AI is actually for the right brain

Here’s how AI can melt into branding and advertising like a deep balayage dye- beyond abrupt highlights or a temporary haircut. Beyond the left brain.

Sudharsan Rangarajan, Group Vice President, Head of Data and AI, Publicis Sapient sees a different storyboard of AI’s play in highly creative fields like advertising. We sat down with him on the sidelines of AWS Re:Invent and he did manage to ‘Super Bowl’ us over with some radical ideas. And some taglines too.

What has caught your attention at the event? Are you using Gen AI in any way?

We are transforming the organisation with Gen AI—like with some internal consumption capabilities in Marketing, Creative and Media that are being done by AI. We have worked up half a dozen Gen AI things that are going into production soon—they are just days away from going live. A lot of our clients are trying to figure out what’s AI and ML and we are enabling that journey.

Is using AI in a creativity-dominated industry a bit of a paradox?

Gen AI is all about being creative. Now is the right time for us to look at the crossroads of marketing, creativity and technology. Even the creative parts are getting influenced by AI. You can speed up the entire process by 10x. Earlier, one had to wait for results to incorporate feedback into campaigns, and then apply it in the next campaign. Now that can happen in a span of weeks. It is quite disruptive and it is going to speed up everything.

Have we solved the good-old ‘uncanny valley’ problem here?

Chatbots can get creepy without the right guard-rails. Setting up the right expectations with clients is the key here. For instance, you will never feel creep-ed out when a barman knows the exact drink you want and addresses you with your name. Because you expect it. It’s personalisation. So when we build systems we keep these factors in mind. The data we are using is also cognizant of the brand’s tone. We have given high level of personalised services in travel, hospitality and financial services—with these aspects taken care of.

How do you balance the trade-off between personalisation and privacy?

A customer is more than willing to pay for personalisation. Think of Bespoke Premium. Maintaining the fine line is critical. There is something called a social contract. There is an unwritten rule as to what is intrusion and what’s not. Just stick to that.

If AI is going to get mainstream, will it also become part of a brand’s personality?

Technology alone will not be a differentiator; because almost every brand can have access to it today. The differentiator is the data that you bring to the table. Not using Gen AI is not a choice. The question is how to use it the right way. Some brands will have a head-start, but only for a short period.

For Gen AI it is easier to be right-brained than left-brained. We talk so much about hallucinations. But being creative—that’s what AI is built for. It is about being imaginative, opinionated and full of surprises.

There are claims being made at this event that the data given by a customer will not trickle into the underlying model. Your views on the pragmatism of that?

It is technically possible. But these things will evolve over time. Also when you see value coming back you are okay with use of technology. Also, the definition of intrusion is changing over time. The ‘right to forget’ in a LLM is an ever-evolving thing.

When will AI be used for right brain work? Can it be?

Gen AI is actually about the right brain. The challenge is that clients are trying to shoehorn it into logical problems. Like trip planning or ticketing. But a lot of ‘coolness’ of AI is actually in the fact that it is innately right-brained. It is about surprise and nuance. Like human creativity. For Gen AI it is easier to be right-brained than left-brained. We talk so much about hallucinations. But being creative—that’s what AI is built for. It is about being imaginative, opinionated and full of surprises. There is no one right way to write a poem, is it?

How soon will we see AI-written ads?

Yes, we are working on some demos. Just say what is your audience and product and AI will create a campaign in 10-15 minutes.

But will it make Super Bowl ads too?

Like it or not, companies are going to leverage Gen AI. The time—and people-intensiveness of the process of creation – that can be a lot. To translate an idea into a video requires a lot of people to come together. It will also be good for ads with multiple sensibilities and for multiple regions. The next phase would be about images. The next one could be about cloning brand ambassadors with their consent.

Would that not dilute the impact of these ambassadors?

People have always known that ambassadors are paid for what they do. Yet, they find impact here. Similarly, when the audience knows it is an AI clone, there might be initial concerns but sooner or later what will matter is the ‘message’. The honesty of the message will be more important.

Will AI exacerbate subliminal advertising?

Advertising has always been about ‘influence’. Every element of marketing and advertising is about reaching someone. Some do it through aspirational appeal, some through fear appeal etc. There is a subliminal element in every tool or approach. It is a choice that the brand has to make—about how to use these tools.

What’s lined up ahead in your company – the technology roadmap?

We are investing in personalisation based on product attributes and product descriptions. Also we are working, making work-clones that can partner with me at office—remind me about things. Like personal coaches or sidekicks that nudge you on what you need to do.

Your favourite announcements at AWS Re:invent this year?

AWS happens to be the most well-established platform. It is a de facto choice on scalability, reliability and stability. It cannot be ignored that AWS was among the first ones to give underlying chips and hardware and not just software or infrastructure. We are also going to launch some services with AWS. Also watch out for AskBodhi, our own Gen AI service (named after the historical tree in India) that gives you wisdom, not just data or insights.

Sudharsan Rangarajan

Group Vice President, Head of Data and AI, Publicis Sapient

By Pratima H

pratimah@cybermedia.co.in