3 reasons why you should learn to recognize AI generated content

If you live on the internet, it can feel like AI is becoming ubiquitous. Every industry is circulating think-pieces about how to leverage AI. I know it’s happening in the credit union industry, for example, because I’ve written about it before. There’s also a lot of controversy about using AI to replace human creativity, and yet plenty of people are happy to insist that it’s dangerous to fall behind the AI curve.

A big reason why it can be difficult to “keep up with” AI is that we’re using the name “AI” to describe a variety of use-cases. Different AI products can do anything from proofreading a document to faking a video of US Presidents playing video games.

But for most people, the closest they get to actually using AI is reading the AI Overview on Google or asking Siri a question. The average person isn’t flooding their life with AI. 

Here are a few reasons why it’s important for credit union marketers to stay up-to-date on what AI can and can’t do, understand how to spot AI creative, and begin to figure out whether and how to use AI to help create images and content.

Falling for AI is “cringe” and “gives the ick”

To be honest I don’t even know if that Gen-Z slang is still relevant. I’m a millennial, so it’s probably not cool anymore now that I’ve used it. Oh well.

As you probably suspect, I’m talking about the evergreen desire of every credit union. The white whale of the industry: Attracting younger members.

Like it or not, young people who grow up in this AI era are simply going to be better at recognizing AI creative than the rest of us. And if it seems like you’re unfamiliar with using AI, cannot recognize AI, or pushing AI art in a way that isn’t cool, you’re going to alienate those young members instead.

Some credit unions already have a reputation for being out of touch, and using AI images and text could become just another hurdle when it comes to finding new blood to reinvigorate your membership.

We’re living in a post-truth age

Even avoiding all politics and such, we live in a time where you can make a video of a famous person doing something weird and post it online. When that’s happening, which it already is, you are going to have a lot of people who are suddenly unable to tell what’s really going on.

Credit unions cannot afford to be among those who cannot tell AI from reality.

If there’s one thing that all credit union people agree on, it’s that your credit union should be reliable and competent. Inspiring trust is priority numero uno. Using “bad” AI or failing to recognize AI will absolutely destroy your members’ trust.

So how do you recognize if something is AI? AI writing currently has a variety of possible tells, including overuse of unusual punctuation such as the em dash, overly generalized content, poorly cited sources (or none at all), and inaccurate information. AI images and video tend to have even more overt errors, such as too many limbs, extra fingers, additional teeth, fixed expressions, and a certain deadness in the eyes.

And if you learn nothing else from me, know this: Don’t trust AI detectors to do the work for you. This is a tempting, easy way out, but the success rate of AI-powered AI detection software is still pretty poor. You have a more effective AI detection method, also known as your brain, but you’re going to need to practice this skill just like any other.

Want to practice on some AI images? Try this aptly named site, realitycheckk.com

Now, help protect your members

As we’ve discussed, a lot of credit union members are going to have trouble detecting AI creations. There’s just no way around it, because AI is a new technology and some members are multiple technologies behind already.  Heck, people already get into trouble believing stuff just because they saw it on the internet. 

AI scams are already on the rise, which is as unsurprising as it is horrible. And while you can’t protect all of your members all of the time, you can offer your members resources and knowledge to help them protect themselves. The first step would be to educate your members on what AI can and can’t do, and the easiest ways to determine whether something is real.

You’re not done

I hate to break it to you, but you’ll probably never be done learning about what AI can do, how to identify AI and how to protect your members. This technology is getting better every day, and I mean that literally (most AI images now have the correct number of fingers). The only way to keep up is to stay informed, because there’s no telling what AI will be able to do next.

Sam Dicken
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