|
Have you heard the term "AI Slop"? Basically it describes what is happening to "content" on the Internet at the moment. With more and more of it being generated by AI. Which is then commented on, by AI. Little by little our timelines and inboxes are being filled with slop. It sort of looks like interesting, quality content, but more and more it just feels, meh. Part of the problem is that the bits that used to be hard, like writing, graphic design, and original thinking, are being lost underneath all of this. Because AI, at first glance, seems to do it better than we can. But, as I am sure you have noticed, once the novelty wears off, it isn't very satisfying is it? This has created a real dilemma for people like me. While my vocation is coaching, my job is sales and marketing. And part of the way that I do that is to write (create content) for this newsletter, LinkedIn and occasionally other platforms. In the last couple of years, there has been an arms race in this world. First there were strategies for efficiently managing multiple channels. Then there were systems for maximizing engagement. More recently all of that has been overtaken by AI generated content, which is micro-targeted and instantly generated. With this latest iteration, the advantage is speed and scale. I could, if I chose to, create a couple of agents, train them on my writing, harvest contact details, produce content, manage sales funnels and generally automate everything. You would still get this email, but it would be written by an AI trying to calculate buying strategies. I hope, if that happened, you would unsubscribe. Because what would be the point of engaging with that? It would just be more slop. It might make business sense, but it would corrode my soul. And so, I have been thinking hard about how I might be able to produce something of value in this world of instantly-produced content. I have come to a conclusion. Rather than seek to produce more and more, faster and faster, I have decided to produce less and less, more and more slowly. I am going to go back to the source of this newsletter, which was always intended to be personal, useful and reflective of my interests and experiences. In other words, the opposite of robot content. Human writing. Which means that, I am going to write to you less frequently and more philosophically. My new promise to you is that I won't generate or write about a single idea that doesn't come from my own brain. I hope you will enjoy this change of emphasis, that it will serve as a source of interest for you. If it doesn't sound like your kind of thing, hit unsubscribe. No hard feelings, I promise. Next week I'll send you the first of my weekly newsletters, which will be full of my organizational and philosophical musings. 100% written by me. But first, I am going on holiday for a week. Happy Easter, Stephen -- If you’re curious whether coaching could help you find more clarity or direction, book a free 15-minute Clarity Call and we’ll explore it together. If you want help to think about where problems might be arising in your organisation, try my Complexity Pressure Check. For anything else, hit reply. I answer every email personally. |
For people who want regular personal or professional development advice from a qualified executive coach.
STEPHEN LOCK EXECUTIVE COACH I'm going to tell you about a wonderful conversation, a long sit, a long walk spoiled and my son, the film student. How Are We Optimizing Our Hormones? On Friday I had one of my most memorable discussions as a coach. It was in the Friday group session which is part of my HeRO Program. The topic this week was How to Find Your People and the general theme was about how modern life can make us more atomized and separate from one another. Before looking at ways we can...
STEPHEN LOCK EXECUTIVE COACH Today I'm going to tell you about... The Becoming Loop On Friday I gave a talk as part of the personal development program I run. The title of this one was How To Prototype Your Life. My idea was to talk about how I apply techniques from continuous improvement and design thinking to life goals. I sometimes underestimate how fortunate I am to have trained in things like this, because I naturally (with practice) have learned to value progress over perfection. As a...
STEPHEN LOCK EXECUTIVE COACH I'm going to tell you about how to aim for and work towards some big goals in life. Finding My Misogi Misogi (miss-oh-gee) is one of those Japanese concepts that means something almost entirely different, but still useful, when it is translated in the West. Originally it refers to a Shinto ritual of purification with water. Imagine people praying under waterfalls and you have a good idea. But in the West it has come to mean something more like a grand challenge....