I want to start with a sincere thank you to Justin Grammens who hosted a panel discussion this week at his software and development company,Lab651. The session titled "What Businesses Need to Know about AI" was part of Twin Cities StartUp week and Justin invited me to participate along with Heather Boschke of Vogel Venture and Andrew Eklund of Ciceron.
I was beyond ecstatic to be in the company of such brilliant minds. I went with my learner's hat on, soaking in insights and jotting down mental notes like there was no tomorrow.
Justin kicked things off with an important reminder. AI has been around for decades, and we're interacting with it constantly.
Think about it; maybe you unlock your phone with your face, or how about those suggestions from Netflix? Or my personal favorite. Have you checked your email junk folder lately? Machine learning is saving you from spam emails like "why she cheated!". That's a real example and a recent one automatically dumped in my junk folder! Thank you AI.
While AI isn't new, What changed in this past year is the public's access to generative AI tools that require only curiosity and and the ability to ask a question. Andrew reinforced, we're in the beta phase of it all right now.
Stay Curious and Keep Experimenting
The resounding message was clear: it’s curiosity o’clock! Whether you're a startup or a seasoned business, now is the time to venture out of the comfort zone and play around with AI tools like ChatGPT. Andrew says he encourages his team at Ciceron to experiment with AI tools. He shared a story about how they used ChatGPT to create customer personas and then took it a step further leveraging AI to generate images of those personas.
Put your data to work for you
Andrew put it perfectly with a dash of humor, "We're sitting on a goldmine of data; it's high time we start digging!" And truly, there's never been a more opportune time to derive actionable insights from the data at our fingertips. And you don't have to be a data analyst to do so.
It's a great time to be a startup
Tools like ChatGPT can help you with a variety of tasks where you might not be an expert.
Heather talked about how ChatGPT can be an excellent marketing assistant. Think market research, press release, or content creation. Not to mention. you can whip up a draft of a social calendar in a matter of seconds. I used ChatGPT to help write a press release for a retail company about to open it's first out of state store. And like those entrenched in a startup, these AI tools never sleep so answers are immediate around the clock.
Spotlight on Must-Have Tools
We also swapped notes on our favorite AI tools. Heather brought Elicit.com into the spotlight, a tool that will help you with research or verify the authenticity of ChatGPT answers. (A definite add to my toolkit.)
And then there’s ChatPDF, my go-to for deciphering the often cryptic terms and conditions and privacy policies. It’s like having a translator for the fine print!
The Heartbeat of AI: Human Connection
Applied AI meetups – Highly recommend as an awesome way to connect with other AI enthusiasts and learn something new. And mark your calendars for the November 10 Applied AI conference. You don't want to miss it.
For those days when an in-person connection isn't possible, you'll see below the subscribe button a few other noteworthy AI related tidbits that keep my wheels turning.
What’s Next?
This Thursday, I’m leading a conversation with educators about using ChatGPT for back-to-school success. I’d love for you to join us as we learn and grow together.
Here's the link with details.Classroom Kickoff: ChatGPT Insights and Strategies for Back to School Success - It's from 5pm to 7pm at Finnovation Lab in downtown Minneapolis.
Let’s keep this AI journey fun and exciting, together. Hope to catch you there!
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Please note, ChatGPT was used for help with a few sentences and word choices.
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