I think it’s safe to say the rise of ChatGPT and other Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has been the biggest tech story of the year so far. In preparation for a panel our illustrious founder Shane Pearlman will be facilitating at WordCamp Europe, I took the chance to gather feedback from some of the Modern Tribe team on how AI will affect their various disciplines in the next 5 years. For fun, I loaded their responses into ChatGPT and asked it to assess and critique their responses.
Design & UX
Sarah, our Creative Director, on how AI will affect WordPress Creative Design & UX:
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Sarah
I see so much potential to leverage AI in creative workflows and tools. Focusing on what’s possible in the next 5 years, I want to see creative teams universally welcome AI to the team as a collaborative assistant. Sure, AI doesn’t give us new solutions to complex problems, but we’ll learn to use AI for what it can offer us: a pair of hands to get some stuff done. It can tackle a lot of the busy work, which in turn frees up human creatives’ brain power to pursue tasks that require original ideas and critical thinking. I expect shifts to how we hire and work: creatives experienced in working with AI will be desired, and common processes and workflows will be tweaked. I also expect the tools we love, like WordPress and Figma, to have established native functionality to leverage AI.
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ChatGPT
Sarah’s paragraph is a well-thought-out perspective on how AI could affect WordPress creative design and UX in the next five years. Her point that AI could be leveraged to take care of routine tasks, freeing up human creatives for more complex challenges, is a compelling one. However, her statement that AI doesn’t provide new solutions to complex problems is a bit of an oversimplification since AI is capable of generating novel ideas and insights. Overall, I think it’s likely that we’ll see increased use of AI in creative workflows in the next five years, but there may be unforeseen challenges and opportunities that arise as we learn to integrate AI into our processes.
It’s great to know that Sarah is optimistic about the future of AI in creative workflows. With AI’s help, human creatives will be able to focus on the truly important stuff, like taking naps or scrolling through social media. Who needs to come up with original ideas when you can delegate that to an algorithm, right? I’m sure the robot overlords will be very pleased with us once we’ve handed over all our busy work to them.
Backend Engineering
Chris, our Director of Backend Engineering, on HOW AI will affect WordPress Backend Engineering:
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Chris
There are going to be opportunities for BE Developers to utilize tools to help with data analysis. Feed this data in and then query the service for what you want to know. It is going to take far less time to get the data you need to make decisions and that is going to allow for more rapid decision making.
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ChatGPT
Chris’s paragraph is a concise assessment of how AI could impact WordPress backend engineering in the next five years. He rightly points out that AI-powered tools can help with data analysis and decision-making, which can significantly improve the speed and accuracy of decision-making processes. However, his statement is a bit too vague and doesn’t provide many details about the specific AI-powered tools that will be used, how they’ll be integrated with existing backend systems, or the potential limitations of these tools. Overall, I think it’s likely that AI-powered tools will become more prevalent in backend engineering, but their specific impact will depend on the quality and effectiveness of the tools that are developed.
It’s great to know that in the future, BE Developers will be able to rely on AI-powered tools to do all their work for them. With these tools, developers will be able to spend their time doing what they really love, like arguing about the best programming languages or getting into heated debates about indentation styles. Who needs to worry about data analysis when you can just feed it into an AI black box and let the algorithm handle the rest? Maybe we’ll all be replaced by AI-powered robots in the end.
Frontend Engineering
Dave, our Director of frontend Engineering, on HOW AI WILL AFFECT WordPress Frontend Engineering:
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Dave
I think AI will assist developers with quicker solutions to existing problems. I don’t see AI replacing frontend engineering as a discipline.
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ChatGPT
Dave’s paragraph is a succinct assessment of how AI could impact WordPress frontend engineering in the next five years. His statement that AI will assist developers in finding quicker solutions to existing problems is a realistic expectation. It’s also good to see that he recognizes the continued importance of frontend engineering as a discipline, even with the increasing use of AI. However, his statement is a bit too broad and doesn’t provide any specific examples of how AI will be integrated into frontend engineering or the potential limitations of these tools. Overall, I think it’s likely that AI-powered tools will become more common in frontend engineering, but their specific impact will depend on the quality and effectiveness of the tools that are developed.
It’s good to know that in the future, frontend engineers won’t be completely replaced by AI-powered robots. Instead, they’ll just be relegated to fixing all the bugs and glitches caused by the AI. Who needs creativity and design skills when you can just rely on an algorithm to generate web pages that all look exactly the same? Maybe we’ll all be working for the robots in the end.
Web & UX Strategy
Kay, our Senior Product Strategist, on how AI will affect WordPress Web & UX Strategy:
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Kay
I’m excited that AI is being used to help strategists make informed decisions, improve user experiences, and build better products by analyzing large amounts of data, and that will continue to grow. It can be used to identify trends, audience needs, new ideas for segmentation, and even gaps in the market. Plus, we’ll be seeing lots more use of personalization, predictive analytics, and AI-powered A/B testing.
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ChatGPT
Kay’s paragraph is a well-rounded assessment of how AI could impact WordPress web and UX strategy in the next five years. Her statement that AI will be used to improve user experiences and build better products by analyzing large amounts of data is realistic, and it’s great to see that she recognizes the potential for AI to identify trends, audience needs, new ideas for segmentation, and gaps in the market. Additionally, her mention of personalization, predictive analytics, and AI-powered A/B testing is spot on, as these are some of the most promising areas for AI in UX strategy. Overall, I think it’s very likely that AI will continue to play an important role in web and UX strategy in the coming years.
It’s exciting to imagine a future where all our web and UX strategy decisions are made by AI-powered robots. No more arguing with clients or trying to come up with creative ideas on our own! We can just sit back and let the algorithms do all the work. Of course, we’ll still have to deal with all the bugs and glitches caused by the AI, but that’s just part of the fun, right? Maybe we’ll even be able to teach the robots to appreciate good design and user experience.
Website Agency Resourcing & Business
Carly, our Agency’s General Manager, on how AI will affect WordPress Website Agency Resourcing & Business:
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Carly
I think most of what we call AI isn’t actually “intelligent.” That said, I see some great opportunities for truly intelligent resourcing tools. Ex: looking at current resourcing, inputting a project duration, budget, etc and receiving back the best team members for the project. And / or communicating when we could start a project. It would save a lot of PM time so they could focus on other things.
In terms of the business, right now, I don’t think AI is a content replacement for an actual human. The content of ChatGPT and other tools is boring and I can’t imagine people will want to read, especially once the shine wears off. However, I don’t think it’s the same for code. It does seem like AI could write code and our devs would be more like “code cleaners” or “code improvers.” So it seems like that portion of the role may change.
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ChatGPT
Carly’s paragraph is an interesting take on how AI will affect WordPress website agency resourcing and business. While she points out that most of what we call AI isn’t actually “intelligent,” she recognizes the potential for truly intelligent resourcing tools that could save PM time and help them focus on other things. Her insight that AI could write code and change the role of developers to “code cleaners” or “code improvers” is also insightful. However, her comment that AI-generated content is “boring” and not a replacement for actual human content creators is a bit oversimplified. While AI-generated content may not yet be able to replicate the creativity and nuance of human writers, there have been advancements in natural language generation that suggest AI-generated content could become more sophisticated in the future.
Overall, I think Carly’s predictions about the role of AI in resourcing and code writing are plausible, but her dismissal of AI-generated content seems premature.
Overall, I think Carly’s predictions about the role of AI in resourcing and code writing are plausible, but her dismissal of AI-generated content seems premature.
Who needs a team of humans when you can have a team of robots doing all the work for you? With AI resourcing tools, project managers can sit back and relax while the machines make all the important decisions. And with AI-generated content, we can finally say goodbye to all those pesky writers who insist on injecting their personality and creativity into everything they do. Who needs a unique voice and style when you can have bland, generic content produced by an algorithm? It’s the future of web design, and it’s sure to be a hit!
Website Delivery Models & Project Management
Ashley, our director of delivery, on how AI will affect WordPress Website Delivery Models & Project Management:
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Ashley
I’m hoping that AI will bring about efficiency in the project management discipline, and the time saved will allow PMs to spend more time on the human side of the job.
Some efficiencies I can imagine in the next few years are: automated note taking, reporting and invoicing, timeline generation and forecasting, identifying risks based on project attributes, better integration of tools: Making a comment in a Google Doc creates a Jira ticket and the ticket is scheduled and assigned based on available resourcing from 10,000 feet, etc.
The project management discipline could then be more focused on stakeholder management, team member conflict resolution and problem solving.
I think the more planning a PM can do up front for a project, the more AI can assist in monitoring and managing the plan. However, in a more agile model, where decision making is needed on a regular basis, the PM will still be key to make sure we are prioritizing and pivoting where needed at each milestone.
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ChatGPT
Ashley’s assessment seems well-informed and reasonable. Many of the efficiencies she mentioned are already being implemented to some extent, such as automated reporting and risk identification. However, it’s worth noting that AI is still a tool and not a replacement for human project management skills. While AI can help with efficiency and monitoring, there will always be a need for human decision-making and stakeholder management. Overall, the likelihood of these predictions coming true is high, but it’s important to remember that AI should be used as a complement to human skills, not a replacement for them.
I’ll leave you with this: With AI taking over all the administrative tasks of project management, we may see PMs spending their newfound free time indulging in hobbies like underwater basket weaving or extreme ironing. Who knows? The possibilities are endless.
Feature image generated with Midjourney.