Feb 09 2024 03:41 AM - edited Feb 12 2024 07:33 AM
Since MS's Nonprofit Global Leaders Summit, I have been talking to many people in our organisation about the benefits of Gen AI and trying to allay fears that it is going to take their jobs. However, yesterday a person getting started with her career asked me an excellent and very valid question that I did not know how to answer. I thought I would bring it to this community to see if anyone had thoughts or ideas on how to respond to it. This person is a creative person.
The question: "I understand that AI can help me do my job. However, I get immense job and self-satisfaction from the creative process and knowing that I am the one who created the content, design, whatever it might be. If I offload that to AI, where does the job satisfaction come in?"
Thoughts?
Feb 09 2024 10:59 AM
Thank you so much for posing this question. It is such a great perspective, my mom is a college English teacher and we have many rich discussions about the relationship between AI and the creative process, being able to still find your voice in the time of AI and more.
Though many of us think AI is a great tool to get started in composing and email or writing a draft, that is not the required or only use case from my perspective. You can use AI to inform your perspective through research, be your brainstorming buddy and more without asking it to draft anything for you but, instead, help you think through what you are going to draft and what you might consider as you do draft your work. That leaves you to write where you get satisfaction from that or where you want to hone your skills.
Feb 09 2024 11:27 AM - edited Feb 09 2024 11:29 AM
@mrb999
I love this question! Speaking personally, I also love the creative process of writing and designing. I like the ownership and satisfaction I get from creating something from scratch.
But for me, AI has become an important co-creator and brainstorming partner in my process that helps creativity rather than replaces my voice or does the work for me. I use Copilot to co-create in the following ways:
Breaking through writer's block: Starting from a blank page can be hard. I often use Copilot to help formulate a starting point. For example, I can prompt, "I need to write about the importance of XYZ, what are some key points that I should cover? What are the challenges that people face in this area?"
Getting feedback on early drafts or approaches: When I'm starting something, I can ask Copilot for early considerations. A prompt might be: "Here's a statement on XYZ topic. What are some other points of view I should consider? What are some questions I should cover?"
Editing and refining: As someone once said, "Brevity is the soul of wit". I can take a large braindump of ideas and thoughts and then ask Copilot "Can you please write a summary of this?" It helps me summarize and organize my own writing so that I can move to a second draft.
Time savings: A critical value of Copilot for me is productivity - I free up time from daily things like emails, meeting summaries, and more - so that I have more time for creating.
I also use Copilot to react to what it gets *wrong*. If I ask it to write a summary of content at an early draft, and I feel like it has missed my core message - it's a chance to me to revisit what I've created and see why it pulled something else. Was I not clear? Did I unintentionally overrepresent something secondary? Do I need to build out my thesis more explicitly?
You might be interested in some of the processes that @Beth_Kanter posted on LinkedIn as a behind-the-scenes look at co-creating a recent webinar with AI https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bethkanter_recap-nonprofits-ai-a-conversation-with-activity-715634371...
Feb 09 2024 12:48 PM
Feb 09 2024 01:24 PM
Feb 09 2024 01:32 PM
@mrb999
That's a really great question! Personally, I use AI as an aid and complement to my work rather than as a replacement for original ideas or thoughts. For example, if I am preparing a PowerPoint presentation for a meeting, I can use AI to assist (if needed) with creating visually appealing slides and layouts to best present my content, but the content itself and the narrative of the presentation will be my own responsibility. So, AI does have its value in enhancing things like efficiency, productivity, and quality of the work, but it doesn't replace the originality of thoughts/ideas. For me, my usage is on an "as needed" basis.
Feb 09 2024 03:46 PM
I love everyone's perspective on this topic so far! There are some great points and ideas on this thread.
I think many people feel the same way as the person that posed the question regarding finding joy and pride in things we create or contribute to whether it's at work or otherwise.
I echo what everyone has already said, but how I personally view and use AI is like a digital assistant. It helps me compile data faster instead of manually, which can be tedious. It also gives me suggestions on voice and writing style when I have writer's block, which is a very helpful tool for those of us who are in marketing/comms roles!
Overall, I think it's a great companion to help us be more efficient throughout our day. Kind of like what Clippy was to Microsoft Word in the 1990s only on a much larger scale and can do so many more things (sorry, Clippy!)
Much like all the tech that's available today, it's intended to make our lives easier, not necessarily do all the work for us. In the end, it's up to us to decide how we use it.
Feb 11 2024 10:13 AM
Feb 12 2024 07:33 AM
Feb 12 2024 09:24 AM
Feb 12 2024 07:35 PM
Feb 13 2024 09:12 AM
Feb 14 2024 02:39 AM
Feb 14 2024 01:06 PM - edited Feb 14 2024 01:07 PM
@mrb999 Thanks for sharing your situation - been hearing from other nonprofit leaders similar types of concerns or fears from staff. It inspired me to reflect on the very early stages of adoption for nonprofit organizations and write this up: https://bethkanter.org/people-first-ai/
@amygoddard very astute observation and 100% agree. Ask the question of what part of the process brings the most joy and or most pain - is a great place to start.