Thoughts on AI

I’D LIKE TO START this month’s column by stating that I am not Artificial Intelligence. Some might argue that I’m not intelligent in any way. Debate that amongst yourselves.

I bring up AI because it’s been a major topic of discussion. A) Will AI lead to the end of actual journalism? B) Is AI a slippery slope? C) Will AI destroy humankind?

In the case of A and C, let’s hope not. As for B … It certainly can be.

We’ve dabbled with AI on the Club + Resort Business website in the form of FAQs. I posted one about tennis drills on LinkedIn and asked industry experts to weigh in.

One person commented, “Not bad information” with a little cheeky advice about consulting “a PTR [Professional Tennis Registry] certified tennis coach to help you progress with any of these areas mentioned.”

Another wasn’t as accepting. “Too many unknowns,” he wrote. “Let’s trust reliable people with experience rather than an artificial unknown.”

We’re still in the early stages of using AI — both as a brand and as a society — but I can tell you it does have its limits. First, the information is generally correct, but may not be complete. It’s just scratching the surface and doesn’t take into account real-life variables.

Also, as an editor, there are small mistakes throughout many of the AIgenerated articles. Nothing egregious, mind you, but still not 100% correct or compliant with Associate Press style. If it’s going on our website and in our daily newsletters, we want it to be correct and consistent.

Nothing is going to compete with having actual industry experts share their thoughts. Sticking with the racquets industry, we had Jarrett Chirico, Director of Racquets at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas, Texas, write A Glance Backward to Understand the Pathway Ahead for Racquets in March. He wrote that “the racquets industry is expected to grow by more than 200% in the next five years. In that time, pickleball will break 45 million players, directly resulting in tennis reaching an unimaginable milestone of 30 million+.”

Coming from a boots-on-the-ground expert with years of experience, that carries far more weight than a computer program (even a very advanced program).

More recently, Milos Vasovic, Director of Racquets at Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta, Ga. shared tips on recruiting and retaining the next generation of racquets professionals. From listening and communicating to providing a work/life balance and assigning more responsibilities, Vasovic has seen positive results with his young staff.

I loved having Jarrett and Milos contribute to the magazine and hope they’d be willing to offer more insights in the future.

Beyond racquets, General Managers, Directors of Golf and Membership/Marketing Managers have penned columns throughout the years. AI can do a lot, but not nearly the quality that comes from actual people with years upon years of experience.

This is my call to action. I want to hear from you. What do you think about artificial intelligence? Are you using it in your day-to-day operations?

Also, would you be interested in sharing your expertise with our readers? Shoot me an e-mail and suggest a topic. I’ll provide the guidelines and a deadline and we’ll continue to fill the pages with real intelligence from real people.

Rob Thomas rthomas@wtwhmedia.com