This week, I attended a 3CMA webinar titled – Everything You Need to Know (as of today!) about Artificial Intelligence.
It was excellent!
The speakers, the timely topic, the discussion, and the Q&A all offered immense value.
I’m glad I attended.
During the webinar, however, there was one thing that made me worry.
There were innumerable comments throughout the webinar from other government communications professionals, just like you and me, expressing their concern, lack of understanding, and at times fear of AI.
This worried me.
I was so troubled by these comments that I immediately turned to my marketing friends and mentors. I reached out to professionals in both the public and private sectors to pick their brains on all things AI.
– What has your experience been like using AI?
– What concerns do you have regarding AI?
– What AI tools have you used?
– Which are your favorites?
The amount of advice I received from these conversations could fill many blog posts and perhaps they will. But, today I want to focus on providing a small list of AI tools that public sector marketing and communications professionals could and should try, today.
Before we jump into the list of AI tools, I want you to reflect on this quote from the Chief Information Officer (CIO) from the city of Boston, MA.
“Whenever there’s an opportunity of delivering government services better, I think that it is our obligation to also learn about it, and if there’s risks, understand those risks.”
-Santiago Garces, CIO for the City of Boston, MA
AI is here, and it is here to stay.
As Santiago said, “It is our obligation to learn about [this technology].”
Now, let’s jump into those tools I promised!
As communications professionals in the public sector, we are often asked to do a lot more with a lot less.
At times I find myself daydreaming of what it must be like to have a team and the resources necessary to do my job properly.
*sigh*
Must be nice. . .
Enter ChatGPT.
In short, ChatGPT is a computer program that can talk with people using text, like having a conversation. It’s trained to understand and respond to different questions and topics, making it helpful for answering queries, giving information, and assisting with various tasks. It uses a lot of data and patterns to understand what people say and reply in a way that makes sense.
*That last paragraph, yeah, that was written by ChatGPT*
Use cases for public sector communicators:
– Drafting documents or writeups
– Drafting content in simplified language
– Drafting content in various languages
– Summarizing Text
– Brainstorming or generating ideas
– And so much more!
Learn more about ChatGPT and sign up for the free version here.
Have you ever searched the world over for the perfect stock photo, graphic, or illustration?
Look no further than Midjourney!
This generative AI tool converts your text prompts into works of art in mere seconds. It can even mimic the styles and mediums of your favorite visual artists.
Use cases for public sector communicators:
– Producing visual content
– Creating images or illustrations for the web (like the one for this blog post)
– Creating more specific stock photos
– And so much more!
Midjourney currently requires users to access it via Discord (an app similar to Slack).
Learn more about Midjourney and sign up for a beta version here.
If there is one thing all communications professionals do consistently it’s communicate. Atop the communication mediums list is the written word.
Emails, memos, RFPs, social media posts, press releases, and the list goes on and on.
Writing matters.
Which means good writing matters even more. (or is it “writing well”? *shrugs*)
Grammarly has been around for a while, but its powerful AI-powered suggestions and overall utility make it a must-have.
Use cases for public sector communicators:
– Checks your grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and more in real-time
– Suggests replacements for the identified errors in your writing
– Detects plagiarism
– Helps keep your brand voice consistent
– And so much more!
Learn more about Grammarly and sign up for the free version here.
Creating content in the public sector can be challenging. We have vital messages that need to be shared, and many diverse populations that need to receive, understand, and comprehend those messages.
Top that with the ever-increasing pressures from social media companies and their algorithms pushing video and audio content and you get the recipe for anxiety a la mode.
Let me introduce you to your voice-over (VO) best friend – ElevenLabs
ElevenLabs is the most advanced text-to-speech and voice cloning software ever. It allows you to create lifelike voiceovers in different intonations, languages, and accents.
Just give this clip a listen:
Nope, that wasn’t me. It was Ryan. One of the many AI voices you can choose from on the platform.
Use cases for public sector communicators:
– Create lifelike voiceovers for your content
– Clone and correct existing voiceovers
– Create voiceovers in a number of different languages
– And so much more!
Learn more about ElevenLabs and sign up for the free version here.
I don’t know about you, but since the pandemic, I often times find myself in one too many meetings each day.
In addition to the seemingly never-ending meetings, I generally have to take notes of some kind. I do this to help myself remember what the meeting was about, who committed to help me out with that project, and what my follow-up tasks are.
Wouldn’t it be great to have an assistant during times like these?
(That’s way above my pay grade. . . Or is it?)
Fireflies.ai is the assistant we both know that you deserve, but perhaps don’t have the budget for.
Use cases for public sector communicators:
– Automatically record and transcribe any meeting
– Capture both video and audio
– Generate transcripts in minutes
– Quickly locate action items, tasks, and questions
– And so much more!
Learn more about Fireflies.ai and sign up for the free version here.
These five AI tools that I highlighted today are just that – tools.
They are enablers, but we should exercise caution and good judgment when using these tools.
If you have any questions, concerns, or reservations regarding this technology I would advise you to speak with your supervisor or IT department before experimenting.
Have you dabbled with AI? What tools do you use? Let us know!
If you would like me to cover more AI tools and their use cases in future blog posts be sure to leave a comment.
ZACK’S FACTS
Subscribe to “The Zack’s Facts” newsletter for my monthly take on the latest industry topics, a government account spotlight, and resources for you to become a better government communitcator.