DECEMBER 2024MARTECHOUTLOOK.COM8IN MY OPINIONGENERATIVE AI ­ FRIEND OR FOE? By Fiona Corsie, Head of Marketing & eCommerce (AU/NZ), Bunzl Australia & New ZealandThe explosion of generative artificial intelligence captured our imaginations in early 2023. While previous AI models could perform a specific task, generative AI can create content from unstructured data for text, images, video - even code. And can deliver it consistently, at speed and at scale! Flattening our excitement for this shiny new tool, Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were part of a group who, in March, wrote an open letter to US Congress asking for the halt to generative AI development, because "if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong." Their concerns (remain) around the dangers of unfettered growth and usage of a tool enabling the spread of misinformation and bias for "society and humanity." Here is another instance of technology moving faster than regulation. The more recent mistakes with data privacy and misinformation issues on social networks, make governments and lawmakers around the world keen to regulate AI applications, while not stifling innovation.Within the marketing industry, there has been a great deal of conversation about the impacts of generative AI on marketers and marketing disciplines. Is AI an existential threat to a marketer's skillset, perceived value and job certainty? Will the speed and convenience of AI delivered tasks ultimately hinder or help marketing teams?In these days of the great attrition, where labour force shortages and job switching is a recurring issue, a responsive low-cost tool that provides a productivity boost offers a real competitive advantage. There are a number of areas AI can ably take on marketing tasks, completing work quickly with relatively good structure and few errors. So, let's break `marketing-by-AI' down into some key tasks:Fiona Corsie
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