Okay, irony off. Irony is a thing AI won’t get anyway. Meta Generative AI is coming soon, but who was waiting for it? I consider myself an AI heavy user, I’m curious to see what AI can do next, only to scare the shit out of myself. But imagine Instagram or Facebook with generative AI — this takes shit to a different level.

I was already concerned when Spotify announced it was training its AI with artists’ music because it seems like a logical step going from AI-generated algorithms to AI-generated music. This makes life even harder for original content creators, as it undermines the creative process and becomes another source for a flood of fake news. If you feel masochistic enough to read the comment sections on social media these days, you’ll get the feeling that this will find fertile ground. And the way Meta rolls out GenAI is so shady, I would rather not contribute to that.

It’s not like, “Hey, we wanna roll-out Generative AI; are you interested in training it with your content?” No, it’s hidden somewhere in the Meta-Verse. And you cannot just say no to your content being used for training AI; “you have to submit a bloody good reason for objecting for us to approve your request”, as Threads user Matt Navarra points out. You have to fill out a form and explain, why do you don’t want to make Meta the happiest place on virtual earth?

If you don’t know any reasons, here are mine:

• I prefer user-generated content because it’s a social network, not a socAIl network
• AI-generated content is a degradation of the human, creative creation process
• AI cannot recognize art and satire, which significantly increases the risk of fake news and manipulation, I don’t want to contribute to that
• AI-generated content is most likely to be favored by Meta and its algorithm, and is thus at the expense of user-generated content
• Meta is already abusing its market power to promote paid content and “recommendations” over the content of the people I follow and the content I really want to see

These were just a few points I included. You also have to provide your email address to get an opt-out mail with a verification code. According to Meta, the objection request is reviewed in accordance with relevant data protection laws. I guess that depends on the country you live in because you have to choose that from a drop-down menu, too. If your request is honored, it will be applied going forward. So far, so good. Sound like a lot of effort, doesn’t it? But think again: this would still be too easy. In the next paragraph, Meta acknowledges the following:

“We may still process information about you to develop and improve Al at Meta, even if you object or don’t use our Products and services. For example, this could happen if you or your information:

• Appear anywhere in an image shared on our Products or services by someone who uses them
• Are mentioned in posts or captions that someone else shares on our Products and service”

“ANYWHERE… on our products or services”… that is like a big eff you, we’ll use your data anyway. In Germany, it’s almost impossible to communicate without WhatsApp. I have like ten different and more secure messengers on my phone, but with whom am I communicating if no one is using it?

I really don’t like where this is going, and I think it’s time to leave Meta eventually. Unfortunately, I need that for work, and people are too lazy to switch to better messenger. Maybe it requires a hard cut here to educate the people around me?

The scientists chose five of the six channels with the biggest market share in 2022. Overall, they gathered, aggregated, and analyzed approximately 10,000 advertising spots on German television, of which approximately 70% (69.7%) were classified as “not harmful to the climate.” However, around 30.3% of the spots advertised goods or services harmful to the climate. Unsurprisingly, these spots promoted chocolate, cars, traveling, and beauty products.

Even worse, the study also points out that advertising strategies often aim to disguise the harmfulness of the product to the climate or even portray it as the opposite. For example, long-distance travel is associated with nature conservation, fuel-intensive hybrid SUVs are advertised with wild animals and natural landscapes, and the consumption of coffee capsules is presented as a substitute for failed climate policy.

As I mentioned earlier, this data pertains to German television. If you’re not familiar with the German media landscape, you must know that public and private broadcasts are subject to strict legal guidelines. After World War II, where the media played an important role, an initiative known as the “Interstate Media Treaty” (Medienstaatsvertrag, formerly Rundfunkstaatsvertrag) was launched and has been updated ever since.

The scientists further point out that section 8(4) states that advertising must not promote behavior that “endangers health or safety or, to a large extent, the protection of the environment.” Therefore, this type of advertising should not be permitted at all.

I highly agree with the authors of the study in calling on media policymakers to take measures to curb advertising for climate-damaging products. Considering the ongoing climate change and the binding climate targets set in Paris, this is a crucial task.

Source (German): https://www.telepolis.de/features/Werbung-Wie-Medien-den-Klimawandel-befeuern-9710528.html

Prompt engineering has nothing to do with engineering or coding; it’s more about communication. AI is not a mind reader; you have to tell it what you want. No matter how clear the picture is in your mind, there’s always room for interpretation. Anyone who has ever written a briefing for an agency or a freelancer, or has left the hairdresser with a fucked-up haircut, knows how difficult this can be.

Many AI tools have a chat-like interface, and you should use it like that. Communicate! You can refine your result iteratively, which can be frustrating, or you can give as much information as possible upfront. According to RISEN, you start with R.

Role:

Define the role the AI has to fulfill. If you need a copy text for advertising, you can write something like: “You’re a professional copywriter.” Next, you write what needs to be done.

Instructions:

To stick with my example of the copywriter, instructions could be: “You need to write a text for an advertisement.” Next, provide the necessary information to create the content such as:

• Who is the target group?
• What is the key message of the text?
• What product or service is advertised?
• What is the benefit or USP of it?
• What is the concept or design of the advertisement?
• Who is the brand that advertises? •
• What is the brand’s voice?
• etc.

To get a dynamic text, you should define the structure of it.

Steps:

A copywriter usually starts with a good headline to grab the reader’s attention and interest. Next, they would write a short intro to the text, which later features the USP or 2-3 benefits to generate desire in the readers. Lastly, you need a call to action.

End goal:

The goal of the text would be a catchy headline (or some proposals for it) and a copy text. Narrow: The last step is to narrow the task down with precise instructions. You can define the text length, must-haves, if you use a corporate glossary, or no-gos to avoid wrong words or expressions.

These are the five steps of RISEN that help to create awesome results with AI. As you can see, good results are not achieved with a single sentence. Sometimes you have to write a thousand words to create 300 good words. And when you’re done with prompting and the result still sucks, you can still send the briefing to a professional copywriter. This is just a basic example but think of the possibilities. And maybe you need to write a cover letter for a CV? Get it done with AI.

Of course, sometimes you don’t even have an idea what you’re looking for and just need inspiration or someone to talk to. That’s also a way to go because in the end, it’s all about communication.

As of today, AI is already generating playlists according to users’ tastes, and there are rumors that Spotify is pushing internal artists with exclusive deals into prominent playlists. Now, they are transitioning from algorithmically generated playlists to algorithmically generated music.

But how will users react to this? While big stars may not be directly affected, what about small and indie artists? Many people I know simply put on a playlist for background music without much concern for the artists. As a consumer myself (though I use Apple Music), I understand how easy it is to do so.

What are the alternatives then? Bandcamp could be one, but it needs to offer a streaming app to remain competitive. To achieve that, it requires a competitive pricing model for both users and artists. Additionally, artists need to have the rights to exclusively sell/stream their music on that platform. Furthermore, artists have to become their own managers—a task that, as an artist myself, I know can be burdensome. Artists want to focus on making music and performing, not on promotional activities, accounting, and fulfillment.

In my opinion, this is the time for artists like Taylor Swift to take a stand. If artists like Billy Caso were to leave Spotify, it might prompt some people to consider a change. But without stars on Spotify, people will start seeking alternatives.

Alternatively, Spotify might need to reconsider its approach.