AI is no longer a looming concept from the depths of science fiction. It is here, there and everywhere, and the time has come to embrace it. But the world of AI can feel scary. And overwhelming. And definitely very male-dominated. That’s a shame, because AI can be an immensely beneficial tool for our careers… if we know how to use it. Plus, it’s so vital that women get confident using AI – not only are tech industries in desperate need of more women in the room (they’re the ones designing the tech of the future, after all, and it’s vital that women are involved in that process), but in every area of business, if we’re slow on the uptake of AI we risk getting left behind. 

Lauren Ingram refuses to let that happen. She’s spent over a decade in marketing in agencies and tech companies and is the founder of Next Big Thing, whose mission is to demystify the world of AI. Ingram is also the founder of Women of Web3. When she spoke on the Work Life with Google stage at Stylist Live 2024, Ingram delivered a whole load of super-helpful tips on how we can get to grips with AI and boost our careers as a result. Ahead, have a read of the top three. 

“I’m going to tell you now: AI is not cheating. Even if it is, everybody’s already using it. It’s a bit like using Wikipedia to write your homework. Everyone’s got access to that stuff now, so everyone’s using that to better their work. To ignore it completely is dangerous. We’ve all got access to stuff now, either cheaply or freely, and it’s really powerful and can be really beneficial.”

We’ve all been there. You need to write something and just cannot find the words to start you off. AI can’t replace the skill of writing; this is something that requires human creativity, and if we outsource creative work to robots we’ll lose so much. But what AI can do is help you get over the initial writer’s block induced by a blank page. 

“I find it quite useful for getting unstuck,” Ingram said. “I’ll sometimes say to an AI ‘I’m feeling stuck’, and it will start asking questions. I’ll start answering, and soon enough, I’m in the flow. It gets your brain started with some ideas.”

As we mentioned above, AI is not a replacement for you. And it shouldn’t be seen as such. This is for a few reasons. For one thing, AI is tech, and is not capable of doing all the soft skills that make humans brilliant. It’s lacking in things like empathy. Secondly, AI is prone to something called hallucinations – when it essentially makes something up but pretends it’s fact. AI can also be biased (if it’s been made with bias, it’s going to have that built in). So, all in all, it definitely shouldn’t be used without human oversight… and a good edit. 

Ingram says: “Take the answers that you get from any kind of AI with a pinch of salt. It’s not always correct. I would also see it as really good as a first pass at something. I like to say you should treat generative AI as an intern. You might get an intern to do a first pass at creating a client deck, but you wouldn’t let your intern present that deck without looking over it, changing it, improving it. 

“AI can do some things you don’t want to do, like making sure the images are lined up or fixing all the basic stuff, then you can start adding the stuff that you’re really good at; adding the kind of the flavour and the nuance and making it really good. It’s about knowing where you uniquely add value.”

Images: Adobe; @shotby_farheenxo