A Newsletter on Marketing (and Life) #011

Is Gen AI making you dumber?

Author

Jordan Ogren
September 01, 2023

An essential skill in life is thinking.

Whether you're a marketer, parent, or president of the country, thinking is the key to reaching higher efficacy.

So then, why do we rarely talk about thinking? Or at least engage in exercises that enhance our cognitive ability?

Because people care more about quick change (tactics) than lasting change (strategy).

I'm here to say that the change that matters takes time:

To become a better marketer or parent takes significant time and adaptations to your thinking.

While I can't give you the recipe or steps for that change, I can provide an approach that will make your transition frictionless:

Deep listening.

I came to terms with myself this week that I need to do a better job at this. I need to come to conversations open and in a state of receptivity (deep listening).

To improve our thinking, observation through listening is one approach.

And is the premise of this newsletter: To help you improve how you think.

The only promise on the wrapper of this email is that.

I hope I can deliver.

Marketing insight: Generative AI Brain Drain

(Time to read: 1:13 minutes)

Since the release of ChatGPT 4, I’ve been experimenting with generative AI.

And while I’ve learned so much and gained efficiencies, one thing sticks out:

It is making me dumber.

Let me explain: Humans only have so much cognitive power to use, and while outsourcing low-value cognitive tasks to AI is excellent, it has an unintended consequence.

This became clear recently when I was given a low-level task that required some thinking. Without even thinking (PUNS!), I deployed my Gen AI tools and began to solve it. While this has and will likely continue to work, as I then use my thinking on what it outputs, it goes against a core concept: Diagnose before action.

The premise of “diagnose before action” is that we jump into solve mode too quickly and should stay in diagnose mode instead. The reason is to truly understand the problem/project before solving it. When we fail to do this, we struggle to formulate an effective and sustainable solution or aggravate the problem further.

When I work best with AI, I’m entirely in control. That means I diagnose the situation and then deploy AI in a beneficial way. I create an approach or process and plug AI into the places where it can help. This touches on another principle of mine: Process first, tools second.

We must have a process to maximize AI’s contribution. Don’t find a tool; build a process and then find tools to improve (e.g., speed up) the steps of that process.

So, how can one avoid a Generative AI Brain Drain? I don’t believe it’s possible.

Next time, I plan to share a few techniques to combat it as you dive into using Generative AI in your marketing.

Three Books. Three Quotes

"Let go of the thing that you’re trying to be (the noun) and focus on the actual work you need to be doing (the verb).”

– Austin Kleon (Keep Going by Austin Kleon)

"The idea that a well-defined now exists throughout the universe is an illusion, an illegitimate extrapolation of our own experience.”

"All of us are weak and frail, but you must admit that none is weaker than yourself.”

Heard. Saw. Experienced.

Heard:

I suck at taking compliments. How about you? When I get one, I deflect it and try to move past it. But this week, there was one compliment that I'm lingering on. After seeing my design work, the creative director at our consultancy mentioned how quickly I learned things.

And that's something that's been said to me over the years. And rather than celebrate and be proud, I shake it off and keep working harder.

Today, I'm celebrating my curiosity and desire to learn and improve.

Saw:

I was driving home and saw this younger woman (20-30) with blood splashed on her face. This was a few weeks ago, but the image has stayed with me. What if that was my niece or sister? I would have slammed on the brakes and got out to help.

Instead, I drove by, like everyone else. What could I have done? Likely nothing. And yet, I could have done the most humane thing possible: show her that I see her as a human. I failed.

Next time, I will hold this contradiction (helping will not overcome the foundational reason she is bloody) and ensure I ACT.

Experienced:

We painted our living room and kitchen! When I say we, I mean 97% my wife and her parents and 3% me. This was a wonderful experience in patience, expectations, and acceptance. Let explain:

Patience is needed when family comes together, and to turn up the volume, there were (high) expectations of what the space should look like. This resulted in me being pulled from ceiling painting and put on clean-up duty. Instead of getting upset, I accepted my role and did it well.

Ultimately, my wife did an incredible job beautifying our space, and it is another step in making our duplex our own 🏡❣️Being able to create and maintain safe spaces is a critical skill. I was at a conference this week, and the host of the panel discussion said we could ask any question because this was a safe space.

What I’m writing

I have four writing projects running: (1) Guide to the Human Operating System, (2) Marketing Concepts, (3) Almanac of Jordan Ogren, and (4) ON…

Each week I am adding new content or updating/finishing previous writings. My hope is that you can watch and help these ideas/concepts grow.

If you click on any of the below links, you can comment and share your thoughts. If you think I need to beef up an argument, tell me. If you fell asleep reading at a certain point, tell me (if you wake back up)!

I hope one of these writings can help you make progress :)

New:

Old:

Thank you for reading and giving me some of your time. I don’t take that lightly.

Please share any thoughts or ideas to help me bring you more value!

Have a beautiful Friday, and enjoy your Labor Day weekend, friend ☀️😊

– Jo (every second counts)