By Sydney Raven Alfiero, Arts In Action Associate Writer
Since ChatGPT has become more mainstream, there has been an increase in integrations between our everyday applications and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The little sparkle that states “Meta AI” on Facebook and encourages us to “Ask anything!” seems innocuous enough, but what exactly does this mean for nonprofit organizations? There’s no question that AI will come to play a major role in nonprofits in the future, the real question is whether a particular organization will be making use of Predictive AI, Generative AI, or both. Knowing the distinction between the two and the ethical implications of Generative AI can help you make an informed decision about whether or not to choose to integrate it into your social media and marketing strategy.
Whether you know it or not, we have all been using AI for much longer than we might imagine, but it is only in recent time that this form of Generative AI has existed. The advent of which is a fascinating story involving thermodynamics and diffusion, although the finer points would be difficult to articulate here. Suffice to say that Generative AI is leaps and bounds ahead.
Previously, AI was primarily used in a “predictive” capacity, meaning Predictive AI is primarily concerned with forecasting future occurrences or categorizing data. Its objective is to draw conclusions about past, present, and future data points rather than produce new data. AI is typically utilized for analytics and helps users make decisions based on this data. It’s the main reason why the ads seen on Instagram seem to always perfectly reflect your sense of style, or seem to suggest a product that fixes a problem you have been complaining about within earshot of your phone for days. This means that this app or website is tracking your data, accepted cookies, or location services have been turned on somewhere along the line. Using this data, it now can make predictions about what kind of ads would be best to show you in order to entice you to buy or follow a call to action, simply described as “targeted advertising.” As invasive as this can feel, we did have to grant permission, even if the results are not what we expected and even somewhat unnerving. But what if they did not ask for permission to use our data? And not just our data as individuals, but entire companies' worth of information, websites, artists’ images, manuscripts, music, and so much more.
With the mainstream integration of Generative AI, the implications are much more complicated. If you have utilized ChatGPT before you have probably given it a prompt such as, “Create me a meal plan with dinner recipes using chicken but without tomatoes,” and watched in awe as it went to create a comprehensive response using the exact parameters you set for it. The possibilities are endless. But how did the AI become intelligent enough to create responses this thorough? The answer is that AI must be routinely fed by data, and that data is not always obtained in an ethical way. You may have seen some of the outrage online by authors, artists, and musicians who have had their work fed into a Generative AI for it to create a song or piece of work that is in precisely the style of that artist. Generative
AI can write entire books and AI Image Generators have become eerily good at replicating particular artist’s styles, if not exact works. It has already been determined that distinct styles are not copyright-able, but this issue has been called into question more and more surrounding this problem. So, the question is, although it is legal, is it ethical to use Generative AI? I think the answer to that is like the answer to most things, it depends…
Nonprofits already benefit greatly from Predictive AI. We use it to find individuals who fit ideal donor profiles, helping to connect people with causes they already support. We can use it to analyze our own data and to make more informed decisions in the future. But what does Generative AI have to contribute? It can simplify and streamline social media efforts by helping to create content calendars just the same way it created a meal plan. It can suggest ideas for content that match current trends to help stay relevant to the algorithm. It can also create summaries of meetings and actionable items saving time on administrative work. At
Arts In Action, we subscribe to READ A.I., a software service that provides meeting summaries. This saves our clients’ money because instead of typing up meeting notes, we quickly edit a summary provided to us after a ZOOM call and spend minutes tweaking an action plan instead of an hour translating notes!
Nonprofits tend to struggle with social media presence due to the funding necessary to support a marketing and social media department, unless you lead a large, well-funded organization, chances are you are not using social media to its fullest potential. Generative AI can revolutionize content creation for many organizations but its own capacity for brainstorming is a gamechanger alone.
With all this being said, the work of creating content such as writing grants and taking photos are best left to human beings with the compassion necessary to capture the soul of an organization in their work. Grace-Anne Alfiero, President & CEO of Arts in Action Consulting Firm states, “At Arts in Action, we embrace AI to enhance our communication and streamline tasks while ensuring our content remains authentic. Predictive AI helps us connect with our audience, and Generative AI boosts our social media efforts. However, we are committed to maintaining the human-powered creativity and compassion that define our work. AI supports our mission, but it will never replace the unique human touch we bring to the table.”
To connect with Arts In Action's CEO and discuss the use of AI and how it can assist you within a broader communication plan, please click this link to schedule a convenient appointment with
Grace Alfiero, Click here to set up a 30-minute meeting:
Article sources:
AI and Predictive Analytics in Social Media: Why It’s Not Just About Ads - TopApps.Ai. (2024, April 4). TopApps.Ai. https://topapps.ai/blog/ai-and-predictive-analytics-in-social-media/
Angell, N. (2023, March 23). The Complex World of Style, Copyright, and Generative AI - Creative Commons. Creative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/2023/03/23/the-complex-world-of-style-copyright-and-generative-ai/#:~:text=Copyright%20doesn't%20protect%20things,express%20themselves%20through%20their%20works.
YEC. (2024, February 20). Council Post: Generative AI For Content Creation: How Marketers Can Use It. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2023/08/17/generative-ai-for-content-creation-how-marketers-can-use-it/
Comments