Your 6-step plan for success in an increasingly generative AI media & entertainment world
6 things you should do to turn generative AI perils into your personal power & promise
Time for your weekly AI media and entertainment brAIn dump! So let’s go! First, “the trAIler” - the 10 key media-related AI headlines from last week (the “AI:10”). Next, “the mAIn event” - this week’s feature story that may help you transform your life (bold statement, I know, but just read it). Then, “the cocktAIl” - my AI mixology that gives you the link to register for free to my AI virtual roundtable session on March 27th with Stewart Copeland of legendary band The Police. Finally, “the AI legal case tracker” - updates on the key generative AI-focused copyright infringement cases.
I. the trAIler - 10 “quick hit” AI headlines from last week
(1) Oops they did it again! The Washington Post reported that top AI researchers found that OpenAI, Meta and the other Big Tech behind generative AI expressly hindered them from testing their products. OpenAI, for example, considers The New York Times’ efforts to identify copyright violations “hacking” of its ChatGPT chatbot and in violation of its terms of service. And it wasn’t alone. Read this important story here.
(2) But OpenAI really is committed to AI trust and safety, just ask CEO Sam Altman. OpenAI joins nearly 300 other AI and tech “movers and shakers” to sign an open letter calling for “responsible AI” - even though sentience is sentience to Altman, whether it comes from human or artificial minds (well, you say “potato” and I say “pototo”). Read more here. Meanwhile, last week 40 U.S. states reportedly took on oversight of AI content in political ads ahead of the November election.
(3) Speaking of Altman, welcome back to the club! News broke late Friday that Altman will return to OpenAI’s board. Just the latest chapter in the company’s soap opera-like story that even ChatGPT couldn’t generate.
(4) Am I obsessed, or is OpenAI everywhere? You may recall that OpenAI just recently demo’d its text-to-cinematic quality video generator “Sora” - a story that rocked and rolled Hollywood (and caused mogul Tyler Perry to put his $800 million studio expansion on hold). Now Variety reports that Sora’s quality is so good that its AI generated videos are easily confused with real footage. See those very sobering survey results here.
(5) Wait, there’s more! OpenAI posted a very public rebuttal to increasingly unhinged Elon Musk’s lawsuit against the company that claimed that it’s in violation of its original foundational mission to “do good” (because that’s Elon’s fundamental mission after all). To be fair to Elon, “Musk Classic” was the Tony Stark of our time. But his “New Musk” flavor kind of sours the stomach.
(6) Perplexed by it all? Then check out Perplexity! It’s the latest AI startup to hit Unicorn status. If you haven’t tried Perplexity, you should. It’s Google search on steroids. Yes, it’s that simple to use and that good. Not always. But a lot of the time. Take it for a spin via this link. Its user experience is very much like ChatGPT.
(7) Speaking of Google, the fallout continues over its Gemini mind debacle. Pictures of historically inaccurate racially diverse Founding Fathers and Nazis beg the question whether it’s even possible for generative AI to please everyone and not be infused with biases and stereotypes. Let’s face it. damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. Listen to the “must hear” podcast episode from The New York Times about it all.
(8) Google’s Sundar Pichai isn’t the only Big Tech exec who needs a friend. Jeff Bezos needs an AI friend too. Of course Amazon joins Big Tech’s AI party with its new chatbot called “Rufus.” Makes sense that our shopping bestie wants us to use AI to spend more. Problem is that Rufus apparently is not too good (at least right now). But trust me. It will be. And it will be a juggernaut.
(9) Not born in the U.S.A.! Read how Europe wants to crash Silicon Valley’s generative AI party, and how AI startup Mistral is French for AI (and why Microsoft wants to use its new partnership with Mistral to woo the EU with a “oui oui”).
(10) Use AI to write your jokes and be a comedian too! Check out PFFT.AI and prompt it to write endless attempts at comedy so that you can wow your family and friends (or at least amuse your dogs). I’m serious, try it! If nothing else, the results will be hilarious to you (hilarious in an uncanny valley Yakov Smirnoff kind of way … ).
LAST WEEK’S POLL RESULTS: 92% of you are AI “boomers” who believe that generative AI will be a “net positive” for us all. Only 8% of you self-identified as AI “doomers” in last week’s poll. Love the positivity!
II. the mAIn event - your 6-step plan for success in an increasingly generative AI media & entertainment world
OpenAI’s recent “Sora” text-to-cinematic quality video debut served as Hollywood’s wake-up call. It opened eyes in the industry - many for the first time - to generative AI’s immense power. That power certainly threatens jobs, just as any new disruptive technology always does. But as I recently wrote, it also opens new creative possibilities, new jobs, and new business models. Sora - which is now limited to producing one-minute micro-short films - underscores that generative AI is just in its early innings. So the key question for all of us – no matter what role we play (business or creative) – is how we best prepare ourselves for success in a world that will be increasingly transformed by generative AI.
One thing is certain. Passivity plays no positive role in any tech-tonic shift. It’s critical to move past fear and paralysis to acceptance and action.
With that in mind, here’s your 6-step program to best position yourself for success in this coming generative AI sea change (more like tsunami). Depending on your mindset, consider it your generative AI “cheat sheet” (or “survival guide”)!
Step 1: accept this AI reality
First, open your mind to what Sora represents - our new transformational generative AI reality. Just like with any new technology, once it’s out of the box, that genie can’t be put back in. New technologies always disrupt established companies, norms and business models. If nothing else, the internet revolution taught us that.
Exhibit A in the world of media and entertainment is Blockbuster Video. Remember that blue, white and yellow behemoth? It was the seemingly unbeatable video champ - until it wasn’t. Blockbuster execs blithered, dithered and arrogantly dismissed the glaringly obvious internet revolution in front of them. And then, as they say, the rest is history. Thousands of stores were shuttered, tens of thousands of jobs were lost, and ultimately the company shut down completely. All that remains is Blockbuster’s place in entertainment infamy as an industry cautionary tale.
At the same time, others more tuned into the emerging force of the internet birthed entirely new categories of jobs and mega-companies, Netflix being one of them (i.e., what Blockbuster could have been). Today, Netflix finds itself in the so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks that dominate our 401k’s. Only Apple and Microsoft pre-dated all the others in that Internet-laden stock basket, and that same tech cycle is likely to happen here with AI. Chipmaking generative AI enabler Nvidia is proof positive of that, moving from relative obscurity 15 months ago to being one of the world’s five most valuable companies with a valuation that now exceeds $2 trillion.
Step 2: learn about generative AI
Once you move past acceptance, it’s time to take action. Educate yourself about generative AI, because it will significantly impact all aspects of your personal and professional life (and that is no hyperbole). The more you know about AI, the more control you will have over it and the better positioned you will be to evolve in these relentlessly changing times. Generalists who demonstrate basic knowledge, genuine interest, job flexibility and an openness to new possibilities are far more likely to prosper than those who are complacent, too narrowly focused and comfortable with their current expertise, and who dismiss the current state of AI affairs.
That means that it’s imperative to track developments in generative AI closely. Your careers depend on it! Skim the headlines throughout the day on your favorite entertainment publication (TheWrap is a great resource here). Read your favorite “deeper dive” AI-focused newsletters (especially this one!). Listen to your favorite media-tech podcasts (try “Hard Fork” from The New York Times). Learn the media and tech industry players leading the change. Equally important, learn the relevant basic jargon so that you can effectively engage in informed conversations. Your expanded AI knowledge base and vocabulary may lead to your next job, especially since many traditional ones will evaporate. Remember, Tyler Perry just halted his $800 million studio expansion after watching OpenAI’s “Sora” text-to-video demo.
But check job listings. You’ll see no shortage of those in need of AI expertise, and that goes for the media and entertainment business too (across all roles, both creative and business).
Step 3: use the AI tools, experiment with them
Once you’ve invested in this basic foundation, use the generative AI tools that are openly available. Experiment with them. You simply can’t understand the power of this new transformational technology in a vacuum. It’s fascinating! Start with text-to-text generator ChatGPT and text-to-image generator Midjourney (I generated the headline image in this newsletter on about my 50th prompt using Midjourney). If you want to experience the latest state of the art specifically geared to creators and the entertainment industry, check out Lore Machine (a company that I previously profiled) and its latest story visualization system. It will blow your mind (here’s a video demo to prove it!).
I remember when I first used ChatGPT soon after OpenAI unleashed it into our unsuspecting world 15 months ago. Its impact was immediate and visceral. I knew that nothing would ever be the same. And now, here we are, once sleepy Microsoft – OpenAI’s main investor – is the most valuable company in the world.
Step 4: get out there, mingle & practice “active serendipity”
With your newfound generative AI intellectual curiosity and practical tech chops, get out of your bubble and comfort zone. Mingle with others who either drive this change, share valuable perspectives about it, or are at least equally curious and committed to taking action. Don’t forget that they too are out of their comfort zones and are there for the same reasons. Attend industry meetups. In Los Angeles, AI LA is a great organization that hosts ongoing events. Its next big media and entertainment focused summit is “AI on the Lot” on May 16th. Go to it. I went last year. You’ll get a lot out of it.
Organize discussions with those you’ve met. Hey, media and entertainment executives! Invite generative AI tech startups to your office to demonstrate their wares. They’ll be happy to do it because they want to partner with you. And hey, you generative AI tech startup CEO’s! Reach out to the media and entertainment companies that need you so that both sides can learn. That outreach may lead to game-changing opportunities. There’s no downside. At a minimum, you’ll learn AI LOT!
Remember this critical life lesson. When you get out of your comfortable screen-filled apartment, condo or home, you are injecting yourself into the bloodstream of real life to allow for things to “happen.” Because they do, when you least expect it. This is what I call “active serendipity.” Not chance. Not coincidence. It’s “active serendipity” because you took action. I have countless stories myself about how practicing active serendipity changed my life, both personally and professionally. “Active serendipity” leads to new relationships. Which brings us to …
Step 5: invest in relationships!
Most importantly, invest in relationships! I’ll say it again. INVEST IN RELATIONSHIPS! Wash. Rinse. Repeat. If you get nothing else out of this article, really soak this one in. Hollywood and the entire media and entertainment industry have always been built on relationships first and foremost.
Step 4 above - practicing “active serendipity” - is the best way for you to make this to happen. But don’t forget about the power of thoughtful direct outreach either. People are generally not as unattainable as you think. So long as your outreach is authentic, personalized (demonstrates some kind of shared interest or connection), and bubbling with enthusiasm and a desire to bring value to them, then the results may surprise you - and, voila!, a relationship is born. LinkedIn is a surprisingly powerful tool here (spring for an upgraded subscription). But always do your homework first about the person - what they do - and what makes them tick. Mention a common connection if you have one, and put real time and thought into it. It shows. Try to strike a chord. Appeal to something that will interest them (not you). And take the time to make sure your LinkedIn profile concisely captures who you are and what unique value you bring to the table. LinkedIn is your most important calling card.
Ironically, the more that technology takes over our lives, the more that human relationships matter. So long as humans exist on this planet, they will always gravitate to other humans to bond and build their next business booms. That human connective tissue is impenetrable, even by the most adept artificial minds and hands.
And let’s be really practical here. Relationships are far more likely to lead to your next job than a ChatGPT-created resume that just gets lost amidst a stack of others. You want others to want you to succeed (and vice versa). No matter how good you are, blindly sending resumes is essentially a waste of time. The bots have taken that over.
Step 6: elevate and support humanity
Finally, elevate humanity. Support human creators with your energy, positivity, time and dollars. And for those of you so inclined (I’m in this camp!), remain steadfast in your belief that true originality only flows from the human mind (rather than generative AI’s re-combinations of earlier works). This doesn’t mean that you fear technology. To the contrary, it’s an explicit acknowledgement of generative AI’s potential to become an invaluable, yet imperfect, tool for the creative community (as Google’s recent “Gemini” debacle demonstrates).
With this human-first mindset, dig deeper to learn about evolving fundamental generative AI guardrails like copyright law, advocate for AI “trust and safety,” and support policies that define sensible emerging rules of the game. The entertainment industry’s Human Artistry Campaign is one such advocacy group working with Congress right now.
Most of all, exert your human agency. Take action to put yourself on a path for success in an increasingly generative AI media and entertainment world.
What do you think? Send me your feedback and reach out to me at peter@creativemedia.biz.
III. the cocktAIl - your AI mix of “must attend” AI events
After all, it’s always happy hour somewhere!
(1) Register for Digital Hollywood’s free March 27th “AI & Music” virtual roundtable where I interview Stewart Copeland of THE POLICE and Alex Ebert of EDWARD SHARPE!
I interview multiple Grammy winning artist Stewart Copeland (drummer of The Police) and Alex Ebert (multi Platinum recording artist of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Golden Globe winning composer) about how they feel about generative AI and how it will impact their art - and their livelihoods.
(2) Check out Digital Hollywood’s first generative AI-focused virtual summit, “The Digital Hollywood AI Summer Summit,” on four days in July (July 22nd - 25th). The sessions are outstanding. Learn more here via this link.
(3) AI LA’s “A.I. on the Lot” May 16th, 2024 event. Check it out and sign up here. I attended last year. It’s where all the LA-based media and generative AI “movers and shakers” meet, learn, and collaborate.
Reach out to me at peter@creativemedia.biz with your feedback & submissions. I may feature them.
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IV. the AI legal case tracker - updates on key AI litigation
Rather than lay out the facts of each case - and the latest developments - here in every newsletter, click on this “AI case tracker” tab on “the brAIn” website. You’ll get all the up-to-date information you need. These are the cases I track.
(1) The New York Times v. Microsoft & OpenAI
(2) Sarah Silverman, et al. v. Meta
(3) Sarah Silverman v. OpenAI
(4) Universal Music Group, et al. v. Anthropic
(5) Getty Images v. Stability AI and Midjourney