Samantha North, PhD, on AI Sandwiches, Doomscrolling, and the Responsibilities of Content Creators

Discover the critical balance between AI tools and human input in content creation.

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As AIs get more and more capable and people are offloading more and more tasks to them, humans are engaging in a digital dance with their latest creation. While we have found a good partner in some ways, it’s still incumbent upon humans to take the lead — a sentiment shared by Samantha North, PhD, a consultant in AI and founder of the upcoming AI automation agency Emigre Systems. Recently, she took the time to delve into the nuances of leveraging artificial intelligence in content creation and SEO. With a decade of experience in the field, and a PhD in data science, North offers a unique perspective on how businesses can effectively integrate AI into their workflows while maintaining authenticity and quality. Her insights shed light on the critical balance between automation and human expertise, providing valuable guidance on how we can establish and maintain a rhythm with our latest technological innovation.

• Detailed and specific prompts are important. Bad prompts yield bad results, or “Garbage in, garbage out,” as the saying goes. As she stated, “You’ve got to – you can’t expect it to do all of the work for you. It does the heavy lifting, but you do have to give it a decent amount of examples and research.”
• Content creators do have a responsibility to ensure accuracy and timeliness, especially when aiming for high Google rankings. She points out, “We have quite a big responsibility if you’re going to rank something in number one in Google, then the whole world can be seeing this and taking this information as truth. So we really have a responsibility to make sure that it’s accurate and timely.”
• One approach is “sandwiching the AI between two slices of humanness,” she says, “This involves starting with personal ideas and expertise, letting AI structure and build content, and then reviewing for accuracy and quality.”
• AI avatars may be suitable for short-form content but less so for long, instructional videos or personal interactions like interviews, where human presence is valued, North said.
• While AI can automate content creation, North advises against automating engagement, particularly responding to comments, as this is where building genuine connections and trust occurs.

“There’s always going to be an increasing swamp of trashy content, and that’s going to be that this is going to get deeper and deeper, I think,” North notes, “For brands and individuals who want to go beyond that, yeah, there’s still space if you know your audience, you’re very specific about who you’re serving, you make an effort to find out what their problems are and what their goals are, and you produce content that’s really targeted towards that stuff.”

In short, find a balanced approach to AI automation, in content creation for SEO and elsewhere. By combining the efficiency of AI tools with the irreplaceable value of human expertise, creativity, and genuine engagement, businesses can create high-quality, authentic content that resonates with their audience and performs well in search engines. As for the overwhelming  options out there, she advises, “Every day, there’s a new thing, a shiny object, and a new tool, new model, whatever. I think don’t get too distracted and don’t feel overwhelmed and behind being left behind. You know, just pick the ones you like best.”