Kanye West aired an ad during Super Bowl that had a link to a site that sold Swastika t-shirts labeled HH. The site changed its merchandize after receiving approval for the ad. His social media posts made it quite clear that this was Nazi-linked and not a religious symbol to him. Shopify, a Canadian company has taken down his online shop, citing that the problem wasn’t the Nazi merchandize but the intent to mislead customers. West’s account has been removed from X after some rants. His music is still on Spotify where it has crossed a billion streams. And Scarlett Johanssen is asking for the regulation of AI after a fake video of her – and other Jewish celebrities – condemning West emerged.
So much to unpack over here! Companies have control over your business and they can exercise it over and above the legal framework of your country. Moreover the laws of their parent country will override those of your country of operation or ownership. And AI can pretty much do whatever it wants at a gigantic scale.
AI and the Wild West
Yesterday I went to my (erstwhile) favourite grocery store. It’s been a while as I have switched allegiances to online in general and Blinkit in particular. As I stood in queue at the chaotic checkout counter, I groused about how I could have just bought all the stuff online. When I finally faced the cashier instead of feeling a warm glow of human connection all I could think of as I saw his distracted attempts to do his job were “AI could do this so much better!”
In my last newsletter I wrote about how an offer of 30% or less is unbeatable in most cases. Well, AI certainly does that. So expecting businesses and people not to switch is unreal.
In my consulting practice I use the ABCD model and the A stands for “Added Value”. AI’s added value is blindingly obvious – for good and bad, just depends on who is using it for what.
Is the future going to be inclusive?
For me, inclusive means embracing historically marginalized communities of any flavour. At the very least not allowing the marginalization to continue. I believe there are ways to enable this in many situations without compromising on output.
AI will make vast quantities of human skills irrelevant commercially. It has already done the KT (knowledge transfer), and doesn’t need the original any more. It can make videos of Scarlett Johanssen without her being involved in any way!
In this context, regulating AI and deciding what we as humans want from it is super important. PM Modi co-chairing the AI Action Summit in Paris is a pretty big deal from a branding standpoint. The US has made it clear that “safety” is not the priority any more, but “opportunity”. Others are more nuanced, asking for a focus on the immediate risks rather than just safety. Here’s a detailed take on this shift, which is quite significant.
Will Scarlett Johanssen be able to prevent her likeness being used? I doubt it, but happy to be proven wrong!
What can marketers do?
I think the current thinking is “do now, say sorry later”. So marketers can push the envelope and see what all AI can do for them. Even putting out an ad with multi-fingered models is an experiment to see how much customers will tolerate.
The real test is how much you can break an existing model and rethink a world with AI. I’ve been living outside India but with trips back every month, so I can easily see how my consumption has changed.
Six years ago BigBasket for groceries and Amazon for everything else seemed unassailable. But now I pretty much live on Blinkit. They apparently do use AI, but the AI has not given up on me buying a pink teddy for Valentine’s Day yet. As the day looms perhaps I will crack. I digress. The point is that AI can disrupt how we live our lives!
If you get stressed, there is a Calm app for you. Bingeing on all the food you can get in 10 minutes? There are diet apps out there. Exercise apps that tailor a program just for you. Lonely? Matching software. Bored? Watch that cute panda on LinkedIn
The methods of marketing remain the same, but we have to question our self-imposed constraints. Revisit every aspect of how you serve customers, what you know about customers, and why they buy from you.
Vocal for Local
The world is in a period of major flux. And the bosses of AI will have a huge amount of power, regulated only by their ‘home’ countries. What if we disagree with their rules? I believe marketers can’t have morals, only people can. See how rapidly firms from Accenture to Google have rolled back their Diversity policies in the US! Just as countries had to align on physical assets, now we need to align on digital ones. The US & UK did not sign the Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet though China, India, France and many others did. India has an impressive roster of AI startups as does France and maybe countries will start pushing collaborations with certain others for strategic benefits. From a marketing perspective here is a chance to differentiate on the basis of values, and country of origin.
Back to Kanye West. Even as he is increasingly getting cancelled in the US, it is relevant to remember that China had allowed him to perform last year. Culture wars are real.
Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day! I am inspired by the Cadbury’s ad to mainstream the happy occasion 🙂
