The Evolution of Naming: Embracing AI’s Creative Symphony
In an age where technological advancements redefine the boundaries of creativity, the industry of naming has encountered an unexpected yet formidable ally – Artificial Intelligence (AI). The narrative of naming, a craft honed over decades by experts, is undergoing a seismic shift, challenging the norms and inviting a harmonious blend of human ingenuity and machine intelligence.
AI Has Naming Chops
NameStormers founder and CEO, Mike Carr, is a naming veteran and acknowledges the prowess of AI in crafting names that resonate with depth, meaning, and relevance. As someone who has navigated the intricacies of naming for almost four decades, the realization that AI can outperform seasoned professionals in this creative endeavor is both astonishing and humbling. This revelation unfolds as AI continues to demonstrate its capability to grasp nuances, weave narratives, and connect the dots in ways that were once the exclusive domain of human creativity.
AI’s Creative Arsenal
Exploring the diverse landscape of AI, from ChatGPT to Gemini and beyond, reveals a fascinating array of tools that excel in generating names and stories. The essence of storytelling, with its array of protagonists, antagonists, and thematic arcs, is deconstructed and mastered by AI, enabling it to breathe life into names with compelling narratives. The magic lies not in following rigid templates but in AI’s ability to learn and adapt these narrative structures, thereby enriching the naming process with layers of meaning and context.
RAG: The Frontier of Timeliness
Now on to an intriguing aspect of AI technology known as Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). This innovative approach addresses a critical challenge – the need for current and timely data. RAG transcends the limitations of conventional AI models by scouring the internet for the latest trends, information, and stories, ensuring that the names it crafts are not just creative but also in tune with the zeitgeist. This capability is especially crucial in a world where relevance and timeliness are paramount in resonating with audiences.
The Realistic Perspective
Despite AI’s impressive capabilities, it’s crucial to confront the reality that its upper hand might leave certain jobs obsolete. From customer service to radiology, AI’s efficiency and accuracy challenge the need for human intervention in various fields. Yet, this evolution also unveils opportunities for those willing to adapt and harness AI’s potential to enhance their expertise.
Embracing AI as a Skills Amplifier
During this new technological shift, it’s imperative that AI is seen not as a threat but as a powerful ally that amplifies human skills. While AI can elevate the capabilities of the proficient, it is not a cure-all for mediocrity. This realization underpins the transformative potential of AI in domains where human expertise and creativity are invaluable.
The Path Forward
The fusion of human expertise and emotion with AI’s creative strength presents an unparalleled opportunity to elevate the craft of naming to new heights. By embracing AI as a collaborative partner, professionals can enhance their creative arsenal, delivering names and narratives that resonate more profoundly with their audience. This synergy between human creativity and AI’s computational prowess heralds a new era in naming, one where the boundaries of imagination are continually expanded.
In the end, the journey through the evolving landscape of naming, powered by AI, is a testament to the enduring spirit of human creativity and adaptability. As we venture forward, the blend of human insight and AI innovation holds the promise of crafting names that not only define identities but also tell stories that captivate and inspire.
Transcription:
Mike Carr (00:03):
Today, I have a topic for you that’s a bit embarrassing, but also something that I think you’re going to find interesting. AI can now do a better job at creating names than the best naming consultants, and that’s a bit scary, and that’s also a bit embarrassing. I consider myself and our firm that’s been doing this for almost 40 years, pretty darn good at coming up with names, but we’ve been experimenting with AI every day. We play with Chat, EPT and Gemini and Claude and Pie, and the list goes on and on. Folks, they can come up with better names than I can. They can understand the nuances. They can create the story because stories about following templates, right? There may be five, six, perhaps a dozen different basic forms to follow and building stories. You have the protagonist, you have the antagonist, et cetera, et cetera.
(01:01):
AI can learn all that stuff. AI can craft a story around a name to bring it alive. It can connect the dots in new ways. So anyone that’s in our business that says, I can create a better name than ai, and most of my competitors, most of my colleagues still say that I think they’re wrong, or at least they’re going to be wrong very soon, especially when Chat GT Five comes out in the next month or two. Now at, so by Southwest last week, we looked at some of the agents that sit on top of ai, and one of the things that was fascinating and that you guys should probably be aware of if you aren’t already, is what’s called rag RAG Rag. What is that ridiculous name, right? So I said, okay, tell me a little bit more about Rag Retrieval Augmented Generation. That’s what RAG stands for.
(02:00):
Retrieval Augmented Generation. Well, that makes it a lot clearer, right? What is that? Basically what it is, is it’s a way to overcome the shortcomings with the chat, GPTs, et cetera, whose data is not current, right? Chat PT for a while was using data built on everything up through a year ago, but it didn’t have the most recent months. So what RAG does is it goes out on the internet and it basically scrapes looks across the internet for the most current timely data information stories on the subject at hand, right? So if you’re creating a name and it needs to be very modern and very hip and very with it, and aware of all the trends and the nuances that are going on, having RAG as part of your overall solution is really critical and something that we are looking at and that you probably should take a look at too. Now, a couple folks that I encourage you
(02:58):
To follow in this space that I follow every day are Shelly Palmer. Shelly Palmer, his last name is P-A-L-M-E-R, and Paul Roter, and Paul’s last name is R-O-E-T-Z-E-R. These two guys are really good, and there’s some gals out there too that really get this, and they explain it in a way that I can understand it and it makes sense to me without diving too deep into all the details. And then I also follow Mark Schafer, and he’s more of a marketing branding person than he is an AI expert, although he’s very into AI as well. And Mark took great exception. I talked last week about this presentation at South by Southwest, and Mark just hated this title, and he even did a podcast on this. The title was AI isn’t going to take your job. AI isn’t going to take your job, but someone who knows AI will, and Mark’s exception to this is it implies that, Hey, if you know ai, if you know how to use ai, then your job’s fine.
(04:04):
He said, that’s not the case. And he’s right. If you are a customer service rep and you’re really accomplished and professional skill to taking those customer service calls, and now you know how to use AI to maybe make you even more productive and do some research, does that mean your job is safe? No. I mean, companies have already announced in the press that they’re cutting hundreds if not thousands, if customer service jobs, because AI can across the board, do a better job, less expensively and less time, and create less angst and better customer interaction results. That job’s going away. Fine. If you’re a radiologist, right? You went through med school, you’re trained in how to review X-ray or CT scans, MRIs, whatever. Now AI can do that and find things that maybe you couldn’t find. Well, there aren’t going to be a need for many radiologists.
(05:00):
And so some radiologists still needed to review the AI results and make sure that there’s an agreement there. But if now all of a sudden a radiologist can be twice as efficient or scan look at five times as many scans a day because of ai, you just aren’t going to need as many radiologists. And this is the same in creative spaces like naming, same in writing. And so there is seismic shift going on, and anyone that says, I can always do it better than AI isn’t being real. I think there’s this false confidence that until you start experimenting and playing with these things, you’re not going to realize how good they are and how much better in some cases they can be than even you. So Mark’s conclusion is, and Shelly Palmer also had this sort of
(05:56):
Same conclusion, is there’s still this need for humanity. There’s still this need for this human connection. And Shelly’s comment I thought was really a good one. Generative AI is a skills amplifier, not a skills democratizer. When he meant by that was, if you’re really good at your job already and you know how to use ai, you’re going to be even better. If you’re average at your job, AI isn’t going to make you incredible, right? That you have to have a certain skillset already. So in my words, what I believe the opportunity is, and the reason that I’m so optimistic and positive about AI is if you have domain expertise, we are experts in naming. We’ve been doing it for almost 40 years. We have domain expertise in that field. I’ve personally worked on thousands of these projects for all kinds of clients. I can then use AI to come up, yes, with better names than I can come up with on my own, but because of my domain expertise, I can then maybe wordsmith those names even more.
(07:08):
Or I even can be astonished at something AI comes up with, and then craft it and combine it in such a way with the right story, understanding the client’s strategy and their goals to really up my game and give our clients a much better solution. That’s what I think the opportunity is for each of us become expert in ai, stick with those areas that we have domain expertise, we have real knowledge that we can add value, which then allows us to use AI in the most appropriate ways to come back with even better results for ourself, for our clients, and hopefully for the world. So have fun and move forward with ai.