On this special episode of the “Only the Strong Survive” podcast, host Dan Kahn is joined by three experts in artificial intelligence. Seema Alexander is the CEO of Disruptive AI. Believing that the rise of AI is more impactful than the advent of the internet, she guides CEOs on how to integrate AI into their companies successfully. Daniel Manary is the co-founder of Manary.haus, a high-touch AI consultancy that collaborates with executives and product teams to design and deliver AI solutions that address real-world needs. Alex Maier is a 15-year seasoned marketing and product leader who has worked at industry-leading brands like Nike, onX Maps and now OnWater. He brings a marketer’s perspective on how to effectively utilize AI to enhance efficiency in daily workflows.
The panel’s original discussion took place during Kahn Media’s Growth Garage, a webinar series designed to help marketers and brand leaders acquire new skills and stay ahead of emerging trends. The in-depth interview is a fascinating one, exploring the real-world impacts of AI on brands and how companies can effectively utilize it.
Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode of “Only The Strong Survive” to learn more about this critical subject, and here are our top five takeaways:
You need to educate yourself about AI before integrating it.
AI is progressing at an extremely rapid pace.
The more context you give AI, the better the result.
Humans still matter when it comes to authentic content.
Approach AI outputs with a healthy skepticism.
Education is the Biggest Challenge
There is considerable hype surrounding AI, with significant interest among brands. However, before any brand dives into AI, it needs to learn what it can and can’t do. Its capabilities are constantly evolving, and understanding them is crucial before integrating AI into workflows.
“The key is education, education and education. People don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know the power of this technology,” said Seema. “Education to me is number one, and just getting people to understand in layman’s terms what this technology can actually do. Then it will start to unlock on the automation side, where data plays a role for precision, personalization and innovation.”
AI’s Progression is Measured in Days (Not Years)
Many of us are used to relatively slow product refresh cycles. A new generation of a car model might be introduced every 4 or 5 years. Updated phones and computers typically appear annually. However, all of those are sluggish compared to AI, as its progression can be measured in days. For brands looking to utilize AI, it is essential to keep pace with its rapid advancements.
“We as humans are so used to that if I get into a Toyota Rav4, three years later it is the same thing. You don’t expect progression to happen this quickly,” said Alex. “I think this is the first time in humanity when we have seen progression happen at such an accelerated pace that it is better than it was two weeks ago. That is something where people need a bit of a paradigm shift to think about these systems.”
AI is Not Google
One mistake that brands and people can make is to view AI as a conventional search engine, where you input a question and receive an answer. While it can operate like that, the more context you give AI, the better the results. Feeding an AI that context might take time, but its output is always better.
“We are so used to Googling something where you ask a question. The first time you see someone use ChatGPT or Grok or Gemini, they ask a question,” says Alex. “But what we are not used to doing is saying that this thing (AI) needs a tremendous amount of context. Without providing the context and educating this thing like it’s a five-year-old, which it is with aspirations to be a rocket scientist, you are not going to get great output.”
Humans Still Matter
There is the perception that AI is good at everything, but that isn’t the case. Yes, it is highly adept at specific tasks, but AI does a poor job of emulating the passion, excitement and interest of a human being. If you want to produce authentic and engaging content for your brand, it is a task best left to an actual human.
“I know multiple people that I have followed for 10 years who have outsourced their writing and thinking to AI. It is not full of em dashes, but it is that I have heard that thought before. The reason for that is because the whole field of artificial intelligence is based on the premise that the past predicts the future,” says Daniel. “When something is new and exciting, it naturally means it wasn’t predicted by the past. So if you want to keep the excitement of something you really find interesting, you still need to keep your hands on it.”
Be Consistently Skeptical of AI
Time and time again, multiple companies have gotten into trouble using AI. Typically, this occurs when a brand blindly trusts the output of AI and uses it without verification. Instead, it is always important to be skeptical of what an AI is producing or telling you.
“We hire some pretty awesome individuals, and we tell them, ‘Don’t let AI think for you’ when it comes to critical thinking. Pause for a moment when you have an output on something, or it’s giving you an answer or a response,” said Alex. “Be consistently skeptical of everything it does, no matter how nice it talks to you. Make sure you are real-world testing these things. Don’t just provide the outputs blindly like we all see on LinkedIn.”
