Artificial Intelligence (AI) | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE By Stephanie Castro
Artificial Intelligence is Here. Is Your Club Ready? What is AI! In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly graduated from the realm of fantasy to reality. Whereas previously the phrase may have conjured visions of a robot apocalypse, today’s real-world AI technology is more likely to be used by kids to cheat on their homework. Nevertheless, this diverse category of technology is rapidly advancing and will have many implications for all types of businesses, including private clubs. The world is paying attention to AI thanks in large part to the popularity of ChatGPT (see sidebar), which currently has over 100 million users. But the term artificial intelligence is a broad one and has expanded to include many different types of technologies. Generally, artificial intelligence refers to any technology that carries out complex skills that typically only reside in the human brain, such as logical reasoning, creativity, writing, learning and pattern recognition. The term frequently also applies to robotic tools that can carry out human-like tasks, though most robotic solutions today do not possess any artificial intelligence and are simply programmed. The two categories of AI that have the biggest impact on business, including the private club industry, are generative AI and machine learning. While generative AI holds the potential to positively impact clubs today, clubs likely won’t have access to machine learning tools until further in the future.
Written communications to members: Club marketing and communications professionals can use ChatGPT or other text generating AI tools (see sidebar) to save time when creating communications to club members in the form of emails, articles, blog posts and letters. But before you think this AI can do your job for you, be wary of using these communications without a hefty dose of editing. Typically, the responses from the AI possess a similarly generic tone and may contain inaccurate or irrelevant information.
Generative AI: A Shortcut to Member Communications and Engagement: ChatGPT is an example of ‘generative AI,’ a subset of AI technology that can create various types of content, from text to images, audio, and even computer code. While browsing social media, you may also have seen images created by various AI image generators that work either by the user submitting a written description or by loading images for the AI to augment or edit in some way. Following are some practical applications of generative AI that are available to clubs today.
Management policies and ideas: You can use text-based generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to spur creativity around the management of your club. You can ask it to write policies for the club or explain an issue you are having and ask for advice. The more specifics you provide, the better response you will get. Look for articles online about getting the most out of ChatGPT. (See ChatGPT sidebar)
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BOARDROOM | SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
AI images for club marketing: Adding images can spice up club communications. Tools such as OpenAI’s DALL-E allow users to input text and receive an image back. For example, you may decide you need an image of “Santa building a gingerbread house on the beach” to promote an upcoming holiday event. This sort of image would be difficult or impossible to locate as a stock image but can be created quickly and inexpensively using the AI tool. Integrated with your club technology: Generative AI can be incorporated into some club management technology systems to enhance the member experience. AI can also be utilized for quicker ways of reporting when integrated with the full database. Ask your club software provider about their capabilities of working with artificial intelligence tools.
Machine Learning: The Future of AI for Clubs?: Machine learning is a subset of AI where systems learn from data and