The mainstreaming of AI is setting a new precedent for how people relate to non-human sources of intelligence. While automation on a consumer level has typically focused on specific tasks like replying to emails or budgeting, it’s now swiftly expanding to a more dynamic range of applications.

People are taking a patchwork approach to self-expression to feel like they have control over how their identity is generated. Yet as individual expression becomes more mutable and mistrust in social systems abounds, there’s one place above all that people are seeking integrity and guidance: brands.

The expansion of accessible AI tools is enabling people to explore their creativity via X-rated content – sparking the rise of synthetic porn. The proliferation of these images is raising questions about AI's impact on objectification and the challenge of mitigating misinformation at scale.

Private Island’s use of Runway’s Gen 2 text-to-video generator to produce an AI US beer advert quickly went viral. Public sentiment towards AI is still mixed, but seeing absurd generative AI creations is one way of allaying any fears about it becoming too sophisticated, at least in the near term.

Disinformation spreads like wildfire on social media, especially when it’s fueled by dark money and content farms. But what happens when generative AI like ChatGPT makes creating such material as easy as hitting enter? And what role can brands play in combating this worrying trend?

When OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public, the text generator made a clear case for the sheer disruptive force of AI – making it apparent that such technology will change the way we experience information and engage with brands. But major challenges remain before AI elbows humans out of the way.