People keep asking me if I’m worried. Worried? That’s such a random question, so many possibilities pop up. Maybe they mean about airline travel? Or, how the summer seems to be speeding by? Perhaps they mean something closer to home, like how expensive avocados have gotten lately? Several times I’ve blundered along with my feeble replies, but turns out that isn’t what I’m being asked about. Turns out it’s AI.

By now we’ve all heard of AI. What we’ve heard is probably different on any given day. The question for those in the creative industries is, can AI replace the “art” that we produce in the communication industry? Our writing? Design? Strategy? You name it — AI is rapidly arriving. I heard a fascinating “debate” recently about whether AI produced art should be allowed in art competitions, and if so, under what category?

We have entered new territory, my friends. It was predicated though, wasn’t it? “With the information I can access I can run things 900 to 1,200 times better than any human.” —Tron (1982). The future is now.

Much of the focus, to date, has been on using such technology to handle more of the repetitive and sometimes tedious types of communication many businesses require. Customer service efforts have been enhanced by the use of chat bots for years. The technology is perfect for learning about customer preferences, connecting them to solutions and building loyalty. For many years this has been a primary focus for AI in marketing. This will continue to evolve and expand to meet customer needs and desires.

As a communicator specializing in the written and spoken word, I wonder how AI may influence the development of impactful communication. When writing for clients, and myself, I start by asking several key questions. AI has the ability to tap into these questions with responses much more quickly than humans. Yet, I do worry.

I wonder if AI can handle emotions. Emotions are what make us tick. One of the main reasons that communication was developed was to meet our need to be connected with others. That’s when the magic happens. Some content is best written by a human writer. And, there are additional considerations.

Quality concerns and plagiarism fears are only a few of the realities of AI for original content as it is understood today. AI relies on data and algorithms for content. Therefore, the intended tone may get lost. AI tools can cover black and white areas of a topic, but gray areas are more subjective. AI tools piece content together from various sites and rewords it. In contrast, effective content needs to be authoritative and informative, which may be difficult to do when stitching information together from various sites without proper human review.

Creative content makes articles more engaging. People tend to read and share articles they feel a connection to, but AI does not have the emotional empathy to create a story. AI does not understand user intent and still lacks the common sense of human behavior.

AI tools use existing data for content, so this means they cannot come up with fresh ideas or original content. AI tools make it hard to come up with new content with the latest, trending ideas and topics.

Worried? Maybe a bit. Effective communication is essential to the human race. Our humanness is worth protecting. Still, we can always ensure that AI doesn’t gain control over us, right?

“I know I’ve made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal.” — Hal 9000, 2001 “A Space Odessey” (1968)

Stacy Cornay is the owner of Communication Concepts Public Relations & Advertising. She may be reached at 303-638-7127; scornay@comm-concepts.com; www.comm-concepts.com; Facebook.com/Communication Concepts; Twitter @CommConceptsPR; or LinkedIn.