AI - The Era of Ideation

What is Possible Today That Wasn't Possible Yesterday?

The world is awash with AI-generated content. The reproduction of existing creations is in full swing, and theoretically, a 15-year-old with a good gaming PC could produce a film today that, with the right timing and a compelling thumbnail, could propel them to the heights of the advertising industry—or even Hollywood. At least a good slot at the German OMR would be within reach.

Everything is improving: the next text-to-video hype, a better upscaler, a new base model in the open-source community. More people can now generate high-quality AI content quickly and easily, posting it with captions like "Epic Evolution in AI - You Won’t Believe This Isn’t Real."

The Question: If Everything Feels Possible, What Is Truly Possible?

I recently attended a lecture by Robert Andersen, Managing Director “innovation & brands” at Jung von Matt. His insights align with my experiences at the advertising agency thjnk. The reproduction of what has already existed only makes sense with AI to a certain extent. Objects cannot be 100% accurately replicated, no matter how much training data is used. Expensive post-production with CGI or real-life photoshoots are still the solutions for AI-generated backplates.

With this understanding, it's time to shift our focus: What Wasn't Possible Before?

How Close Can an Idea Get to Its Audience?

Where is the emotional aspect of an international event, like a European Championship, a Taylor Swift concert, or the Olympics, most effectively triggered? Let’s consider an example: the EMBW campaign by the German energy company ENBW, created by Jung von Matt. The idea was simple: during a major tournament, at least as many coaches sit on the country's sofas as there are citizens in the nation. So, why not give them the chance to generate themselves as the national coach? Of course, with the company's adapted logo.

Link to campaign

Was This Previously Possible?

The workflow behind this campaign wasn’t rocket science. The interesting question is whether it would have been possible before. The answer is no, not with this level of accessibility for a viewer/user.

A Medical Example

ElevenLabs, a pioneer in the text-to-speech world, has trained models on specific voices. This is a nightmare for voice actors but a blessing for individuals who have lost their voices, enabling them to recreate it using voice messages and videos. A door that was previously closed is now open.

So the next step would be: 

AI as an Ideation Tool

I must humbly admit that this statement didn’t originate from me. My project manager in the AI team, Carsten Eggers, clearly made this point when we were still diligently training cars. And he was right. We can create anything we want, but we often remain confined to the box we know. Let's start breaking out of that box.

Examples of Ideation Beyond the Norm

The following ideas are a small and unstructured excursion of my own brainstorming while loosely brainstorming innovative ideas. They serve as impulses to ask what is possible. Any similarities to existing ideas are unintended. The attached evaluations are also my own and should be viewed as personal guide rails on the highway toward a golden idea. 

• A Fritz-Kola Bottle with the Drinker’s Face as the black and white Logo

• okay, that was too easy

• A Children’s Book That Writes Itself, Starring the reader himself, His Family, and Friends

• honestly I heard similar ones one or two times now already

• but maybe make it in braille in combination with a tactile interface and speakers. Spoken by the parents or a famous actor. 

• A DOOH Ad as a Mirror, Showing a Possible Future if You Start Eating Healthy Today

• that is actually new to me

• The Sphere in Las Vegas Displays a Real-Time Graphic of Global Wealth Distribution Once a Month

• does this need AI?

• A Never-Ending Ode to Parents, based on children’s input. A homage to the infinite love of parents

• or make it a never ending rap song where people can add there rage and disappointments in an anonymous way

• A Testament Read by the Deceased Themselves 

• quite close to the origin of “Replika”

• Domino’s Consumers Upload Their Party-Pizza Photos, which are Artistically Modified and Printed on Regional Pizza Boxes
  
  

if no one has thought about one of these => credit me, greedy bitches. 

But let’s pause here. 

Some of these ideas are boring. A few might even receive feedback from a Creative Director. And the never ending song is genius in my opinion. But the point is, almost anything is possible. A professor once told me, "Be aware that you live in a time where every creative idea you have can be realized."

Ideas and visions as the seed of innovation

While my ideas mostly revolve around advertising, doors open every day into a variety of fields. The innovation lies not just in observing these, but in connecting corridors and rooms to create paths that have never existed before. This is the cornerstone of development. Here, something new emerges that allows us to look forward with confidence and anticipation. So, let your ideas run free and start. 

Start believing in something that is lying outside of the box of the familiar. And start believing that you will be able to create it. 

With these words, I close this chapter for now.
Continue to make great things and obviously use cogniwerk.ai while doing it.
I hope to see you again soon.

David