Generative AI may be the first form of artificial intelligence that we can all interact with directly, with no skill needed apart from the ability to write or speak a set of instructions. And while it's arguably the hottest topic right now, other AI tools and applications can elevate capabilities and help communicators and marketers move up the value chain. 

In this episode of The Trending Communicator, host Dan Nestle ventures once again into the transformative potential of AI in the communications field with guest Danny Gaynor, Head of Kelp (which he co-founded) at Signal AI. Danny's journey from a political strategist and corporate communications executive to an AI innovator offers a unique perspective on how technology can reshape the way we approach storytelling and reputation management.

Dan and Danny explore the critical role of AI in enhancing the precision and impact of communications strategies. They discuss the limitations of traditional methods like surveys and focus groups, which often provide outdated and narrow insights. Instead, Danny introduces the concept of discriminative AI, a powerful tool that uncovers the nuanced context of topics and entities - allowing communicators to identify their true areas of strength, optimize their narratives, and navigate potential risks with unprecedented accuracy. Danny shares practical examples of how this technology can validate intuition, offer reputational ROI, and act as a single source of truth across an organization.

They discuss how connecting discriminative and generative AI can be a powerful combination, helping communicators and their colleagues make data-driven decisions and demonstrate their impact. Looking ahead, they envision a future where AI-enabled communicators are not just content creators but strategic leaders who drive decision-making with data-backed insights, painting a compelling picture of the transformative potential of AI in the communications field.

Listen in and hear about...

• How measurement in communications is being transformed by AI, enhancing capabilities significantly.
• Danny Gaynor's transition from a political and corporate communications expert to co-founding an AI-powered corporate reputation platform.
• Distinguishing between generative AI and discriminative AI, and their unique roles in enhancing communication strategies.
• Identifying and leveraging unique proof points to create differentiated corporate narratives.
• AI's role in helping communicators validate their intuition, provide reputational ROI, and unify information across organizational functions.
• Why communicators need to experiment with AI, train their own AI models, and showcase the impact of data-driven strategies.
• Shifts in the role of communicators within organizations, moving from reliance on intuition to becoming strategic, data-driven influencers.

Notable Quotes

• [06:05 ] "As a communications professional, I think we're all vexed by the exact same question: Am I throwing the right spaghetti at the wall?" - Danny Gaynor
  
• [07:18 ] "A goal without a deadline is just a dream." - Danny Gaynor
  
• [40:13 ] "I very much see the folks embracing AI in communications as being even more influential leaders at their companies, as opposed to being out of a job." - Danny Gaynor
  
• [41:18 ] "If you're stuck with 'Oh well, if AI takes this away, what am I going to do?' then frankly, you probably deserve not to do anything once AI takes your job away." - Dan Nestle
  
• [57:50 ] "You can make AI your own, you can make the ingredients your own, and you can make the outputs your own in a way that is more accessible than ever before." - Danny Gaynor
  
• [59:52 ] "It's a very rare moment in the history of capitalism where we can develop something that will be industry standard and that will be reputational ROI, that will be quantifying the impact of communications." -DannyGaynor

Resources & Links

Dan Nestle

• The Trending Communicator | Website
• Daniel Nestle | LinkedIn
• Dan Nestle | Twitter

Danny Gaynor

• Signal AI | Website
• Kelp | LinkedIn
• Daniel Gaynor | LinkedIn

Timestamped summary for this episode (generated by ChatGPT)

[00:01:09 ] Daniel's career journey

Daniel Gaynor shares his career trajectory from politics to communications and his focus on measurement and AI.

[00:05:35 ] Understanding discriminative AI

Daniel Gaynor explores the concept of discriminative AI and its role in communication and measurement.

[00:09:29 ] The need for data-driven insights

The discussion turns to the limitations of traditional research methods and the potential of technology to provide better audience research and insights.

[00:15:53 ] Leveraging AI for communication

The benefits of using AI to analyze big data and craft communication strategies based on authentic proof points are explored.

[00:19:44 ] Discriminative AI vs. generative AI

The conversation contrasts discriminative AI with generative AI and highlights its role as a complement tool in communication and creativity.

[00:20:42 ] Generative and Discriminative AI

An explanation of generative and discriminative AI and their potential synergy for content evaluation and categorization is provided.

[00:21:56 ] Limitations of Boolean Searches

The limitations of using keywords and the need for discriminative AI to evaluate accuracy and create reputational ROI are discussed.

[00:22:25 ] Identifying Areas of Strength

How discriminative AI can help communicators identify narrative strengths and weaknesses in competitive landscapes is discussed.

[00:25:17 ] Challenges in Identifying Strengths

The difficulties communicators face in identifying narrative strengths and the importance of foundational theory and horizon scanning are discussed.

[00:27:26 ] Training AI Topics

The process of training topics in discriminative AI to ensure accuracy and relevance in content categorization is explained.

[00:28:35 ] Tweaking Topic Definitions

The process of refining individual topic definitions until reaching high accuracy and the benefits of a broad horizon scan are discussed.

[00:29:33 ] Narrative Validation

The need for narrative validation and specificity in corporate narratives to ensure credibility and relevance is emphasized.

[00:30:41 ] Analyzing Message Effectiveness

Understanding where messages are falling flat and the importance of focusing on fewer, deeper storylines is discussed.

[00:31:50 ] Risk Avoidance and Reputation Threats

Using discriminative AI to determine material threats to reputation and focus attention on critical issues is discussed.

[00:33:01 ] Data Insights and Strategic Reports

The importance of providing data insights through dashboards and strategic reports to make data digestible for communicators is highlighted.

[00:36:29 ] Generative AI and Product Development

The potential for communicators to become product developers by leveraging generative AI and retooling the power of discriminative AI is discussed.

[00:40:13 ] AI as a Convening Force

The role of AI in communications as a single source of truth that provides quantitative rationale and reputational ROI is discussed.

[00:41:18 ] Abundance Mentality with AI

The speaker encourages embracing AI as an additive element and to have an abundance mentality towards change and upskilling.

[00:42:17 ] Embracing AI in Communication

The potential of AI tools and the need to experiment and gain expertise in AI are discussed.

[00:44:23 ] Strategic Shift in Communication

The evolving role of communicators from writing press releases to being strategic advisors and decision-makers is discussed.

[00:46:40 ] Professional Advancement and Recognition

The need for the communication profession to be recognized for AI expertise and strategic input within the organization is emphasized.

[00:47:10 ] Training AI