When considering AI and the future of work, will all roles be impacted? Will only some people be replaced by machines, or rather, will we use AI more as a tool or partner? Everyone has an opinion on the subject.  

With these questions in mind, the Backstroke team was surveyed. Here, they discuss AI and the future of work holistically, covering all kinds of jobs and goals—from the culinary arts, to topping the charts, to strategic marketing and making business decisions. Watch below to see their predictions and goals as a small team who is pushing ecommerce AI and DTC communications forward with their AI email generator, groundbreaking AI user conference, and more.

AI and the Future of Work: Backstroke’s Thoughts Summarized 

Our team was asked a series of True/False questions regarding AI and the future of work. Here’s what they had to say . . . 

True or False? AI Can Write a Song That Could Top the Charts. 🎤

The team got off to a very mixed start here! According to innovators everywhere from Backstroke to MIT Technology Review, AI can make you more creative . . . but it has its limits.

R. J. and Allyson Talyor, Backstroke’s CEO and Lead Data Scientist respectively, think that AI may be able to crack the code of some genres, creating a super catchy pop song or dance track. Meanwhile, Head of Product & Design, Tyler Hill, says AI isn’t quite there yet in its songwriting abilities, but may get there in a few years.

In a strong opinion going against the group, Head of Marketing, Egan Montgomery, says that AI won’t ever be able to replicate the lyricism of today’s chart-toppers like Kendrick Lamar or Taylor Swift. These two artists, in particular, connect with fans through storytelling of their unique human experiences.

While we can certainly analyze what makes people connect with Kendrick and Taylor, building that emotional connection from data might not be possible.

True or False? AI Can Make the Perfect Pizza. 🍕

When it comes to AI and the future of work in regards to the culinary arts, we have another mixed bag of answers. Allyson and Egan cite all the recipes in the world, which AI can reference and therefore make an excellent pizza as a result. Cooking is a science, after all.

R. J. disagrees, stating that pizza-making is more of an art form. That type of creativity can be balanced with the science of cooking to create a decent dish. However, chefs know their equipment and ingredients intimately, and while he thinks AI might be able to make a good pizza, it’ll never make a perfect one. 

Tyler straight-up says that, no, AI can’t make the perfect pizza at all, citing fire safety concerns.

True or False? AI Will Replace Us All. 🤖

This is The Big Fear that we all have, but across the board, the team says, “False.” 

AI is—and will remain—a tool unable to replace human originality. Allyson states that she thinks human creativity will become increasingly valuable with time as we move into a future that’s more and more influenced by generative AI.

True or False? AI Can Make Business Decisions. 💼

Again, the team agrees, though this statement can’t be claimed as true in totality. Every decision has nuance and many require us to draw from experience or think with our gut. Sure, you can use Backstroke to predict the best subject lines for an upcoming send or to generate an email that will drive 20% more revenue, but all of these predictions are very data-based. 

Use your personal judgment when using AI to make some decisions. Then use an email AI agent to decide what types of content are most likely to engage hype-specific subscriber segments. Like everything regarding AI and the future of work, there is nuance.

True or False? All AI Systems Are Created Equally. 🌐

“Oooh, definitely not!” says Allyson when asked this question. She highlights how there are so many different types of AI and machine learning systems, all of which have different goals and outcomes. 

Backstroke’s AI email generator is so excellent at what it does because it’s trained on 10k+ ecommerce brands’ data, all of which is proprietary, and it deeply understands your individual brand and subscribers’ interests as well. 

Tyler agrees, confidently and simply saying that all AI systems are equal is false. Watch below, and he can show you exactly why.