Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, generative AI has dominated the conversation in the world of business and beyond. Executives were quick to jump on board, demanding their teams use AI – although at times it hasn’t always been clear to what end. Experimentation has been necessary, and now teams are starting to see where AI can and can’t make a positive impact.
At the same time, the public is experiencing the impacts of AI, and it’s not all positive. Many fear a drastic negative impact on education, and as a result, many are moving back to paper and pencil in class. Warnings about job losses have been floating around for ages. Some high-level AI executives are raising alarms about the potential for more serious harm. Without strong regulations to mitigate these challenges, the public is starting to turn on this technology.
Business leaders should take their concerns seriously. Without confidence that these technologies have proper guardrails, the public’s attitude towards AI will likely continue to sour. Even a third of consumers who regularly use AI will fact-check its responses and don’t want it in certain places. This doesn’t make the public ignorant, as some AI advocates suggest. Tech companies haven’t been transparent about the harms their products could cause in the past. It’s not surprising that attitudes towards AI are trending down.
We are starting to hear from clients “must look real” and “cannot look like AI.” This can sometimes feel a bit ironic when they’re also briefing us with AI-rendered concepts of their own ideas. As a side note: this kind of casual use of AI is not necessarily harmless. Depending on what tools they’re using, teams could inadvertently reveal trade secrets or create a risk of copyright infringement. But it’s interesting to see how fast this change has occurred. A year ago, our clients wanted to know “what can we do with AI?” Now they’re backing off and looking for design that looks and feels decidedly human.
That’s why, in part, we created principles and a policy book to guide our use of AI. We assigned a team to investigate how we should be governing usage, based on legal, ethical, practical, and philosophical questions. Over several months, the team drafted a set of principles that set the tone for how we will approach generative AI tools. They are:
- AI is a powerful tool that can fuel our success if we use it with discipline, knowledge, and innovation.
- Creativity and insight are fundamentally human. AI augments our work but can’t replace our inventiveness or perspective.
- The values and vision that guide our decisions are, and always will be, human-centric and human-driven.
- AI requires a beginner’s mind. We will prioritize a test-and-learn environment.
- AI is changing. We must stay responsive as it evolves and be open to all future scenarios.
- AI makes mistakes. We own our work, regardless of the tools we use to create it.
- We will always prioritize quality. AI may allow us to do more, faster, but our standard will always be excellence.
- AI is not unique. How we use it can be. Ultimately, it will be our human ingenuity and passion that define the future of SLD.
By providing our team with clear parameters for AI usage, we hope they will feel more confident testing and learning. We also hope this provides confidence for our partners in the quality of our work.
As Generative AI evolves, we will remain responsive. A dedicated team tracks new developments in technology to ensure we stay ahead. Our teams are encouraged to test new models through internal innovation projects. At the same time, we’re amplifying in-person, human-driven innovation and engagement to keep our minds sharp and our creativity stimulated.
By sharing our AI Principles, we hope to be part of an ongoing conversation about how creative industries can support a future where AI supports human beings – not the other way around.