Why is AI being called "Boomer Art?"

In this issue:

• Are we measuring the right thing when it comes to AI's impact on jobs?

• Will we see the end of AI (Boomer) art this year?

• Gig workers using AI to help with collective bargaining

• After Design inspiring conversation

• Celebrating 50 issues!

Are we measuring the right thing when it comes to AI's impact on jobs?

I'm seeing a trend with "AI's impact on jobs" reports. They are measuring job postings and comparing those to job postings of the past.

​PwC just released a new report that shows great productivity numbers. Labor productivity in AI-exposed sectors is seeing 4.8x higher growth. CEOs are expecting to see higher revenue (41%) and higher profitability (46%) due to AI.

The job market is still growing, but not as fast as would be expected. The report then goes on to state that people need to learn AI skills. This is obvious to you fine readers of this newsletter.

"Growth in jobs that require specialist AI skills has outpaced growth in all jobs since 2016. These specialist jobs carry up to a 25% wage premium, underlining the value of these skills to companies."

My question is: are we studying the right data?

Yes, job postings are easiest to measure. But shouldn't we be looking at the actual impact on existing jobs? Why aren't the big consulting companies talking to their clients to uncover layoff data, or which positions are subject to ongoing hiring freezes?

Businesses are happy to announce spending on AI because investors love to see that (due to the assumed reduction of costs and increases in profit). Unfortunately, these businesses don't like to give the real reasons behind reductions.

Bloomberg reported that 4,600 jobs had been eliminated to free up resources for AI investments. But experts assume those numbers are much lower than reality. A few companies, like Dropbox, have talked about eliminating jobs due to AI. Whereas other companies, like UPS, try to walk the fine line of cutting due to AI, but not explicitly saying so. Most companies just want to fly under the radar when they're reducing headcount.

The reason for that: backlash. Just this week Klarna's CEO took to X to brag about the savings his company is creating by using AI and cutting creatives and marketers. Judging by the backlash, a larger marketing team might have told the CEO not to post something like that.

So how do we measure the actual impact of AI on jobs? If you ask ChatGPT, it will paint a mostly rosy picture, so I guess we'll be fine?

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NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF AI AND DESIGN

🤕 Will We See the End of AI Art This Year?

Teens are referring to AI art as "Boomer art." This doesn't bode well for those who use AI to create art or imagery.

Before the year started, my word for 2024 was "analog" because I expected there would be a backlash to everything AI. Some people told me I was probably a year or two ahead of the curve.

But we started to see the backlash in May.

Check out some fun and interesting responses to the idea of Boomer Art

​Read comments​

🤑 Researcher creates AI tools that help gig workers with collective bargaining

Northeastern University explores how a groundbreaking AI tool is poised to revolutionize collective bargaining, offering valuable insights for negotiators aiming to optimize their strategies. This AI advancement promises to shorten the time from initial discussions to final agreements, making negotiations more effective and streamlined.

• Data-Driven Negotiations: The AI tool analyzes vast amounts of data to identify key negotiation points, helping both parties to focus on the most impactful issues.

• Predictive Outcomes: By predicting potential outcomes based on historical data, the AI tool can assist negotiators in making more informed decisions and strategizing effectively.

​Keep reading

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NEW RESOURCES FOR YOU

Affiliate of the Week: Elementor

​Elementor is celebrating its birthday with some great deals on frameworks, plugins, and hosting. If you're looking to supercharge your WordPress site, I highly recommend it.

Last week, I got to be part of a roundtable with AI expert ​Paul Roetzer, founder of the Marketing AI Institute. I asked him how he can relax when AI is changing so rapidly and he sees all of the potential downside. He said that the Institute changed its mission a few years ago to focus on AI literacy. He can rest because he's helping inform people and inspiring them to learn more.

With this in mind, I was so happy to see when a recent issue of this newsletter inspired an article by Tim Hughes. When he read a recent issue, Tim immediately saw that Google's search changes would cause significant damage to Hubspot's inbound marketing model.

As we enter a post-search world, Tim and his business are well-positioned because they focus on building authority and trust on social.

Just like Paul's shift to marketing AI in 2016, and Tim's focus on social selling, it's about doubling down on what you do best and seeing if the market will catch up.

This is a far better idea than hopping from trend to trend. If you went all in on Clubhouse, Ello, or Peach in the last few years, you probably didn't get a good ROI on your time investment.

BTW, I was a guest on ​Tim's podcast a couple of years ago and it was a fun conversation about storytelling, marketing, and design.

50th issue!

If you made it this far, either as a subscriber or a reader of this issue, I want to say thank you.

This is the second newsletter that I've taken to 50 issues, but my previous newsletter (​Marketing Podcast Recap​) limped to 50 issues. It was sporadic at the end. It burned me out. It had stopped being fun and was becoming a chore.

But this newsletter is still exciting for me! Early on, I used AI to automate a lot of it. These days, pretty much every word is typed out by me. It takes a little longer, but I think the end result is better and it has helped me become a better writer (I hope).

The thing that keeps me going is your feedback and support. Thank you to everyone who has contributed over the past year. And thanks to those of you at CEX last year who helped me pressure test this concept. I wasn't able to do everything I had planned (I started a job that consumes more time than any job I've ever had), but this has led to some great conversations and future work.

If you want to check out any of the older issues, check out the archive!

By the way, in case you're wondering how Dall-E, Midjourney, and Meta AI all handle a similar prompt. I wouldn't have guessed that Meta AI would do the best.

How can I help?

Maybe it's time to explore the ways your existing skills can be applied to a new career path. How can I help?

• Coaching

• Courses

• Articles

• What's After Design?

Thanks for reading!

-Jim