By Robyn Frost

Off the top of my head

This first bit is a disclaimer of sorts – part of an experiment I’m doing where I try free writing. Perhaps not stereotypical – I don’t have any structural notes but I’ve picked a subject. This means zero obsession over turns of phrase or perfectionism. I need to write concisely with minimal editing. Let’s see what happens – it’s all fun, right?

Let’s say you’ve just been asked what you think of Coke’s recent move towards automated advertising and you don’t know what the heck it’s all about.

This is me a lot of the time. I nod along like one of those bobblehead dogs on a dashboard.

“Mmm yeah, native”, “agile – absolutely”, “forward chaining or backward chaining?”.

A lot of these sound plain uncomfortable and mean absolutely nothing to me.

Things are made even more confusing by an apparent 50 year long debate over the difference between ‘AI’ and ‘IA’. I have no idea what this difference is, so there’s a task for the journey home.

For years there’s been talk of robots taking our jobs and wiping out humanity, but hey, has it happened yet? Of course it will impact our jobs, but I’m not worrying about whether a smart fridge will render creative teams obsolete. I’m all for hopping on board with new ideas which are changing the world we live in every day. New stuff will help solve problems faster and more efficiently. Win.

So in the interest of not ending up like my Dad – he has an iPhone with zero apps on it and doesn’t know what Snapchat is – I’ve swapped out my usual commute reading of BBC and Medium for Wired, Mashable, TechCrunch and Recode. I certainly feel there’s room to incorporate more technology into my work – an opportunity to make better work alongside tech rather than against it.

I usually write long, wordy posts – but quite simply, this time I wanted to share a few things I’ve discovered this week and thought were interesting (or plain ridiculous to my untrained, un-tech eyes). Enjoy.

The Coke scandal: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/01/coca-cola-chooses-ai-over-brains-generate-latest-adverts

Become Banksy in this VR Graffiti app: https://www.fastcodesign.com/3068638/ghostpaint-a-vr-graffiti-app-that-lets-you-play-banksy

FAKE NEWS warning label: http://www.recode.net/2017/3/4/14816254/facebook-fake-news-disputed-trump-snopes-politifact-seattle-tribune

This Snapchat rip off: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/whatsapp-status-stories-snapchat-how

WhatsApp has taken the USP of Snapchat and repackaged it as a ‘self-destructing’ feature. As if none of us will suss it.

Fact of the day: Apple calls the dial on the side of its Watch the ‘Digital Crown’. I suppose that’s one way of making the boring bit sound way more exciting than it actually is.

Perplexing but promising: https://news.fastcompany.com/scientists-have-successfully-stored-an-os-a-french-film-and-a-50-amazon-gift-card-on-dna-4031912?utm_content=bufferf4e95&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

The most efficient data storing technique ever (allegedly): http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-stored-a-movie-a-computer-os-and-an-amazon-gift-card-in-a-single-speck-of-dna

Some tech for tech’s sake: https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/06/pizza-hut-pie-tops/

No pressure, Alexa: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/07/man-accused-murder-calls-amazon-alexa-recordings-prove-his-innocence

To the moon: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/03/starry-eyed-amazon-chief-jeff-bezos-reveals-earth-moon-shipping-plans

Back to earth with a bump: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/06/getting-past-the-ai-hype-sxsw?utm_content=AI%2Csxsw&utm_campaign=social&utm_source=twitter