Humans and Machines

Apr 5

Artificial intelligence is a powerful and unprecedented tool that will change the way we work and live. Speculation and hype in the form of think pieces, how-to’s, half-baked products, and hot takes have inundated news feeds. Taking the time to understand what AI is and how to use it effectively, especially in its current nascent state, is crucial.

We want to cut through the noise to help you understand these tools, and how they apply to your life—at work and at play–whether you’re a brand marketer, concerned creative, fellow techie, or just plain curious.

A bit of background

At Deeplocal, we blend human creativity with artificial intelligence to invent interactive experiences for global brands. AI has been a tool in our tool belt for over a decade, but it’s human interaction and creativity that drive everything we do.

Deeplocal is home to a multidisciplinary team of experts who bring experience from Disney Imagineering, the Department of Defense, NASA, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and more. We play at the intersection of art and technology. As creators, we don’t want to have to choose between art and engineering or carpentry and coding—so we don’t. This integrated approach is how we have created award-winning experiences that spark brand love and engage audiences in the real world since 2006. It’s how we’ve built up a decade of experience with AI and its creative applications.

The forthcoming series of articles will dive into all things AI for brand marketing and creatives (and beyond): use cases, explainers, future thinking from our creative technologists, and more. For now, let’s explore our take on hybrid intelligence.

Hybrid intelligence

We believe that hybrid intelligence—human and machine intelligence working together—can result in remarkable things. So there are a few principles that guide how we use and think about AI:

Artificial intelligence is a tool. Right now, it’s misunderstood.
Humans are essential. And always will be.
How we use these tools in the real world is what matters.

To explain each of these principles in more detail, we’ll use a simple example to break it all down: a Swiss Army Knife. Like AI, a Swiss Army Knife is a multifaceted tool requiring minimal human effort. And, like AI, a Swiss Army Knife isn’t one-size-fits-all, despite its versatility. Sometimes, a simpler, specialized tool is best. Keep this in mind as we go on.

Artificial intelligence is a tool

And like any tool, it’s how you use it that matters. Using a blade in your Swiss Army Knife to slice open a package? Makes sense. Using that same blade to slice into your birthday cake? Messy. And inefficient.

At Deeplocal, we use AI and machine learning (a subset of AI) for object detection, classification tracking, style transfer, and more. These case studies will be detailed in future posts, but for now the important takeaway is that AI has uses far beyond today’s trending topics of text and image generation. We’ve also marketed AI-driven consumer products, like Google Assistant, in playful and relatable ways. We know the ins and outs of the technology and products using it and specialize in helping brands connect with curious, or even hesitant, customers. Ultimately, the breadth of what’s possible can be exciting and overwhelming; it’s our job to wield the best tools well and responsibly to tell the most captivating stories.

Humans are essential

Let’s go back to the Swiss Army Knife example. Without a human operator, what is it? An inanimate object that can’t do anything of its own volition.

AI aids creative processes, but it doesn’t replace creativity. Humans are inherently good with nuance, strategy, curiosity, intuition, and hearing what’s unsaid. With this innate complexity as a lens, we can use tools to our advantage. Our creative technologists use various AI tools in their day-to-day workflows (spoiler alert, you probably do too!) and for client work. Why? So we can make interactive experiences feel personalized, participatory, and even a little bit magical. As our team adapts processes and best practices alongside AI’s advancements, we can accomplish these feats on faster and faster timelines. Which brings us to our final point.

How we use these tools in the real world is what matters

Having a Swiss Army Knife at your fingertips is utilitarian and helpful in many situations. However, truly ingenious, clever, outside-of-the-box results from a Swiss Army knife would require a smart, curious, and determined wielder. There are a million and one ways to use a tool—most of which are not practical, special, or even good.

To us, it’s not about the tools themselves; it’s about what they do for us as human beings. AI is not a means to an end, nor the go-to solution for everything. It has specific use cases just like any other technology. At Deeplocal, we’ve integrated AI with physical spaces, clever design, analog form factors, and playful electromechanics to bridge the physical and digital worlds. This is where the real magic happens.

Okay, so now what?

Over the next few months, we’ll be publishing our perspectives on the ever-changing AI landscape, how AI can be used for experience design and brand marketing (it’s more than just image generation), and where things may be headed. We’ll survey our team of creative technologists on a bunch of topics that will help you generate new ideas, uncover new tricks, and get you excited for AI’s advancements down the line.

Deeplocal