Photo by Jake Fagan
The web is changing before our eyes.
Ever more content is being created, and much of it now is being generated using AI tools.
From one perspective this is exciting. Creators have new tools to play with. Weird and wonderful things can be imagined into being with a few clever prompts.
But there is an obvious downside.
The flood of new content, whether it is AI-generated text, images or video, is flooding the places we go to find information.
Searching the web, browsing reviews, scrolling through social media, it all increasingly leads you to mediocre content that has been generated by machines rather than humans.
At best this is a source of frustration. I do not want to hear a synthetic voice providing a superficial summary of a news event on YouTube: I want to watch the event itself. But YouTube’s algorithm seems to be increasingly struggling to tell the difference.
This is not a new problem. The web has always been awash with scams and spam. Every kind of business, from legitimate brands to shady operators, has employed SEO tactics to surface content in the places where potential customers – or marks – might be.
The difference now is the volume and the increasing sophistication of this output.
It is already difficult to discern the authenticity of content. As AI technology progresses this will become impossible.
I am not a luddite. Some AI-generated content is timely, useful and valuable. But much of it is not.
And consistently finding high quality, original content and experiences on the web is already a challenge.
Whether it is trying to find a good product in a sea of dodgy listings, looking for accurate reporting amid a glut of fake news, or dealing with chat bots when you just want to speak to a person.
This creates a huge opportunity for brands that are brave enough to resist the efficiency gains AI zealots promise, and the race to the bottom this often entails, and focus instead on human centred experiences.
Trust, integrity and authenticity will become increasingly important.
As AI creates a near infinite volume of online content, and powers ever more customer interactions, people will place a greater value on quality over quantity.
Expect to see premium brands focus on the people they employ, rather than the tech they deploy. For many, this will be a price worth paying.
