Will marketers be replaced by AI? 🤖
Technology is growing at light speed. Cryptocurrency, NFTs, quantum computing, and machine learning are spearheading the tech revolution. Startups are racing to collect the brightest of the bright in order to design a better tomorrow. It moves at such a rate that it’s easy to wonder if humans will be left behind.
Thus, many have asked:
Will artificial intelligence (AI) make my job obsolete?
First, let’s breeze through what AI actually is.
There are four types of AI.
Reactive machines - carries no memory; operates automation on command (e.g. using an app to turn your Philips Hue lights on, or asking Google Maps for directions)
Limited memory machines - uses the data collected in the recent past to make immediate decisions (e.g. Tesla’s self driving capabilities)
Theory of mind - early phases of consciousness; AI begins to interact with the thoughts and emotions of humans (e.g. fictionally, early versions of Marvel’s Jarvis)
Self-aware AI - achieves nirvana; capable of independent intelligence (e.g. fictionally, Terminator’s SkyNet, The Matrix’s Architect, or Marvel’s Ultron or Vision)
At our current state, we’ve made great strides in limited memory machines, but we’re still in research and development for theory of mind. Self-awareness is still more storytelling than factual, and carries a lot of doom-and-gloom within its narrative.
Whether AI will consume jobs has become so popular that someone built a generator called Will Robots Take My Job.
I admit, I’ve searched “marketing” in the tool above and came up with this:
There’s a 1.4% chance you’ll see a T-1000 sitting at a desk designing newsletters, and the Resistance can continue collecting pay cheques. We’re safe for now.
Assuming this generator provides factual data, at our current rate, marketing as a career choice and industry has a 9% growth year-over-year.
People employed as a marketer (US)
Average median salary (US)
While marketers will be able to keep employed at least for the next decade, that inevitably leads to our second question:
What can we do to make our jobs as marketers future-proof?
Keep your work creative. Many aspects of marketing can be automated, which include scheduling content and automating engagement (although the latter is far less useful). Data speaks for itself; what will make you indispensable is how you will be able to take that data and create something unique out of it.
Keep your work human. AI at its current form still lacks human emotion. AI writers and content generators are emotionless and fundamentally embarrassing. Be human and communicate empathy in your work.
Keep your work high level. Strategy will be one of the final elements that will allow the human mind will beat an AI. While an AI may be able to win at a game of chess against the best chess players in the world, marketing strategy is not quite as linear.
Keep your work customer focused. Your value comes from understanding your customer. While it could be debated that Google’s machine learning algorithms understand people better than people, it’s essentially to know your customer and continually improve your recognition of them.
Keep your work adaptive. There’s no use ignoring the inevitable. Put a finger on the pulse of technology and continue to learn how it can make your job easier. Work with it, not against it.
Final answer: will AI take your job?
Right now, no.
In the future, maybe.
How you position yourself today will better protect your career tomorrow.
The pace of progress in artificial intelligence (I’m not referring to narrow AI) is incredibly fast. Unless you have direct exposure to groups like Deepmind, you have no idea how fast—it is growing at a pace close to exponential. The risk of something seriously dangerous happening is in the five-year time frame. 10 years at most.
—Elon Musk
Handpicked Remote Marketing Jobs 👩💻👨💻
Marketing Operations Manager - UpKeep
Marketing Director - Mosaic
Director of Marketing Operations & Analytics - Mattermost
Your Investments 🚀
Two words you never thought would be in the same sentence: Walmart and banking. In the past few months, Walmart (WMT) has secured a partnership with fintech investment firm Ribbit Capital, and poached top bankers from Goldman Sachs for their new fintech startup. While many have talked about “The Bank of Walmart “ as being a thing, Walmart may instead be aiming at “creating a true digital ecosystem in the form of a super app”.
“When Walmart reported its Q4 2020 earnings, CEO Doug McMillon described a very different ‘super’ concept at the center of Walmart’s future: the ‘super app.’ He may not have used those two words, but the Connect concept is the super app notion to a tee.”
If you’re looking for a safe, long term stock with good growth opportunity, Walmart may be it. However if you do, please consider buying from small merchants. They need your business right now. #shoplocal
Liked this post? Let me know by clicking the ♡ below!
Thanks for reading. If you liked this post, and you’re not yet a subscriber, what are you waiting for? Sign up for the Marketing Daily email newsletter and get the next one sent to your inbox. I publish three times per week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Lastly, please share Marketer Daily to your friends and family. If you’ve ever wondered What can I do to help Reggie?, that’s definitely the #1 thing—for people who enjoy this newsletter to encourage their circles to sign up as well. Many thanks!
Let technology work for you.
Reggie