The 12 Laws of AI – Law 2: Humble Beginnings and Law 3: Transparency
October 3, 2023
The following is the second part in our blog series “The 12 Laws of AI.” The series is a set of practical and philosophical guidelines for DMOs to work from as they explore the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI). Check out the first part of this series, “The 12 Laws of AI – Law 1: AI is the Tool, Not the Craftsman”
Welcome back to Madden’s “The12 Laws of AI” series! This week, we’ll explore the ideal way to get started with your exploration of AI tools and best practices around transparency regarding the usage of these tools. The new plethora of AI platforms and tools represents a massive opportunity to enhance your DMO’s operations and embrace a culture of experimentation and innovation. But, as the old saying goes, “you have to walk before you can run,” and that’s doubly true with these new tools. The next several laws will introduce you to critical topics in the AI space that you’ll want to get comfortable with because more than a few of these concerns will almost certainly come up and require you to advocate effectively in favor of utilizing tools like ChatGPT, Bard, or MidJourney (to name but a few). Let’s get started!
law 2: The Law of Humble Beginnings
Every master was once a humble beginner. In the vast realm of AI, start your voyage with a single, modest step. Embrace tools that are freely offered. Focus on specific needs, engage in playful experiments, and refine diligently. Yet, remain vigilant to the mirages of the digital desert. For in practice, the key to mastery lies.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
– Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu
So Many Options
ChatGPT, Google Bard, MidJourney, Dall-E, Grammarly, Stable Diffusion, Hemingway…whew! The list of AI tools is growing at a rapid clip, and it’s easy to either get entirely overwhelmed with the choices available or assume that ChatGPT is the answer to everything AI-related. Fortunately, we’re here to help with a handy ‘cheat sheet’ that will give you some of the best options we have found (and use!) for a plethora of daily tasks and projects. As you peruse the options available, consider that it’s best to master one or two tools first before moving on to the next. Image generators, for instance, can be tough to use effectively if you’re not yet skilled at building prompts or integrating AI tools into a seamless workflow (using ChatGPT to build an image description for use in an image generator like Dall-E, for instance). For that reason alone, it’s likely best to begin your exploration of AI tools with one (or both) of the two leading chatbot AI platforms, ChatGPT or Google’s Bard AI.
ChatGPT vs Google Bard: Which is better?
Let’s not bury the lead…if we were stuck on a desert island with just one AI tool to use, we’d probably pack ChatGPT’s 4.0 paid version in our electronic duffel bag. That said, Google Bard is likewise impressive, and both platforms have individual strengths to consider. Here at Madden, we routinely employ both depending on the task at hand. So, how are these two platforms different? Here are a few of the differences to consider between the two:
- ChatGPT was trained on text contained across the entire internet but only up to mid-2021. Google Bard was trained using both a different model and unique data sets, but what really sets it apart is its real-time access to the internet. This means that Bard will be able to give you up-to-date answers and serves as the better tool for reference or research work (e.g., “What are the top 10 destinations for visitor satisfaction in the United States” as an example). Bard’s answers also tend to be a little easier to read, with better conversational responses and wider context in its responses to user queries.
- ChatGPT, in our experience, is the better tool for data analysis, planning-style tasks, writing assistance, brainstorming, outlining/summarizing, and email writing.
- Google Bard, thanks to its ability to connect to the web, is terrific for up-to-date answers to research questions but also excels at formula writing for spreadsheets and simplifying complex topics.
- ChatGPT is a little better at remembering the context of individual conversations; power users will often set up ChatGPT to act as a work assistant in one window (beginning with an ‘act as if you are a business assistant’ prompt) and a personal assistant in another to help with non-work-related tasks. Bard is more limited in this regard.
- Bard is able to provide images in its responses, something ChatGPT is unable to do at this time.
In short? Bard is a wonderful research tool, while ChatGPT is the better writing and ideation tool, but it’s very close, and both have their place in your AI toolkit. If you take the time to master these two platforms, you will be set up very well to succeed with the other tools outlined in the cheat sheet below!
ai platform cheat sheet
- General work, ideation,data analysis and more (ChatGPT, Google Bard)
- Content creation (Copy.ai, Jasper, Surfer, HappyPlaces)
- Text enhancement (Grammarly, Wordtune, Hemingway)
- Image generation (neural.love, Stable Diffusion, DALL·E 2, Illustroke, Midjourney)
- Note-taking and transcription (Mem, Otter)
- Video creation (Fliki, Synthesia)
- Audio creation (ElevenLabs)
- Slide decks and presentations (Beautiful.ai)
- Research (genei)
- Automation (Zapier’s OpenAI integration)
- And many more! (Futurepedia)
law 3: The Law of Transparency
When harnessing the might of technological sorcery, deception may entice, but transparency endures. Be forthright about your use of AI; allow your audience to discern the blend of man and machine. In an age where the lines blur between real and digital, your transparency becomes the beacon of integrity, setting you apart in a sea of obscurity.
In very short order, a stigma about the use of AI tools has begun to develop. This has primarily been driven by a misunderstanding of the capabilities of platforms like ChatGPT, but also due to some cases of misuse. While it’s tempting to forgo using these tools for fear of criticism, I would encourage you to instead adopt a policy of transparency with your board and local stakeholders, detailing when, where, and how you’re using AI tools to enhance and extend your DMO’s capabilities. As we explore the rest of the laws, specifically those that detail the amazing capability of AI tools to make you and your team almost “superhuman,” it will hopefully become clear why the case for integrating AI tools is crucial.
Let’s go over a few best practices to help ensure you and your organization are set up for success as you adopt these new tools into your operations.
Be able to explain the basics of AI and educate stakeholders
As you’re hopefully learning, AI is not a magic box or easy button; it’s critical that you can explain the basics of AI to the layperson. You can even ask ChatGPT or Bard to provide this information to you! “Explain how AI works, as if I were 5” is one entertaining way to do this, though maybe not for use with a board member…I would suggest using “non-technical person” or “layman” instead.
Clearly define AI usage policies (you’ll want an internal policy!)
Here at Madden, we developed an internal AI policy that aimed to provide solid guidelines for our team members on the do’s and don’ts of AI. We’re happy to share that document if you would like to see it! But here are a few of the key points of a good usage policy document:
- Encouragement to use AI tools to increase effectiveness and efficiency in the role of each individual team member.
- Outline the types of AI tools used, their purposes, and typical scenarios where they might be used.
- Detail objectives for using AI, including how your organization uses it to enhance customer engagement (with chatbots, for instance), improving research efforts, or optimizing content.
- Reminder to never use personal, proprietary, confidential, or other similarly sensitive information in any AI tool.
- Don’t blindly accept what AI gives us; always verify results.
- We will be thoughtful about when to use AI tools and refrain from using them when it isn’t appropriate for the case and/or circumstances.
Share your success stories
Incorporate success stories, highlights, and case studies illustrating how AI tools that you’re using are positively impacting your DMO’s operations. Are you using ChatGPT to help analyze data that you’ve invested in to impact decision making? Share that! Helping stakeholders and board members understand how powerful these tools are (especially for smaller DMOs) is a powerful advocacy tool not just for using AI but also for demonstrating your commitment to being a “future-proof” organization.
With just a little legwork and a firm adherence to transparency, you can safely eliminate many of the headwinds that might be holding back your enthusiasm for adopting these tools in your role or for the organization at large.
In our next blog in the series, we’ll take a look at some of the concerns and challenges regarding AI biases — what they are, what they are not, and the efforts to correct these issues. Then, with some of the necessary groundwork laid down, we’ll begin our exploration into the limitless possibilities that these new tools represent!
other blogs in this series
Law 1: AI is the Tool, Not the Craftsman
Law 4: The Law of the Imperfect Mirror
Law 5: The Law of Liberated Potential and Law 6: The Law of Collective Empowerment
Law 7: The Law of the Artful Inquiry
Law 8: The Law of Constructive Command
Law 9: The Law of Data Enlightenment
Law 10: The Law of Democratized Innovation
Law 11: The Law of Creative Exploration
Law 12: The Law of Ascendency
Note: This collection of “laws” on AI incorporate insights from my research and writing on the topic. To make it as memorable as I could — and to demonstrate one of the many powerful utilities these tools offer — I asked ChatGPT 4.0 to style my writing in the voice of Robert Greene, author of the best-selling book “The 48 Laws of Power.” I hope you will agree that each of the Laws is a bit more memorable with this distinct style being employed. It’s crucial that we embrace these new tools and transparently acknowledge how they improve our critical thinking and public sharing of ideas.
