Generative AI is a creative opportunity for businesses and humanity

While there are genuine reasons to be cautious about generative AI, the technology also packs serious creative potential for humanity.

Mark Green, Accenture Song ANZ President

There seems to be a familiar tech panic surrounding generative AI right now. Countries, businesses and thought leaders are all circumspect about the ability of humans and machines to co-exist. From technology stealing jobs, to transforming life too quickly and of course dumbing down everything – one algorithm at a time. Even the US congress is considering legislation to rein it in. And the Italians have gone one step further and banned Chat GPT.

Whoa! This is scary. Web 1.0, 2.0 and the metaverse were life-changing already. How exactly will humanity cope in this ever-changing landscape? When in doubt why not channel David Bowie. 16 years ago in an interview with the BBC about the internet, among other things, Bowie highlights “we’re on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying”.

He added further “the actual content and the state of content is going to be so different to anything we can envisage at the moment – the interplay between the user and the provider will be so simpatico it’s going to crush our ideas of what mediums are all about”. Wow! Has there ever been a better opportunity to unleash creativity? Where there is unrest and rebellion lies great creative opportunity. So while there are genuine reasons to be cautious let’s focus on using generative AI in a creative way for good. And people are already leading the way.

Holly Herndon, an experimental musician, introduced her own artificial voice called Holly Plus. Herndon allows users to upload audio files and receive a new version sung in her voice.

The Sydney Jewish Museum is using generative AI to digitise Holocaust survivors in a new exhibition, Reverberations: A Future for Memory Exhibition. Using AI and next generation language technologies survivors’ stories are being transformed into an interactive biography. This means you can ask a question to the digital version of each survivor and hear them respond back to you in real time.

Harnessing the power of human collaboration and artificial intelligence, ReefCloud allows the worlds coral reef monitoring community to work together in real time to improve the monitoring, reporting and conservation of our reefs.

Airbus used generative design to create A320 interior partitions that are 45 per cent lighter, yet able to withstand a 16g impact. Its generative AI cycled millions of design choices to identify the most effective design based on two natural growth patterns: slime mould and mammal bones.

Kering, the second largest luxury goods group globally, recently launched KNXT, an innovative fashion space to curate content and to “reinvent the way we shop online”. The standout feature of KNXT is its AI-powered personal shopping assistant called “/madeline”, helping shoppers discover and buy fashion items tailored to their preferences, across a wide range of Kering brands including Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and more.

Mercedes-Benz is using generative AI and Nvidia’s Omniverse to make cars that can communicate what they need. If the car has a problem, it will be able to explain what needs fixing, report when repairs are poorly done and advocate for you with Mercedes. Beyond issues, entertainment, driving options, seating, ambient lighting, and massage seats will automatically be set when the car identifies each driver and be able to move from car to car.

Unilever have launched a generative AI tool Fridge Night, with its Hellmann’s mayonnaise brand, with the purpose of reducing food waste. From just two or three ingredients in Americans’ fridges, it generates multiple recipes from Hellman’s recipe management system. In the first week alone, 80,000 Americans used and raved about it.

The Los Angeles Chargers announced a partnership with MeetKai, a conversational AI. Fans will have the ability to view all plays for a requested criterion within seconds. So, asking “Show me all running plays that went for 20+ yards”, becomes a real possibility for anyone with access to the AI. Not just a great experience feature for fan engagement, the platform will be used by coaching staff, players, and front offices for film study and decision-making.

And if all of this is making you think you need a drink then a language generation AI can also help you decide what to drink by combining existing reviews into condensed, summarised suggestions.

So while these examples aren’t all rock’n’roll they do showcase the immense creative opportunity for humanity. And as Bowie said when referring to ideas, “That grey space in the middle is what the 21st century is going to be about.” David Droga adds “smart people make the world go round, creative people make it worth living in”. So let’s change the world with our ideas. The starting place is sitting on the desk in front of you.

Mark Green is Accenture Song ANZ president, co-founder, The Monkeys and chairman of Advertising Council Australia.