I keep playing with new AI-based tools or new functionalities offered by tools. It's very exciting what AI can do to make day-to-day tasks easier. Yes, there is a scope for improvement, but isn't it true for every emerging technology? While I was tinkering with ChatGPT, as you always do, a visual cue caught my attention. A somewhat light bulb moment happened, and I opened another tab on Chrome and logged into Canva. And there it was, right next to the 'For you' option and part of the magnifying glass icon on the left side of the search box. What am I talking about?
Sparkling AI: Sparkle, sparkle everywhere
I'm talking about the sparkles emoji. If you have been using an AI tool like ChatGPT or a generative AI feature in an app like Canva or Microsoft Office, sparkles emoji is visible. Usage of the sparkles emoji to represent Generative AI is a design pattern which seems to be repeating everywhere.
Nick Bettuzzi gave a quick jog through the history of sparkles in his blog published a few months back. The sparkles emoji popped up in the 1950s in ads, posters, and TV. Essentially, it represented a sense of mystery, a sense of exoticism, and the appeal of a shiny, new product. A visual garnish to Disney's magic.
Making appearances in the popular culture through the following decades, it garnered a lot of visibility through the Japanese art and media in the 1990s. Anime, manga, and video games used sparkles to emphasize their message. Games often used them to represent healing, experience, or even rarity. There was just something enchanting about scenes with sparkles.
As emojis got introduced in the late 1990s, they gradually became an integral part of the lingo. Social media gave the reach and scale to emojis that continues get wider usage across the world. The use of emojis has also quietly crept into marketing content like blogs, and communications like e-mails.
The emergence of generative AI tools and features in the past few years has caught on with the usage of emojis, and have been increasingly using the sparkles emoji in branding and user interfaces.
For example, GPT-4 by OpenAI which is available to paid subscribers uses the sparkles. Grammarly uses it in the 'More ideas' option. Copywriting generative AI tool, Rytr, places the sparkle emoji next to the 'Create' option.
AI-based video editing tool Veed places it next to the smart editing and the clean audio options. Microsoft Excel uses it in the spreadsheet icon for 'Plan your finances' template. Canva's 'For you' feature proudly owns the emoji as its icon. Google Bard and Wordtune have a captivating sparkle in the logo itself. The sparkles emoji seems to have solidified its reputation as an icon for generative AI.
What is the meaning of this widespread usage of the sparkles emoji?
What does this trend of using the sparkles emoji to represent generative AI imply? According to Nick, a sparkle in these logos and interfaces signifies innovation, enchantment, and ease of use. It is the promise of seamless interaction, a leap in technology.
It makes a lot of sense. After all, generative AI is a game-changing technology that has already transformed how content creation is done. In near real-time, generative AI can create art, write stories or compose music - a feat that only humans could do. Recently, Stability AI announced Stable Video Diffusion (SVD) which can generate video from a single image!
The quantum leaps generative AI technology has made and continues to make, it is nothing short of magic in terms of what it can do. But, is it all shine and glitters when it comes to generative AI? There is a new AI-based tool poppping up like a bubble every day. I have myself tinkered with some of them, and I can assure you they are not the shiny objects that they claim to be.
The thing is that there are many so-called generative AI tools in the market today that can automate tasks more than generating anything. At best, they are a robotic process automation or RPA application.
Then there are still controversial aspects of generative AI like ethics of using the training data. I covered this aspect in an earlier episode on 'Why are organizations and marketers hesitant to adopt AI?'. I will leave a link to the episode in the description below.
Moreover, developing an AI-based product or feature requires overcoming multiple technological and infrastructure barriers. At least to the point where generative AI is at today, a true AI-based application requires significant commitment of resources, which to my mind, is not easily available to developers. How many of those new apps that are popping up here and there are truly AI-based needs to be figured out.
When it comes to emojis, including the sparkles emoji, they are not copyrighted. They are part of the global standard developed by Unicode Consortium. In simple terms, they are free to use even for a commercial purpose without requiring any prior consent.
So, was the adoption of the sparkles emoji to represent generative AI or AI in general a lazy choice? It seems unlikely. Rather what seems more likely is that every tech product, platform, or feature is willing to use it for what it has come to represent in a subtle way - innovation and enchantment. Now that this symbol of magic has proliferated, by design or by default, everyone wants to ride the wave and benefit from the marketing magic.
What does AI think about the sparkles emoji representing it?
Now that generative AI has begun to act like us humans, I wondered if it had any opinion on sparkles emoji being used to represent it. So, I decided to key in a simple prompt into ChatGPT3.5, Bing (which also uses ChatGPT), and Google Bard.
I started with ChatGPT first. The prompt I asked was - "What is your opinion on usage of the sparkles emoji to represent your generative AI capabilities?” ChatGPT gave a 179-word response. In the interest of time, I am quoting the key points it made:
"As a machine learning model, I don't have personal opinions or feelings. However, I can provide an analysis of using the sparkles emoji to represent generative AI capabilities.”
"The sparkles emoji may be used to convey the idea of something magical, impressive, or dazzling, which could align with the notion of generative AI capabilities. It adds a touch of whimsy and suggests that there's something special or extraordinary about the AI's abilities.”
Then it sort of conveyed caution against usage of the emoji as, "Some may find the use of emojis in a professional or technical setting to be informal, while others may see it as a creative and engaging way to communicate complex ideas.”
Bing had an interesting shorter, 156-word response which said:
"In my opinion, the usage of the sparkles emoji to represent generative AI capabilities is a creative and fun way to convey the idea of AI-powered features."
Then it mentioned, "Google has been using the four-pointed star as a sparkle emoji to represent multiple AI features such as Bard, Magic Compose, and Cinematic Wallpapers ¹. The sparkle in Duet AI is white and placed in a circle with a blue gradient ¹. The Search Generative Experience (SGE) has the most elaborate sparkle, with four semi-circles forming the external shape ¹.”
"However, it is important to note that the usage of the sparkles emoji to represent AI capabilities is not a standard practice across all platforms. It is up to the individual platform to decide on the most appropriate way to represent their AI features.”
The response had proper footnotes with specific source links, a legal disclaimer statement linking to the Terms of Use and Privacy statements.
Google Bard generated 3 draft responses of varying lenghts. I found the 294-word long second draft more conversational and adequate. I am quoting the key points it made:
"The use of the sparkles emoji to represent generative AI capabilities is a relatively new trend, and one that has been met with mixed reactions.”
"Personally, I believe that the sparkles emoji can be a useful tool for communicating with the general public about generative AI. The emoji is visually appealing and easy to understand, and it can help to convey the excitement and potential of this new technology.”
"However, I also believe that it is important to use the emoji in conjunction with other forms of communication, such as clear and concise explanations of how generative AI works.”
"Ultimately, I think the use of the sparkles emoji to represent generative AI capabilities is a positive development. It is important to find ways to communicate about complex technologies in a way that is accessible to a wider audience, and the sparkles emoji can be a helpful tool in this effort.”
Google Bard went on to share 3 interesting thoughts on how the adoption of sparkles emoji can be helpful:
distinguishing generative AI from other types of AI, such as rule-based AI or machine learning;
humanizing generative AI and making it seem more approachable; and
being used to add a touch of fun and whimsy to discussions about generative AI.
In addition to this, I think this image of sparkling AI signifies a lot more.
It establishes an emotional connection with the users as emojis are one of the most common ways of conveying emotions amongst people today. The sparkles emoji is particularly effective at conveying joy, excitement, and wonder.
The emoji provides a visually concise and appealing way to add personality and depth, making the sparkles emoji a visual metaphor for creativity and innovation for generative AI.
It carries forward the trend of mobile-first marketing since emojis are pre-dominantly used in communications over mobile phones.
It makes generative AI appear accessible to the users as the overall user experience, particularly the user interface, is still not as user-friendly as the smartphones people use everyday.
On this fun, exploratory quest I discovered a few interesting aspects about marketing generative AI tools. It's quite interesting to note how a design trend, which is unlikely to have happened by chance, has pervaded the branding and user interfaces of one of the most technological advancements of this century.
Whatever the future of generative AI may be, whichever direction it may go to, the popularity of the sparkles emoji is on the rise and I doubt anyone would complain about it. I won't. Especially when I found an interesting and untold marketing story hidden behind it.
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