About talking newts and intelligent bots

Q: “What is your name?”
A: “Andrew Scheuchzer.”

Q: “How old are you?”
A: “I don’t know. If you want to look younger, wear the Libella corset.”

Q: “What is the date today?”
A: “Monday. It’s nice weather today. Gibraltar is running in the Epsom this Saturday.”

Q: “What is three times five?”
A: “Why?”

Q: “Are you able to count?”
A: “Oh yes. What is seventeen times twenty-nine?”

Q: “Leave us to ask the questions, Andrew. Name some English rivers for us.”
A: “The Thames…”

Q: “What else?”
A: “Thames.”

Q: “You don’t know any others, do you. Who governs England?”
A: “King George. God bless him.”

Q: “Very good Andy. Who is the greatest English writer?”
A: “Kipling.”

Q: “Splendid. Have you read anything by him?”
A: “No. How do you like Mae West?

Q: “It’s better if we ask the questions, Andy. What do you know of English history?”
A: “Henry VIII.”

Q: “And what do you know about him?”
A: “The best film in recent years. Fantastic costumes. A great show.”

Q: “Have you seen it?”
A: “I haven’t. Get to know England: Buy yourself a Ford Baby.”

Q: “What would you most like to see, Andy?”
A: “The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.”

Q: “How many continents are there?”
A: “Five.”

Q: “Very good. And what are they called.”
A.: “England, and the other ones.”

Q: “What are the other ones called?”
A: “There are the Bolsheviks and the Germans. And Italy.”

Q: “Where are the Gilbert Islands?”
A: “In England. England will not lay a hand on the continent. England needs ten thousand airplanes. Visit the English south coast.”

No, the above dialog isn’t a conversation with a gone-crazy chatbot. It’s actually an excerpt from a book, written almost 90 years ago, that I just finished reading. And the —sometimes weirdo— answers are given by… a talking newt.

“War with the Newts,” by the Czech writer Karel Čapek (1890-1938), presents a dystopic story that explores the consequences of the discovery, training and exploitation of a new intelligent species of amphibian salamander, the Andrias Scheuchzeri.

Image: Andrias Scheuchzeri by FunkMonk (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Initially used for pearl diving and later as a cheap and abundant workforce for industrial undersea labor, the Newts rapidly get smart by learning from humans. As they become more numerous and powerful, tensions escalate and the salamanderd eventually start rebelling against their masters. This is leading to a global conflict with disastrous consequences for Earth and humanity.

Through the eyes of a reader in 2024, the amphibian antagonists in this novel from 1936 may be seen as a unintentional metaphor for today’s fast evolving AI-augmented (ro)bots and the risks associated with turning machines into intelligent beings.

Recommended (science) fiction for everyone who’s concerned about the uncontrolled evolution of Machine Learning and (generative) AI technologies, coupled with mankind’s failure to understand the long-term implications of fostering new forms of intelligence.

Here’s another dialog from the novel’s last chapter, in which the author presents his —not very optimistic— vision for the future:

“So mankind will be put into the service of the newts.”

“Yes, if that’s what you want to call it. They’ll simply be working in factories like they do now. They’ll just have different masters, that’s all. So that means it might not be so different after all…”

“And don’t you feel sorry for mankind?”

“Oh, just leave me alone, for Gods sake! What am I supposed to do about it? It is what the people wanted, don’t forget; they all wanted to have newts, they wanted commerce, industry and technology; civil authorities and military authorities, they all wanted it; even Povondra junior said so: it’s all of our faults.”

A public domain (English) version of “The War with the Newts” novel is available under a Creative Commons Licence on the website of Project Gutenberg Australia.

Footnote: I wrote this post with a little help from, yes, ChatGPT. But, please believe me when I say that I’ve read, savored, and enjoyed Karel Čapek’s book from its first to its last page.

Moravec’s law

Throughout the lifetime of this blog ― which turned twelve years old last week ― I have written about a number of “laws” that are related or may be applied to the domains of marketing and communication. Maybe you remember my posts about Moore’s Law, Metcalfe’s Law, Fubini’s Law, Occam’s Law, Murphy’s Law, Zipf’s Law, Brandolini’s Law, and Skinner’s Law.

Today I’m diving into Moravec’s Law (or rather Moravec’s Paradox). I learned about it last February, when I was crafting a piece, “Things in the mirror may look closer than they appear,” about the promises, opportunities, and threads of Generative AI.

The paradox is named after Austria-born computer scientist Hans Moravec. Formulated in the 1980s, it highlights the counter-intuitive nature of AI development. Contrary to traditional assumptions, high-level abstract reasoning requires relatively little processing power, whereas low-level sensorimotor skills require enormous computational resources. In simpler terms: (ro)bots find things that are difficult for humans (like playing chess) easy and things that are easy for us (like eye–hand coordination, think e.g. of an infant picking up objects) difficult.

Image generated by Freepik Pikaso AI

As Artificial Intelligence technologies continue to evolve, it’s likely that machines and bots will gradually improve in many areas that are currently dominated by people’s skills. But, Moravec’s Law serves as a reminder that while AI is a valuable asset, the human element remains irreplaceable.

This is particularly true for the areas of marketing and communication, which are fundamentally about connecting with people, understanding their needs, and building relationships. As such, AI can help marketers with analyzing data, generating insights, predicting behavior, defining the customer journey, creating content, optimizing SEO, personalizing experiences, and conducting online conversations. But audience-centricity also requires a deep understanding of human emotions, cultural nuances, and social contexts — all areas where AI still lags behind human capabilities.

That’s also what I concluded a few months ago at the bottom of my “Is marketing a craft or an art?” article: “Marketing involves the application of techniques and tools to achieve specific business objectives or produce specific outputs. It needs skill, practice, and expertise to execute campaigns, analyze data, and optimize results. But marketing also relies on people’s creativity, intuition, and innovation. Successful marketers think outside the box, generate unique ideas, and are capable of evoking audiences’ emotion.”

Footnote: I wrote this post with a little help from ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, while the image was generated by Freepik Pikaso AI.

Positivity! (reprise)

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” — Winnie-the-Pooh, A. A. Milne

Original illustration by E. H. Shepard (1926, public domain)

Prologue: The past few months, I have gone through some difficult times professionally. At the end of last year, my (now former) employer announced the introduction of a “new operating model” that would scramble the corporate matrix and make my central marketing role unexpectedly disappear from their orgchart.

As I have been working in large tech companies for most of my career, the announcement itself didn’t come as a big surprise: such reorganizations tend to happen every few years — when the economic barometer turns to stormy weather or simply when a new executive makes his entry.

But this reorg was kind of different for me because the company also announced a dramatic cut of its workforce. It was like a “musical chairs” dance with one out of six seats being taken away at once. And, unfortunately, I happened to be one of the dancers for whom there was no more spot available when the music stopped…

On my last working day, I posted an update on LinkedIn in which I announced that I was open for a new job, while I expressed gratefulness for my rewarding career and appreciation for my awesome colleagues. And then, oh my goodness, a massive number of social impressions, an abundance of empathetic reactions, a wealth of complimenting comments, and even a few unsolicited recommendations came upon me like a nice warm shower. Heartwarming responses from my co-workers and my social network made me feel appreciated as a colleague, recognized as a professional, and supported as a job seeker. They boosted my self-confidence, gave me hope for the future, and comforted me in difficult moments.

Moral of this story: don’t hide it from the outside world when you’re having a dip, don’t be afraid to lean on your network when you need their support — most people will be more than happy to cheer you up or try to help you out — and always keep a positive mindset whatever challenges come your way.

Soon after I was informed about my upcoming redundancy, I published a post on this page, titled “Positivity!”. Now that you know in what context and in what mood I crafted that piece, I invite you to (re)read it and (re)think why I wrote that kindness, courage, and optimism really matter in life…

Epilogue: In the meantime, I have found a new chair at another great company and the music is starting to play again!

When one becomes three

Nvidia recently announced a ten-for-one stock split to make its shares more affordable and accessible to a broader range of investors, helping to maintain the company’s momentum in the market and support its future growth. The operation was a success as it coincided with strong financial performance and growth prospects in artificial intelligence and gaming, leading to positive investor sentiment and a continued rise in stock value post-split.

Similarly, I have decided to split my frequently downloaded e-book (thanks to all the readers of this blog!) into three parts to reduce the number of pages per volume and make the files smaller for download. The three volumes bundle all the posts I have written on this blog from September 2012 to today.

As before, you can get a PDF version for free by selecting the download tab at the top of this page. Then right-click on one of the cover images and save the linked file. Happy reading

When all the world’s knowledge has gone digital…

As we are planning to move out later this year, my wife and I have begun decluttering our house by going through our belongings and identifying old items, unused things, and surplus possessions to dispose. I acknowledge you may call it a first-world problem, but even though we’ve just started our clean-up project, I can already tell you that it’s difficult to say goodbye to belongings with historical, practical, or emotional attachments.

One of the bulkier items we haven’t touched for years and that we decided to get rid of, is my old 16-volume encyclopedia dating from the eighties. I remember consulting it for crafting essays or preparing speeches at school when I was a teenager (yes, I was already writing articles and creating presentations that long ago).

Image by Rawpixel (CC0 1.0)

Trying to reduce waste, we tried offering the complete set of books on second-hand sites. That’s how we discovered that the average price of a complete encyclopedia set is, no kidding, a paltry 15 euros. Just recalling that my late parents once spent a hundred times that amount to acquire the collection many years ago.

It’s a simple case of supply and demand: when all the knowledge in the world has gone digital, a paper-printed encyclopedia is nothing more than an obsolete relic of the past. Why should people still own one when search engines like Google, websites like Wikipedia, and online AI tools like ChatGPT offer vast amounts of up-to-date, to-the-point, and (with a few exceptions) correct information that can be accessed instantly and free of charge?

Note: I have to admit that the title of this post is a bit misleading: it’s not possible to digitalize all the knowledge in the world, as there are two types of knowledge:

If you want to know more about these different kinds of knowledge, and how tacit knowledge can be made explicit, you may reread the old post about the importance of fika that I published 10 years ago.

• Explicit knowledge is the objective, factual and rational knowledge that can be expressed in words, numbers and formulas. Bits of information that can be easily collected and published in an encyclopedia.
• Tacit knowledge are subjective and experience based (and often also context-based) soft-facts, know-how, and know-to that are stored in people’s minds and memory.

Skinner’s law

Over the past years, I published quite a few posts about frequently cited principles in technology, marketing, behavioral science, etc. that are often referred to as “laws”: Moore’s Law, Metcalfe’s Law, Fubini’s Law, Occam’s Law, Murphy’s Law, Zipf’s Law, and Brandolini’s Law. And, yes, here comes another one…

About a month after I wrote an article about nudging, I came across a related Big Think interview about Skinner’s Law, which was formulated by American psychologist B. F. Skinner and says that how we act is influenced by what happens after. If something good happens when we do something, we’re more likely to do it again. If something bad happens we’re less likely to do it again. “Commitment devices,” such as setting up rewards or punishments for completing or not completing a task, can help us self-motivate and increase our chances of success.

Key takeaway of the interview was that we can manipulate our motivation by making the pain of not doing a task greater than the pain of doing it — or making the pleasure of doing it greater than the pleasure of not doing it.

Now, let’s explore how commitment devices, often referred to as “carrots and sticks,” can be used in marketing and communications to influence your target audience:

• Positive reward: In this approach, you add a favorable stimulus after a desired behavior to encourage its repetition. For instance, think of giving a child a treat for completing their homework. Similarly, offering loyalty points or sending a thank-you email with discount codes after a purchase can motivate buyers to return for more.
• Negative reward: Here, you remove an unfavorable stimulus after a behavior, increasing the likelihood of that behavior being repeated. For example, turning off a loud alarm when someone gets out of bed reinforces the habit of waking up promptly. In marketing and sales, this might involve providing free shipping for a large order or when a certain spending threshold is met.
• Positive punishment: Adding an undesirable consequence can discourage specific behaviors. Imagine scolding a dog for chewing on shoes or charging late fees for overdue payments. In marketing, you can create a sense of scarcity (as discussed in my “nudging for beginners” post) by emphasizing limited availability of certain goods and highlighting the consequences of not ordering them promptly.
• Negative punishment: This approach involves removing a favorable stimulus after a behavior to decrease its recurrence. For instance, taking away a teenager’s gaming privileges for breaking curfew serves as a commitment device. In marketing, you might offer limited-time access to premium content that expires without engagement.

Understanding and applying these principles can equip business professionals with effective tools and compassionate approaches to influence audience behavior. The next time you’re strategizing, consider whether you need a carrot or a stick!

Footnote: I wrote this post with a little help from ChatGPT. The image was generated by MS Designer.

Ikigai and the sense of purpose

Some of you may have noticed on my LinkedIn profile that the current tech industry crisis, along with a global reorganization of the company I’ve dedicated the past 30 years of my professional life to, is leading to an unexpected and unsolicited career change for me. I have to admit, job hunting at 61 is more stressful and frustrating than I anticipated, and it’s impacting my daily life quite a bit. However, I’m also seeing it as an opportunity to make some fundamental decisions about my professional future.

In the past, I already wrote on this page about Hugh McLeod’s “Sex and Cash” theory, in which the author suggests that individuals often have two primary motivators for their career choices: sex and cash.

• Sex represents the intrinsic passion and fulfilment derived from doing work that one loves and finds personally meaningful. This type of work is driven by personal interest, creativity, and a sense of purpose. It’s the kind of work that makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning.
• Cash symbolizes the pragmatic need to earn a living, feed your family, and achieve financial stability. This aspect of work is often driven by practicality, necessity, and the desire for material rewards.

According to MacLeod, finding the ideal balance between sex and cash in your career is crucial for long-term satisfaction and success. While pursuing work that aligns with your passions and values is important for personal fulfilment, it’s also necessary to ensure a stable income. Striking the right balance between these two factors can lead to a fulfilling and sustainable career.

Another article I published here was inspired by a Seth Godin blog about saying “no” more often. It discussed statements like:

• If you’re not proud of it, don’t serve it.
• If you can’t do a good job, don’t take it on.
• If it’s going to distract you from the work that truly matters, pass.
• If you don’t know why they want you to do this, ask.
• If you need to hide it from your mom, reconsider.
• If it benefits you but not the people you care about, decline.
• If you’re going along with the crowd, that’s not enough.
• If it creates a habit that costs you in the long run, don’t start.
• If it doesn’t move you forward, hesitate then walk away.

Because every decision you make is an opportunity to follow your heart and take control of your life, one single “yes” can outweigh all the “no” ones.

• If you believe in what you’re doing, don’t hesitate.
• If something really matters, take it on.
• If it has purpose and meaning, embrace it.
• If you’re really passionate about it, follow your dreams.
• If it helps to make a positive change, always say “yes!”

Today, I am digging into the Japanese concept of Ikigai, and will explore how this is could impact my decision to go after – or abstain from – a specific job opening. It’s all about finding purpose and meaning by combining passion, mission, profession, and vocation, and kind of unifies MacLeod’s and Godin’s thinking.

Here’s how possible job search choices can be linked to ikigai:

• What you love: working in a job that you are passionate about ensures that your work is fulfilling and enjoyable. Opt for an industry and a position that genuinely excite you, while applying with a company whose goals, values, and culture resonate with your personality and interests.
• What you are good at: choosing a job that aligns with your professional strengths ensures that you can perform well and find satisfaction in your work. Identify jobs that match your expertise, allow you to utilize your experience, and further develop your skills.
• What the world needs: searching for companies that foster innovation and economic growth, or contribute to societal or environmental well-being can let you make an impact on a daily basis. Consider roles that allow you to make a positive change and build a better world.
• What you can be paid for: ensuring that a job can support you financially will allow you to sustain your living and lifestyle while pursuing the three choices above. But also consider the company culture, the work-life balance and the long-term prospects of the role you’re applying for.

Bear with me. While job search remains an intense and often a frustrating process, I’m also seeing it as an opportunity for self-reflection and for making fundamental choices about my professional future. And ikigai may be a good tool to help me identify and assess some purposeful opportunities…

Footnote: I wrote this post with a little help from ChatGPT.

Is marketing a craft or an art?

“Art is original creation, whereas craft is carrying out an instruction, following a convention or employing a technique.” – Arnold Whittick

Recently, I read an article titled “How Much is Too Much?” In the opinion piece, Paul Wiefels of the Chasm Group explores the proliferation of marketing technology or Martech applications over the past decade, and questions if this abundance of tools is truly necessary – which may sound as an uncomfortable question for (some of) my colleagues in marketing.

In the digital age we’re living and working in today, technology and automation have become tremendously important indeed. Techniques and tools like SEO, web trackers, and generative AI are transforming marketing professionals into digital craftspeople.

But let’s also acknowledge that keywords, data analytics, and AI won’t do all the work for us. Quoting Philip Kotler, who’s – at least in my humble opinion – still the father of modern marketing, marketing is also an art. The art of creating genuine customer value.

Competitive advantage is created by people, not by technology. There’s no SEO without a strong message house, no market demand without a compelling value proposition, and no successful lead generation campaign without a focused go-to-market strategy. That’s why marketers should invest in defining, expressing and communicating their product, service or brand’s unique differentiation, creating audience-centric content, and building lasting customer relationships.

Some human activities, like for example, creating pottery transcend the boundaries between craft and art. Because it requires technical skills, tools and creative expression, and it combines functionality with beauty to captivate an audience.

Photo by Oriel

Similar to throwing ceramics, marketing should also be considered both a craft and an art. Because it involves the application of techniques and tools to achieve specific business objectives or produce specific outputs. It needs skill, practice, and expertise to execute campaigns, analyze data, and optimize results. But marketing also relies on people’s creativity, intuition, and innovation, making it a form of art. Successful marketers think outside the box, generate unique ideas, and are capable of evoking audiences’ emotion.

Nudging for beginners

The Oxford dictionary defines nudging as “to push something or someone gently with your elbow to attract the person’s attention.”

In psychology, nudging is a concept that involves influencing people’s behavior and decision-making without significantly changing their incentives. It’s about (mostly subtly) presenting messages, choices, and preferences to (often subconsciously) steer individuals towards making certain decisions — while still giving them the freedom to choose otherwise.

Nudges are often used in public policy, healthcare, and organizational management to achieve desired outcomes while respecting individual autonomy. A plastic example of nudging is the painted fly in a urinal, which leverages our natural tendency to aim at targets. By providing a non-imposed focal point for men to aim at while urinating, it reduces spillage and helps maintain cleanliness in public restrooms.

But also as a marketer, a copywriter, or a business presenter, you can add a metaphorical fly to tweak the way your shape your website, text, or slideshow to significantly influence your audience’s perception, behavior, or decisions.

Here are a few techniques you might consider:

• Choice Architecture: Design your words or visuals in a way that highlights or emphasizes the options you want your audience to pick. Think of adding adjectives like best or preferred, or visual cues like bold fonts or a suggestive picture.
• Anchoring: Start your communication with a compelling statistic, a thought-provoking quote, or a relatable anecdote that sets the stage for subsequent decisions.
• Framing: Highlight the positive aspects of your proposition, product, or service. Focus on the benefits and outcomes rather than the features or technical details.
• Social proof: Leverage the power of social proof by showcasing testimonials, user reviews, or case studies that demonstrate the popularity or success of your product or service.
• Scarcity: Create a sense of urgency by emphasizing limited availability, exclusivity, or time-bound offers.
• Defaults: Position your preferred option as the most convenient choice for the audience. This may be your off-the-shelf solution architecture, a recommended white paper, or a highlighted ‘Buy Now’ button on your e-commerce page.

Nudging can be a powerful tool that helps you drive engagement, influence behavior, and ultimately achieve your business goals. But… always remember to use the above techniques in an ethical and transparent way to guide your audience towards choices that genuinely benefit them. Avoid pressure, manipulation or deception, because this will damage trust and credibility.

Footnote: I wrote this post with a little help from ChatGPT.

10 tips for creating effective content

The expression “Content is king” originates from a 1996 essay by Microsoft founder Bill Gates in which he describes the future of the internet as a marketplace for content. The original article was actually not about writing blog posts, creating presentations, or uploading videos: Gates wrote about the business model of selling information and advertising using the internet as a mass-market distribution channel.

Almost thirty years later, content is still king in on the web (and beyond). For getting revenue from selling books, music, and video (Amazon, Spotify, and Netflix’s origin). For making money through paid advertising, leveraging a vast user base, and sophisticated targeting capabilities (Google’s business model). But also for generating demand, and for nurturing and converting leads into customers. Because in the fast-evolving landscape of digital marketing platforms, channels, and tactics, content is the bridge that connects businesses to their audience:

• Content creates value: High-quality content brings value to your (target) customers by educating, entertaining, or inspiring them. When people find content valuable, they are more likely to engage with it and develop trust in the brand behind it.
• Content establishes authority: Consistently producing valuable content helps companies establish themselves as authorities in their respective industries. W) hen your (target) customers perceive a brand as knowledgeable and trustworthy, they are more likely to choose your products or services.
• Content builds relationships: Content allows brands to connect with their audience on a deeper level by addressing their needs, concerns, and interests. Through content, you can foster relationships with your (target) customers, leading to increased loyalty and advocacy.
• Content drives engagement: On digital platforms, content encourages interactions such as likes, shares, comments, and clicks, which are essential for building brand visibility and reach . It helps you stay top-of-mind and maintain relevance in a crowded marketplace.

Photo by Pxhere (CC0 1.0 DEED)

So, here are my 10 key points to remember if you want to create effective content:

1. Know your audience: Understanding your audience lets you tailor your content and messaging to their specific needs, preferences, and pain points. By knowing where your customers are in their buyer’s journey, you can provide relevant information and solutions that resonate with them at each stage, from awareness to consideration to decision-making.
2. Keep it simple, stupid: Digital content should be simple and, when possible, free of jargon to ensure clarity, accessibility, and engagement with a wider audience. Complex language and too technical wording can alienate or confuse part of your audience, hindering their understanding and discouraging further interaction with the content.
3. Think different(iation): Differentiation is essential to stand out in a crowded digital landscape, get audience attention, and distinguish from competitors. Unique, valuable content that addresses specific audience needs and preferences sets your brand apart, builds credibility, and drives engagement and loyalty.
4. Present case studies: Case studies offer concrete evidence of your brand’s capabilities, demonstrating real-world solutions and outcomes. They build trust, credibility, and authority. By showcasing successful experiences, case studies inspire confidence, help overcome objections, and guide prospects toward conversion.
5. Combine numbers and words: When you combine quantitative data for clarity and precision with engaging narratives for depth and connection, you can create content that not only informs, but also inspires and leaves a lasting impact.
6. Show the value: Content marketers should talk about delivering value rather than highlighting product details or features. As such, avoid hard selling and focus on providing valuable information, solving problems, and nurturing relationships.
7. Tell stories: A story can put your whole brain to work. It helps make the complex simple and make the message more memorable. Applying Aristotle’s ancient principle of ethos, pathos, and logos is a way to get your audience engaged beyond the rational and make them connect emotionally and/or ethically.
8. Don’t feed the chameleons: Don’t make your digital content look like a chameleon, that changes colors, style, and layout. Never compromise on the quality of language, layout, or visuals. Be creative. Be consistent. Be professional.
9. Create for multi-channel: Crafting content for multi-channel distribution maximizes reach, ensures accessibility across various platforms and media, and facilitates reuse. Leveraging multiple channels accommodates diverse user preferences, optimizes content performance, and enables a holistic audience experience.
10. Be authentic: As a marketer, you can draw from your personal experiences, emotions, and interactions to produce content that is not only relevant and engaging but also deeply authentic.

Even though Artificial Intelligence has made significant progress in generating content and continues to disrupt creative work, there’s still a human touch that AI simply cannot replace. Human marketers can bring empathy, cultural nuances, and emotional intelligence to the table — all essential for making content a kingpin in the marcom game to truly resonate with your target audience. Isn’t this what marketing is all about?

I have also created an infographic that summarizes this post. You may download the file using the download tab on top of this page.