There are times in history when everything just accelerates. One technology feeds off another and that’s always been the way of it. We call it revolution. But living through the experience doesn’t feel like that. It feels like a tide going out, never to come back in.
It feels piecemeal – a series of noticeable events. Local press? Gone or going. Journalism as a lucrative career? Only for the lucky few. A career as a VO artist or translator? On the way out. Long-form documentary? Still there, but shorter.
In Fleet Street (remember that?), it used to be a five-year apprenticeship to read type backwards. It was a well-paid job. But technology has always been attracted to high wages. It’s one of the reasons China took so long to take off. You don’t use technology where labour is cheap, flexible and plentiful.
The more restrictions placed on labour, the more technology will be applied. Rupert Murdoch understood that. That’s why he invested well ahead of the pack to make communications faster, cheaper and more entertaining. That’s why the industry is changing so fast. It’s called progress and it divides people. You can have an opinion but it’s unlikely to stop it. You just end up looking like a right Cnut.
There was a time when Britain was full of journeymen skilled workers. Weaving and spinning was big industry, for example. But with the arrival of the Spinning Jenny and Crompton’s Mule, one worker could be way more productive. And this is why technology, and its latest allotrope AI, is making rapid inroads into communications. What will happen? Past is Prologue.
AI and specifically Large Language Models (LLMs) are changing everything. These will make communication workers way more productive. It will help draft proposals, read complex briefs and research. And yes, it will help with creativity. How? By allowing more time for it.
AI will also be used to confect communications. The written word can be inefficient. It’s slow and it stops at borders. So, we will see much more video. More movement in every area. Static images will become as common as black and white ones, as software like Runway takes over. Comms will need to dance to get attention.
In the Ealing Studios timeless satire, The Man in the White Suit, Sidney Stratton is pursued by an angry mob of unions and mill owners. He’s just invented a fabric that never wears out and doesn’t need washing. It attacks all their vested interests. Desperate, he asks his landlady Mrs Watson to hide him. She asks him: “Why can't you scientists leave things alone? What about my bit of washing when there's no washing to do?”. There are many lessons from the film, but one is most clear. All revolutions have victims and victors. The only question then is who will you be: Sidney Stratton or Mrs Watson?