ICYMI 👉 I’m excited to announce a new premium membership offering! It’s called Creative AI Insider, and you can get it for less than five bucks a month. It’s easier to show than tell, so here’s a free copy of the August Insider.

✨ Personal Update

I’ve got two new things to share this week:

New Artie Shirts! I had a blast making designs using Midjourney and Ideogram (more on that new tool later). You can see all of the Artie shirts here.

New ChatGPT Book for Novelists! This one comes with a money-back guarantee. No joke!

🤖 Amazon KDP Requires Authors to Acknowledge AI-Generated or AI-Assisted Content

Summary

As I’m writing this edition, this story is rippling through the independent author community. On September 6, 2023, Amazon KDP introduced a new checkbox for all new (and edited) titles in their Kindle Direct Publishing platform.

You must now check “yes” or “no” before you can publish a title.

Amazon’s definition: “We define AI-generated content as text, images, or translations created by an Artificial Intelligence-based tool.”

If you click “yes” you’re presented with three drop-down menus corresponding to AI usage for Texts, Images, and Translations:

My Take

It’s too early to tell. As you can see from Amazon’s post in the KDP Community, it’s as vague as you’d expect it to be.

I don’t trust Amazon. At all.

🛍️ Amazon Describes It: AI's New Role in E-commerce Puns

Summary

Just several weeks before the introduction of the Amazon KDP AI checkbox… Amazon dove deeper into the AI pool. They're testing out a shiny new tool that'll help sellers draft up product descriptions. Imagine typing a few keywords and voilà! Your product's all spruced up with a title, description, and those crucial bullet points. All these advancements could mean big wins for sellers with better product descriptions leading to potentially more sales.

My Take

Here's Amazon, seemingly singing two different tunes. It seems like while one hand's embracing AI for product descriptions, the other might be guarding against AI data for KDP. Curious, right? But looking on the sunny side, I’ve handed over the reins to AI for some of my ad copy and keywords. The result? Not too shabby. It keeps things ticking along without much fuss from me. But here's the million-dollar question: Is copywriting taking its final bow? Maybe.

🎯 Prompt of the Week

🌀 Not Your Average Grammar Guru: AI's Wild New Frontier!

Summary

You've probably heard people saying that AI, especially Large Language Models (LLMs), are... well, weird. While some try to force these AIs into traditional roles (like using them as just another thesaurus or grammar checker), the real magic happens when we push them beyond the expected. The real value of AI isn't in mimicking the past but in unlocking new capabilities for the future. While we don’t really know what the next-gen AI will throw our way, treating it as just another tool might just blind us to the opportunities (and pitfalls) ahead.

My Take

Most writers I've chatted with dashed over to ChatGPT, trying to make it replicate their typical writing tasks. And to be honest? Yawn! I'm all for the "embrace the weirdness" mantra. Let's not just make AI our digital secretary; let's see what happens when we throw the rulebook out the window. While AI is still in its funky phase, diving deep into its oddities isn’t just fun – it’s essential.

🤯 AI & the Paradox of Precision: More than a Grain of Truth!

Summary

When instructing AI, the level of specificity or vagueness in prompts can influence the output. While some scenarios might benefit from clear, precise instructions, others might require embracing the ambiguous. In the world of generative AI, the balance between vagueness and precision can stimulate profound reflections on our goals.

My Take

Embracing AI's peculiarities right now is where the magic happens. Yeah, it feels a bit counterintuitive, especially when you're usually told to be specific. But hey, this isn't your average advice. Sometimes, being vague can lead to unexpected and innovative results. It pushes boundaries and nudges you out of the mundane.

🎨 Ideogram: Making Creative Expression More Fun

Released just a few weeks ago, Ideogram is already shaking up the generative AI world.

From their site: “Today, we are excited to announce the formation of Ideogram AI. Our mission is to help people become more creative through generative AI. We are developing state-of-the-art AI tools that will make creative expression more accessible, fun, and efficient. We are pushing the limits of what’s possible with AI, with a focus on creativity and a high standard for trust and safety.”

You’ll immediately notice the “Instagram-style” UI/UX and easy it is to use. This feels more like social media than gaming server (I’m looking at you, Midjourney).

In fact, I used Ideogram to create the “Creative AI Digest” header on the Artie Christmas shirt design.

Try it out now! 👇

🖋️ TextFX: AI-Powered Tools for Rappers, Writers, and Wordsmiths

Be careful of this rabbit hole. If you love word play, you’ll love TextFX from Google Lab Sessions in collaboration with Lupe Fiasco. Explore tools such as Explode, Scene, POV, Alliteration, and more. It’s all free!

From their site: “TextFX is an AI experiment that uses Google's PaLM 2 large language model. These 10 tools are designed to expand the writing process by generating creative possibilities with text and language.”

Try it out now! 👇

⭐ AI Superstar - Nova Lorraine and Kamilah Sanders

I’ve been listening to the AI for Creatives Podcast and I love the hosts, Nova Lorraine and Kamilah Sanders. They bring such a fresh, positive perspective to each episode focused on the intersection of AI and creativity.

👇 Give them a follow!

😜 MemeMe

🌐 Rando Disco

Random images from the Midjourney Discord server, #newbies channel.

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DISCLAIMERS:

I use AI tools to create this newsletter. No d’uh.

This issue may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and buy something, I get a small % from the seller. There’s no cost to you, and often, using an affiliate link gets you a discount.

Nothing in this newsletter should be considered financial, medical, marital, or advice of any kind. But we can still be friends.