In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, some professionals are choosing to resist the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into their work processes. Communications genius Sabine Zetteler, based in London, runs a high-profile game-changing sustainability-heavy agency. Unlike many of her peers, she’s reluctant to embrace the AI technologies that have taken her industry by storm. The moment of realization came about a year ago, when her coworkers at the marketing firm where she works began using AI to write copy and generate ideas. On the other hand, Zetteler is firmly convinced that computer-written text must not replace human ingenuity.
Zetteler leads a permanent team of some ten staff, working as full-time and part-time members of a team. She agrees with some of the potential benefits that AI can bring, especially in the realm of social good. She harbors concerns about its broader implications on society. “Why would I bother to read something someone couldn’t be bothered to write?” Zetteler stated, reflecting her belief in the intrinsic value of human effort.
At first, digital marketing professional Jackie Adams was not an early adopter of AI. She did care about the environment, and to her using AI was a cheap and dirty shortcut. Six months ago, Adams was given orders to slash her budget. Now under intense pressure, she too has made the decision to do as her peers and embrace AI tools. Regardless of this shift, she shared her feelings of hopelessness when it comes to AI’s increasing power within her field. “I started playing with it a bit more after reading job descriptions asking for AI experience,” she explained. “I recently realized that if I don’t implement it into my ways of working, I’m going to get left behind.”
Adams would soon discover the steep environmental cost of deploying AI. He was most apprehensive about the energy consumption and infrastructure that would be required to keep up with this technology. “I found out that the environmental impact was awful with all the energy consumption required to run the data centres. I don’t think that people are aware of that,” Adams noted.
To this end, business owner Florence Achery of Yoga Retreats & More pledges to stay further away from AI technology. She sees them adopting these as an antithesis to her business’s fundamental belief that is based on human connection. “My initial reaction was that AI is soulless and is a contradiction with my business, which is all about human connection,” Achery remarked. She further elaborated on her ethical stance against AI by stating, “What’s the point of sending something we didn’t write, reading a newspaper written by bots… It means nothing to me.”
Sierra Hanson spoke to similar themes, emphasizing the necessity of critical thinking in human functions. She stressed, “Our job as the humans is to use our critical thinking skills. If the only things that you’re feeding into ChatGPT are really simple stuff, you’re not being innovative. It’s doing the thinking for you.” Hanson argued that depending on AI would undermine personal creativity and intellectual curiosity.
In this era of open conversation about artificial intelligence, many industry leaders and creatives are still wary of its impact on their fields and ethical beliefs. Zetteler doesn’t think we should measure success solely by profit margins. Rather, he argues that what matters is the contributions that build society and make individuals well. “Already my profit margins look unsuccessful if that’s how you measure success,” she said. “How about if you measure success by how much you’re contributing to society and how well you sleep?”
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