Sampling the Future of Marketing AI

My journey Through MAICON, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Hip Hop history

Last week I had the privilege of attending the Marketing AI Institute's MAICON event in Cleveland, Ohio. Before diving into the world of AI and marketing, I paid a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which happened to be directly across the street from the convention center.

Now, Cleveland may not be the only city to lay claim to the origins of Rock & Roll music. Memphis would have a strong claim as well. But it was Cleveland radio disc jockey Alan Freed that named, branded, and marketed rock & roll. There'd simply be no genre of music known as rock & roll without Cleveland, Ohio.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a fantastic place to visit if you have an appreciation for popular music. The exhibits, photos, videos, and artifacts of rock & roll history found within its walls are something to experience as a music fan.

MAICON: Exploring the Frontier of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing

Inspired by my visit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I walked into MAICON with a fresh perspective. A LinkedIn search for MAICON or the hashtag #MAICON23 will reveal plenty of recaps and takeaways written by both attendees to the event as well as amazing speakers and Marketing AI Institute leaders. Because of that, I won't cover much of that in this post.

What is worth mentioning is the sheer depth and richness of topics that the event covered — from putting AI into practice within your marketing team to exploring the ethical implications of generative AI. The concepts and issues discussed across the many sessions were inspirational, informative, and actionable.

AI as a Medium for Human Creativity

One insight that resonated with me at MAICON was something I've felt about AI for a while: It's a powerful tool, but at this point in its evolution, it's still simply a tool. Humans make AI. Humans use AI.

That may not always be the case. AI will continue to improve, and perhaps more quickly than we are ready for. For right now though, this is the relationship we hold with our AI systems. The way you prompt it and the context in which you activate it shape the results you achieve from AI.

To quote Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Eric Clapton, "It's in the way that you use it."

Hip Hop at 50: Parallels with AI

Throughout MAICON, my thoughts drifted back the Rock Hall's featured exhibit called "Hip Hop at 50." This insightful exhibition guides visitors through the roots and history of Hip Hop, from its early beginnings until today.

I found some connections between the artists and music featured in that exhibit and what we were discussing across the street at MAICON. Of course, the advent of Hip Hop occurred for very different reasons and in a much different setting than generative AI. But many of the styles and elements found in Hip Hop were born out of the creative repurposing of existing music and equipment.

There seems to be a parallel there. In fact, the parallels grow even more as we examine these five areas:

Remixing and Repurposing

DJs used turntables to scratch and repeat short samples of records in creative ways, remixing parts of existing songs into new sounds.

Hip Hop invented the concept of the breakbeat, which sampled existing drumbeats from other music, looping them to create new dance rhythms. Whether you recognize it or not, you hear the breakbeat across popular music — even today.

Technological Innovation

Even rudimentary digital technology, like 1970s and 80s synthesizers and the Roland TR-808 drum machine, were innovatively used in Hip Hop, shaping the music of the '80s and '90s. The 808 was a mainstay of Hip Hop and its sound also drifted into other genres of popular music.

Sampling as a Creative Force

Sampling allowed artists to transform existing sound recordings into new compositions. You can draw a direct comparison to the way that large language models organize and recombine data to create new content across various art forms. The way we prompt AI and use new techniques to get more out of our models could be seen as akin to sampling.

Democratization of Technology

The democratization of technology is a recurring theme in both music production and AI. Just as the 808 allowed more musicians access to quality sounds, widely available and low cost generative AI tools have made advanced technology accessible to more people.

Creative projects that once required design and art training, software development knowledge, or writing expertise, can now more easily be accomplished by anyone.

There's a flip side to this, in what Marketing AI Institute's Paul Roetzer calls the "Law of Uneven AI Distribution," where factors like regulation, security, the influence of bad actors, and simply fear, may limit the adoption of AI tools to the same level for everyone.

On the whole, I think that AI, particularly in the generative AI space, has the power to democratize creativity in a way that nothing else has.

Legal and Ethical Challenges

Hip-hop's use of sampling led to complex legal and ethical debates around copyright, ownership, and intellectual property. This has had a lasting impact on how sampling is used and monetized in music. Similarly, the use of AI in creative fields has sparked conversation and controversy around copyright, ethics, and ownership. We've started to see legal challenges by both corporations and governments around the training, implementation, and usage of AI-generated content.

In addition to copyright, bad actors will be able to use AI for deepfake impersonations and other malicious acts. While I see no direct parallel for this to be found in our Hip Hop comparison, I wanted to include it because of its importance. Leaders, practitioners, and end users will need to be aware of this phenomenon and how to recognize it — particularly as we near another national election year in the U.S.

Drawing Inspiration from Pioneering Artists

Hip Hop isn't the realm of Rock & Roll that I tend to gravitate to. I'm more of a rock and metal guy. But the innovative spirit of the original Hip Hop artists to creatively and rebelliously use low cost equipment and existing recorded music to create both a musical and, in many ways, a social revolution, is inspirational to me.

The potential to be inspired by the history of Hip Hop is vast. Maybe we can learn from it as we build towards the future with AI. For that reason I'm happy I took the opportunity to spend a few hours soaking in some of the greatest human creativity at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before I ventured over to MAICON to learn more about AI in marketing.

As many of the speakers at MAICON said, humanity is vital to making sure that we use AI in responsible, ethical, and creative ways. I'm not suggesting that we, using AI, can create content as inventive and original as the pioneer creators of one of the most important and popular musical genres of the last half-century.

But the question lingers — couldn't we try?