A Conversation With Tech Journalist Pete Pachal About the Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Sector

 

It's been easy to talk about the worst parts of the tech explosion, artificial intelligence, and social media experience. It's noisy, confusing, often unpleasant, and complicated. It's not easy to navigate. Algorithms think they know what you want, but they keep showing you stuff that you wouldn't choose for yourself if you had time to decide anything. 

I was on YouTube this morning, looking at the hundreds of videos that were being promoted on my feed. The thumbnails all look the same so as to seem generic. While the once popular promise that the internet and social media were going to offer endless possibilities to be uniquely yourself, the movement seems to be more toward homogeneity. I don't have a lot of time to watch, but I need a better way to choose than endless scrolling and filtering.

I've grown more weary of the online world, and I often wonder how useful it really is. There was a gracefulness about the card catalog at the library that made the experience of research and learning feel more sophisticated and important. The overwhelming amount of uncurated information we have to sort through now as we search with Google creates a yearning for severe limitations on how much information we see at one time. I've started to question if I've formed valuable and important relationships online. The bulk of them are superficial at best, and the quality of the discussion disappoints. 

In the midst of all this, I was somehow fortunate enough to be found through the noise by a guy named Pete Pachal. Pete is a journalist with a special focus on tech who has been involved in reporting on industry events and trends for a couple of decades. I'm not sure which podcast where he heard me talking about my concerns about AI, but he heard something there that inspired him to reach out and ask for a conversation. His first request seemed like spam, but I recognized his name from some of my past following of the tech stream on Mashable, where he was the Tech Editor. 

I sent a terse message asking if he just had something to sell or if he really wanted to have a conversation. He assured me that the conversation was his primary request, and yes, he did have something more to offer. I sent the scheduling link, and here is the conversation:


I've hosted a lot of podcast interviews. This one is among my favorites. I appreciate the thought and the quality that Pete brings to his responses. I appreciate his point of view, especially since he's got an intimate understanding of the longer view of tech and the direction it's taking us. And he's not holding back from telling us that our concerns have validity and that there is a bigger picture that we can't see yet. 

Here are some of the topics we cover:
  • Pete’s Abridged History of AI
  • What Changed When Large Language Models Entered the Room?
  • Some of Pete’s Favorite AI Tools
  • Navigating the Tsunami of Crap
  • How is Search and SEO Changing?
  • Where Can Tech Novices Start With AI?
  • Is There Any Good News About AI for Creatives?
In the midst of all the AI news, Pete has created a resource for people in the media industry and beyond to help you understand and integrate the new tools that AI makes possible. The Media Copilot is a newsletter, podcast, and YouTube channel that offers up-to-date news, insight, and navigation suggestions to media professionals at every level. Here are the details:

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