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It seems like everyone\u2019s a founder these days, but not all founders are writing novels in their spare time. PJ Pereira is.<\/p>\n
Pereira, founder and creative chairman of ad agency Pereira O\u2019Dell, started studying AI about seven or eight years ago, he told us, with the intention of writing a book about it. It became clear to him even back then that the tech was \u201cgoing to transform the agency business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His research on AI from both a fictional and real-world perspective has given him a unique take on the topic\u2014or takes, plural, considering he has different philosophies on its future.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of fiction and reality [content] on AI, and I\u2019ve been dabbling with both,\u201d Pereira told Marketing Brew. \u201cThe fact that I\u2019m both an executive and a writer allows me to fearlessly dive into both with no prejudice. Because fiction is drama, people read the fiction and get afraid, and they don\u2019t go into the reality of it and the professional side of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, professionals can \u201cignore the fears\u201d and \u201cbecome irresponsible\u201d with AI, he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s actually important that we look at both sides without prejudice, without anything. Don\u2019t rush to form an opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pereira has 40 years of experience \u201cgetting my face smashed and punched,\u201d he said. That is to say, he\u2019s been training in various combat sports since he was 10, including boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and karate.<\/p>\n
The main character of his upcoming book, The Girl From Wudang<\/em>, grew up learning to fight in the mountains of China before moving to the Bay Area with the intention of making a name for herself as a pro fighter by beating men in underground MMA matches, Pereira said.<\/p>\n But she suffers from debilitating headaches, and when two scientists approach her with a solution that involves linking their brains to hers via nanobots (think Elon Musk\u2019s Neuralink, which Pereira said served as part of the inspiration for that bit of plot), she faces a conflict: If she agrees, the headaches go away and she gains access to their knowledge, but they can also tap into her skillset and see inside her head, including \u201cfamily secrets,\u201d Pereira said.<\/p>\n The email newsletter guaranteed to bring you the latest stories shaping the marketing and advertising world, like only the Brew can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Despite the key role AI plays in the plot, Pereira, who\u2019s written several other books, said the writing was all him (no help from ChatGPT or AI interns). He had some assistance from AI proofreading tools, but when it came to the writing, it was \u201cso personal, I didn\u2019t want any computer to interfere with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Pereira also used AI for some of the marketing, he said, including to animate this Instagram post:<\/p>\n The book is set to publish Oct. 17, he said, under his novelist name, PJ Caldas.<\/p>\n Pereira looks at AI through four different lenses, he said: As an individual, as an agency founder, as part of the broader ad industry, and as a member of society as a whole.<\/p>\n On a professional level, Pereira said he\u2019s embracing AI tools like Midjourney, which he uses during brainstorming sessions to visualize ideas in real time. Pereira said he doesn\u2019t really discuss the use of AI with clients, though, since it doesn\u2019t play a large role in creating the final product.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time, technology is improving the creative process itself,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not replacing it, it is just improving it, because you can visualize things before you go much further, so you don\u2019t lose momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n On a more personal level, Pereira said the dangers AI presents are enough to make him want to \u201ckind of run for the mountains.\u201d Still, even with all his years of research, he said he still hasn\u2019t been able to reach a solid conclusion about it, given its nuances.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can cure cancer, or it can allow us to find other planets. It can solve climate problems, but it can create a species that will enslave humans. It can be the first time that\u2026we\u2019re no longer the top of the food chain. But is that necessarily good or bad? I don\u2019t know,\u201d Pereira said. \u201cI think the short term is good. On the macro level, it\u2019s dangerous. It\u2019s not bad; it\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nGet marketing news you’ll actually want to read<\/h5>\n
Four roads diverged<\/strong><\/h2>\n