Is Artificial Intelligence Coming for Your Job?

Persado is an artificial intelligence-driven company that utilizes machine learning to create compelling copy and branding words for companies looking for a boost. While services such as what Persado offers are attractive and innovative, some marketing professionals might be quaking in their boots. And this trepidation may well be valid: Persado just signed a deal with JPMorgan for five years to create marketing copy. What happens to the humans who were previously tasked with creating that copy that will now be handed off to a machine?

The fact of the matter is that we, as a society, are becoming irreversibly entwined and reliant upon technology. Whether it’s for convenient matters such as delivering food or telling us what’s low in the refrigerator to more pressing topics such as blood sugar and forensics, technology is at the forefront of any progress we make to create a more safe and engaging life.

And so, as artificial intelligence becomes a cornerstone of technological advances, should professionals be worried about the security of our existing jobs? Will AI become the new marketer, the new lawyer, the new entertainer? Only time will tell, but it is beneficial to educate ourselves as much as possible about the benefits — and drawbacks — of employing a computer to do our work.

For JPMorgan, the facts made this deal a no-brainer. After conducting a pilot test of Persado’s innovative technology, the results showed that marketing copy created by Persado’s machines actually converted more with consumers.

It seems alarmingly simple, too. In a Quartz article on the deal the writer describes the copy test between Persado and a human counterpart: “In one such matchup, an ad written by a human read, ‘Access cash from the equity in your home.’ The more successful version, from Persado, read, “It’s true—You can unlock cash from the equity in your home.”

Simply by adding two little words, the Persado software was able to secure itself a lucrative job. Essentially, this service uses keywords that appeal to user emotion to create the resulting copy. The data harnessed by the Artificial Intelligence contained within Persado’s product is useful in that it helps create a big picture of what users want and what they connect easily with. Adding two words to a piece of copy may seem overly simple, but it’s the result of the analysis of thousands of words and phrases as they pertain to marketing success.

So should marketing professionals or anyone in an industry assisted by artificial intelligence be concerned for their jobs? Not necessarily, but this information should serve as motivation to continue your own education. After all, performing work that is of an irreplaceable quality is one of the best ways to secure one’s own job.

While a human cannot perform the same tasks, at least from a volume and breadth standpoint, as a machine, what a machine cannot do is add a human touch to its work. Yes, data and analytics provide insights into consumer behavior, but so does the power of observation that a machine cannot replicate.

As a professional in any industry, it’s important to stay on top of trends and information that may be relevant to your job. Find ways to continue your education, and learn about the advances that technology continues to make. After all, working with heavy technology integration is virtually unavoidable now, but finding ways to work smarter with technology can help safeguard a job instead of being threatened by machine replacement.