounding suburbs. New data from digital outdoor company QMS reveals a […]
Legend John McEnroe Joins Pepperstone’s Team Of Global Tennis Ambassadors
Despite the deal, McEnroe remains confused about difference between above- and below-the-line marketing.
LinkedIn Launches New Thought Leader Ads For Companies To Promote Member Posts
Though LinkedIn couldn't get any more insufferable? You thought wrong.
Latrell Mitchell Smacked On Wrist After Dropping Multiple F-Bombs In Post-Match Triple M Interview
Andrew Abdo has confirmed he is not angry... just disappointed.
TV Ratings: “When You Do Love Yourself, You’re Amazing” – Is This MAFS Most Heart-breaking Split?
Hold the press. MAFS groom and bride actually shown to be nice people.
Opinion: The Only Drag Marketers Should Be Worried About
Thought Transactional Drag was a lifeless club night in Newtown? Read this and you'll think again.
AWARD School Welcomes Class Of 2024
It's best to think of AWARD School like Survivor but with pitch decks instead of swimwear.
Interest In Motorsports Reaches New Heights As Formula 1 Grand Prix Revenue Expected To Surpass $100 Million
Need to get a dull sports client some quick results? Rustle up a Netflix series and watch the dollars roll in.
Chair Rob Murray To Depart As SCA Considers ARN’s Latest Takeover Bid
Struggling to make heads or tails of the SCA & ARN saga? Add this to your woes.
Adland Legend John Singleton Separates From Seventh Wife
Singo calls it quits with seventh wife as his race with Rupert Murdoch to become the most-married man continues.
ACCC Eyes Search Competition, Citing ‘Decreasing’ Quality & Rise In Generative AI
The only decline in search quality we notice is when B&T doesn't appear at the top of Google.
“Imagine A Career Above The Clouds”: Royal Australian Air Force Launches New Campaign Via VML
Don't worry about the forthcoming war with China - at least you'll get a bird's-eye view of the apocalypse.