Remember back when AI was mostly just a kind-of-useful, fun-for-a-while talking kitchen gadget that could tell you the weather and the population of Nebraska and stuff? Back before it became a ubiquitous thing that was baked into every app and tool?
That was less than two years ago. Since then we've gone from asking each other "have you tried these new AI tools" to "how are you using these new AI tools" to "how am I supposed to keep up with all these new AI tools?"
The best answer is probably "don't bother." Just ignore the hubbub and wait for the worthy stuff to rise above it all. (And of course trust us to tell you about new AI features in Descript which you definitely want and need and should go on and on about even at the risk of destroying your dearest friendships.)
Meantime, our Managing Editor, Ashley Hamer and her troupe of intrepid writers are doing the dirty work for you—sorting through all the new stuff, trying it out, and just relentlessly hunting down the best ways to pair AI with human creativity.
This week we've got a couple new entries in our growing oeuvre (French for "blog"). First, producer and writer Alec Opperman speaks to a bunch of creators to find out which AI tools they're actually using, and why. Here's his piece, which gets into practicalities like time-saving, plus the creativity and ethics around these tools. Keep reading for more.
Also helpful, maybe
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Meet Perplexity AI, the super-group of search
One of the new-new AI tools, Perplexity AI is a research tool that's like Google in that it searches sources all over the web, and like an AI tool in that it gives you an answer instead of just a bunch of links. It's billed as being much more thorough and more reliable than a traditional AI chatbot. Our resident creator-scientist Briana Brownell put Perplexity through its paces as a research tool for creative work. Here's what she found.
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Meet a great podcaster doing good work
In the latest entry in our How They Made It series, Vanessa Quirk of the Urban Roots podcast talks about how she and Deqah Hussein-Wetzel built a podcast as a non-profit entity. It's a rarity in the creator world (unlike unprofitable podcasts, which are quite common) and it's become a powerful force for good in the communities it covers. Also she uses the term "earballs," and now we have to change the name of the company.
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Does he really know?
Going viral—who needs it? I mean, look at MrBeast. He's spent years studying YouTube's algorithm, optimizing, tweaking his formula, all in the name of virality. And what's it gotten him? Wealth. Fame. His own brand of beef. Okay, maybe going viral is worth a shot. Ramdy's no MrBeast (yet) but he knows what you can do to give yourself a shot at virality. Let him show you.
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Create mastery, live
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Work faster and smarter
If you hadn't noticed, or paid any attention to our shouting about it, Descript is now packed to its earballs with AI tools. There's something for almost every stage of your workflow, from script-writing help to bulk editing tools to publishing shortcuts (writing your show notes and stuff). Get a look at them all, and how they can help you work faster and smarter, on Tuesday, April 9. Register here.
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Get started creating
The two most popular people at last week's Podcast Movement show in LA (as determined by the person writing this, who wasn't there) were Descript's Arielle Nissenblatt and Harmony Jiroudek. This week they came back and gave a master class in how to make a podcast with Descript. If you missed it, and want to get more adept at using Descript for your podcast, you can catch it on YouTube.
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AI can't create anything—without you
Descript's AI tools are built to save you time and eliminate tedious stuff so you can stay in flow, and focus on making something great. Because for all the talk about the power of AI, it's still useless without you—your ideas, your creativity, your originality...just, you. So click below and jump straight to Descript to get started. The AI has nothing better to do.
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