 In the UK, he quickly corrected that and is now living in Portugal and calling this beautiful country home He is going to be talking about Generative AI and how that intersects with WordPress So when Dave is ready, I'll have you give a round of applause, but not yet because he's not ready Almost are you ready? No Now we're ready round of applause for Dave blocky Thank you Thank you Santana and Yeah, super proud to be here at my new home word camp in my new home country. I Am Dave Locky and today I am going to be talking to you about generative AI and WordPress My career in WordPress has been long. I've been a freelancer an agency owner Entrepreneur advisor in fact my career is almost old enough to walk into a bar and order a drink That's how long I've been working in this industry Right now I work as web3 lead at automatic in the WooCommerce division and So my job is mainly that technology web3 crypto all of that stuff NFTs But to understand how web3 is going to impact WordPress I also need to look at the other technologies which are coming down the line at the same time because they're all going to arrive together This is an WordPress plus web3. It's WordPress plus web3 plus AI plus AR like what does that picture look like because that's the future that we're paddling quite rapidly towards So that's why I'm talking about this technology today I'm going to talk a little bit about how it works and I'm going to give you Hopefully some like cool examples of what it can do But really what I want to talk about is like how this impacts WordPress how it impacts every single one of you in the room and How we should respond to that like what do we do about this? 2023 has definitely been the year of AI So this is like the only thing that you really need to take away today like our world Has changed forever this year like it's not going to be the same anymore And let me tell tell you why I think that is AI brings two things it brings power like The web has never given people before like it just has this incredible utility But it also brings ease of access like nobody needs to learn how to use chat GPT You just talk to it like a human and you get stuff out and you can learn from there So the barrier to entry is super low at the same time the value that it can deliver has increased exponentially Let alone what GPT 5 is going to look like let alone when you start stringing these things together with AI agents So we're going to see so many more people using it for so much stuff so much more quickly that I believe we're basically Kind of here Like we still live in a world where online there are more people than there are AI agents And I just don't think We as an internet connected society are ready for what The web is going to look like when we get further up That's like when there are just AI agents everywhere doing everything. It's going to be crazy So this is kind of the calm before the storm So a quick like How does it work because I think that is useful foundation on knowledge to have We start with the neural network and your network is a computing system That is designed along the lines of a human brain. So it uses lots of algorithms and it is Capable of pattern recognition. That's essentially what a neural network does But a neural network is kind of and this is a bit of a bad analogy You can think of it like a baby's brain, right? It is capable of learning, but it is not yet actually very good at anything So to make it useful. We have to feed it training data And actually if you watch for it, you'll see the parallels with like human brain flow throughout This how it works stuff. So training data is essentially a bunch of Questions that we already know the answers to and we feed that through the neural network And the training data looks kind of like this So the training data that gets fed into the neural network is a tokens And there is a bunch of sort of other components upstream Which will take whatever input it is that we want to feed into our model However, we want to train it and it'll break it down into these tokens. So you can see here Usually their words sometimes their part words sometimes its punctuation, etc But each of these sort of colored Blocks down the bottom is a token and the job is to basically keep forcing all these tokens through in like set orders Through the model and that will over time start giving us an output and What we do is we compare the output to what we want and we give it feedback We give the system feedback until the output that we start getting Approximates as closely as possible the answers that we expect to those questions, right? So that's the job to start with the neural network knows nothing Our job is to get it to give us the right answers and this feedback is largely automated But it also uses Called our hlf reinforcement By human feedback basically so there's big rooms of people telling the system whether it's getting the answers right or not Okay, once you've done that our neural network turns into a model And this is now neural network that is trained is ready to give us answers And so we can put any day any we can ask any question and we can expect to get useful Answers back out of it, and we will continue to feedback and iterate that model Which is why we have like GPT 3 and 3.5 and 4 because as we Introduce more training model more training data and more feedback the model improves right so The output of this is that we start with the model and we're we can ask it questions like what comes next That's what this sort of large language model this type of AI is really good at so given 1 2 3 4 What comes next given these words what comes next and they are really really good at doing this And it doesn't matter whether it's words numbers musical notes pixels Computer code it's very good at predicting what comes next and it can do this recursively as well So this time it's going to come with five next time It'll come with six because you can feed its own output back into it And it can keep going and keep going and keep going like that and the results that it gives are just profoundly interesting and Spectacular So what we end up with is what this guy's called a calculator for words Can also be other stuff like a calculator for music or a calculator for code or DNA or anything else Anything that we can break down into tokens, which turns out to be pretty much any data at all We can build a calculator for so I want to Play a little game now Emphasize how amazing this technology is we're gonna play a game called left human So I'm gonna give you two images if you think the one on the left is made by human You raise your hand if you think the one on the right is made by human you keep your hand down I know it's early. Maybe like just have a little practice get warmed up. I don't want any injuries here this morning so two images a Fishing boat and the Norwegian Fjords put your hand up if you think the one on left is human Okay Yeah, yeah, you're right How about this one? The one on the left sliced apple All right, you're pretty good at this How about this one for air balloons over a beautiful province of Turkey? You think the one on the left? Okay. Yeah All right, you are actually remarkably good at this game and this one the Scientific illustration so is the one on the left or the right the human generated gets pretty hard right it it is the One on the left that is the human one. Yeah so the point of this is to try and persuade you that We're no longer at the point where we have to Get AI up to the point where it can do stuff that humans can do like we've reached that point the fact that You can't tell Like you can with some stuff, but like this was me messing about quickly. We've now got to a point where you can't tell and I think The question now is like What more can it help humans do what can it help us do that we couldn't do before and so I'm going to quote this Guy a few times throughout the talk Brett Victor. He's done some incredible talks. He's like miles ahead of us all That he has this principle that he lives by that is Creators need immediate connection and that is what this technology can do I as a bad photographer untrained illustrator Prolific Google searcher could probably find Images like those I could find a sliced apple. I could find a fishing boat without too much problem but Those aren't necessarily the things that I have in my head. Those are searching for things that already exist What these tools allow us to do is to combine these ideas like and I can guarantee if you search for a Fishing boats suspended suspended from a hot air balloon catching a bunch of apples with birds flying a right around in the sky But us in the style of Audubon you won't find that image on Google But I as a creator can now have this within like three minutes And it is at an acceptable quality for me to get feedback on my idea and to iterate it forwards So I don't have to learn how to use a camera or Photoshop. I don't have to do Google searching I don't have to brief and pay and wait for somebody who is like good at this stuff. I can just go and do it This is why this is important because giving people that control that immediate connection Leads to more creative creativity and to more ideas It's like that immediacy of connection between what's in my head and what's something that I can see that I can feed back on That is so incredible about these technologies okay, so let's take a deep breath and calm Bring this back to WordPress like what does this actually mean for WordPress and the people in the room today? So let's do some brainstorming as a WordPress user. I've logged into web WPM in what am I doing? Like shout shout out to me. Like what are the tasks people accomplish using WordPress currently? Right content. Yeah Update plug-in. Yeah, sure. What else? Am I right some custom codes? They might do some configuration It's these sorts of things, right? They're like they're the jobs that you do with WordPress when we come us And how about for us the people in the room like what are the ways in which you all make money day-to-day? Shout out me unless it's like a secret and then you don't have to shout out Have we got any agencies in the room any like plug-in developers? Yeah, yeah exactly Yeah, I mean all this stuff, right? All this stuff these are the things that we do probably in the room to make a living I guess this is like 90% of our income Generative AI is going to disrupt all of that the way people use WordPress and the way that people make money The services people need from professionals like us. It's going to change it all Here's an example Previously as a client you're walking into a Professional engagement kind of blind. You're not a developer. That's why you're going to pay somebody to do it With GPT you can copy and base code out of a plug-in out of a theme You can put it in and you can ask GPT what it does and if there are any issues with it It will analyze your code and it will mark your homework for you if there is a problem If it's not mean to WordPress coding standards It will tell you and so savvy clients are going to start writing their own simple plugins and where they can't Write their own plugins. They're going to use GPT to mark your homework So you better have anticipated that and run it through GPT before you hand over because otherwise you're going to get a Snarky email back for example, so this is just one example of how Generative AI is going to impact our job So it's another thing to do and to think about before we send send code at the door Hopefully this improves the quality of code, but Yeah so To help us think about how this might impact us I managed to commission some Roving reporting. It's a documentary film just a very short one and my Correspondent managed to send back from the future this report Good evening and welcome to our special wildlife documentary tonight We're exploring these deep dark and primordial jungles in search of a rare and elusive creature The lost WordPress agencies of Papua New Guinea as we venture deeper into the jungle We discover these tribes have been thriving here for centuries completely cut off from the modern world and AI technologies And yet they managed to build websites and make a living nothing, but WordPress It's truly remarkable to see how these tribes live in such ancient ways They've created their own plugins and themes and appear to even still create their own content Now you might be thinking how did they manage to do all of this without AI? Over the last few days I've observed them using primitive tools like keyboards mice and computer screens But the real reason that they're able to still do this work is that they are prepared to spend minutes or even hours Working on just one particular thing. I'm not sure any of us can still remember how to use a keyboard But it's great to know that in this remote jungle enclave this primal skills are still practiced by these gentle people Thanks for joining us on this wild adventure until next time keep exploring I Slightly Handsome guy that report a handsome guy. So look either we Pack our laptops fly out to remote Indonesia and Continue to use these primal tools or we accept that things have changed and figure out what to do about it So if you're with me and you want to do something about it and you want to move with the times Here's what I think we need to do the first one is acceptance a Bunch of things that you've spent time learning that people pay you for now your position in the market That's going to get disrupted and there's more disruption coming. This is the start of an ever faster acceleration of change and impact Take a deep breath like fully accept this 80% of people's jobs are going to be impacted by Generative AI that is four out of five people in this room I just think take a minute and accept that things are going to change That is like the key thing that I want you to get away with today The next thing isn't like not to panic Because as this very simple game theory shows the only way that you win is if you don't worry Because if you worry then you lose either way whether whatever it happens Whatever you're worried about happens or not if you're worried about it. You've already lost, right? Stop wasting energy worrying about it instead Focus on first principles Since the internet came along Does it feel like there's less work to do even though we're like a hundred times more productive? Right now given these AI tools. Does it feel like there's less work to do? Let's work to do in the world less things that need to be fixed less value that needs to be created No, and I think this is one of the key logical fallacies that people get hung up on that They imagine there's this fixed amount of work to do and if the robots are doing it Then what are we going to do and I just don't see it that way I just think the more that we can do the more that there is to be done the more Great clean energy or social equity or whatever it is that you care about in the work Well, there's more of it to do and it should let us do more The next thing to do is to understand the technology There are a bunch of tools at the moment They're like largely free because everyone wants to get eyeballs and adoption here are a bunch of examples But if you want to find some more just go on to chat GPT and ask it for more examples and Go and play go and understand what are they good for what are they not good for? And it if you are worried because you can't today Look at this technology and go how does this apply to my work? What am I going to do about this? What does this let me do differently? Don't worry. That's what this technology will help you do Nobody knows yet. Nobody at all knows how this is going to play out Let this technology help you think new thoughts That is the magic of this like we're all going to discover this together and the answer is going to be different for all of us Go back to first principles. What is it that we as people actually need? Like shout out like what do we need as people? 100% what else? What I've got some water here for you Santa Water is good. I wasn't going that low on Maslow's hierarchy, but it's true Wifi we do need Wi-Fi Right, okay. All right. I'm gonna just put my words on the screen now It's these things I forgot Wi-Fi, but yeah It's that they're very first principles things that people need and that's not going to change Neither is our mission our mission is about freedom about letting people do what they want online like freedom in the digital round Is that the very core of where presses mission? I don't think that gets less important in this world the next job I think is to Once you've understood that we're not going to run out of work and You understand how this technology is going to do and you're bearing in mind these values and these human needs It's to consider how this technology impacts What we do now and how it challenges our assumptions? you know at the moment a Website is content that somebody has thought about and written about in advance of somebody looking for it I've chatted he appears the opposite of that like the content is created on the fly when people are looking for it So just stuff like that like what are the first order and then the second order impacts of this technology on our world How does this change? And most importantly what opportunities does that create? This is not stuff that you can read About you can't read the answer to this because nobody knows it This is like exploration first principles exploration really exciting quite daunting very exciting This is what I think it might look like for me The wonders of technology I Remember when GPT first came on the scene like being handed a thousand free interns now That's that's a tempting prospect isn't it but it got me thinking what is it that makes my contribution unique? You see an AI can churn out a thousand articles design a thousand websites, but there's something inherently human It can't capture that's when I realized what I truly love doing Storytelling weaving complex ideas into narratives that resonate. That's my passion my craft now these new tools They're miraculous in their own right. They handle the mundane the data the repetitive tasks Freeing me to do what I absolutely love, but they have their limitations. I remember asking a GPT model What's your perspective on the future of WordPress agencies and it's spouted facts and figures trends and graphs But could it capture the thrill of a successful campaign or the sting of a strategy gone awry? No, that's a human thing So I found my calling not in competing with these digital marvels But in being a guide a storyteller helping people navigate this fast-changing landscape Technology is evolving at a breathtaking pace and it can be overwhelming But that's where a good story comes in making sense of the complex the unknown The value of these tools is immense, but they're just that tools They don't replace our passion our dedication. They won't rejoice at a job. Well done or shed tears over a missed opportunity Those emotions those experiences are ours and ours alone So my friends, let's embrace these tools. Let them unlock new horizons But never forget it's our human touch our unique stories that truly make a difference And that's something no AI can replicate no matter how advanced it becomes in the end We're all storytellers helping each other navigate this brave new world And that I believe is a story worth telling even if you do have a thousand free interns at your disposal Sly old dog so If that is my future, which is fine. Yeah, I've been I today we be fine What is yours look like and Really, that's the work that we have to do now all of us every one of us in the room. I Think AI creates insane productivity Now we each need to figure out What we want to use that productivity to achieve What is the opportunity? What is the space? And it's an incredibly exciting time a chance to reimagine ourselves to Really lean into what we love about what we do and to discard the stuff that we don't care about so much Thanks Thanks Dave That was great. We now have about five minutes for Q&A So if you have a burning question, you can raise your hand and one of our friends in the yellow shirts will get you a mic But I'll kick us off while you're thinking of questions to ask Dave Dave Did you know that I recently used mid-journey and chat GPT to author my own children's coloring book? No? Yeah, I did that. It doesn't surprise me. Yeah, I used Amazon Print on demand so that folks can order my book. I'll send you a link Product promo just kidding. I'm really kidding. That violates community guidelines. I'm really kidding. I Wonder if you could share your perspective on how you're seeing folks Experiment with these technologies as as you mentioned. It's all new We have to lean in and see how these are going to work in our lives But what are you what are some of the trends you're seeing? Well, you've I had like a couple of slides Ready to demonstrate that You've just stolen one of them. So thanks, Auntie Like the idea that people can now create these personalized books on demand. I don't know if Can you can you all unskip the? The slides in my presentation. Can I do that from here? Has everyone seen that Star Wars the Wes Anderson Star Wars clip? So like the reimagining like an existing media with new lenses But we're seeing explosions of creativity everywhere The thing that I think is most interesting to observe is when you see people composing these things together so One really important thing that I haven't talked about is like the human brain We often think is like it's a singular thing and it's just you know Imper processing and output actually it's like at least three different brain structures, right? We have our lizard brain our mammal brain and our human brain and The extent to which we are in control and not of our brain is kind of an interesting question But it's the interactions between those different I guess like networks of our brain that produce our behavior and and the rich kind of inner landscape that we have and I think that when you Consider AI is in the same way not just as like it's not just chappy GPT. It's not just mid-journey It's like the fact that you can orchestrate all these things together you can tell chap GPT to write prompts for mid-journey you can take that and input it into a Animate this facing like I have here like it's the entourage effect and the infinite scalability Like we've only got room for three brains in our head The internet has like infinite brains So how do you join these things together to create like systems of intelligence and agents that have a purpose? I think that that agency question is perhaps the most challenging one because we now have You know whether it's a thousand free interns or like one super powerful agent that we can unleash on the web Would you go and ask it to do? That's a hard question That is a hard question and we can nerd out on human brain evolution later But thank you so much for that. Do we have any questions? We've got one there in the green shirt. I think it's green Green greenish, okay Well, Dave thanks. Thanks for your time first. Um, I noticed that you work with web tree Yeah, and it's kind of a personal question How is AI affecting your work nowadays? That is a good question So I see Web three like the crypto version of web three it really is Part of what the future internet looks like so it's not just web three crypto It's generative AI and it's augmented reality. It's also probably additive manufacturing You know 3d manufacturing all that stuff like it's just a different world. I think if I Zoom out and think five years in the future. We've got like apple eyeglass or whatever it is and we are largely experiencing our lives as this interweaving of actual reality and digital layers overlaid on it like we already kind of live in that reality like we have our Watches it tap us and we have our earphones in we have like all this stuff So we're kind of living in an augmented reality already I think when we see that visually then that really strikes home and in that reality Which will depend on AI to feed it You know to take the content from a word brush They're like a woo shop and put it into like an AR layer like we're not going to do that all manually Right, it's going to be transformative AI is that take it and put it up so that it's relevant that take a static image and Allow us to wear it in like an Amazon smart mirror or something when we live in that world then I think Naturally digital products and services become much more important and things like NFTs which are like kind of niche and Have some utility at the moment Actually just become like full on normal products like you won't know whether these are actual nikes or like generative nikes and I think it just makes It it takes that like sort of Smallish window where web 3 and crypto interesting and relevant right now And it just like stretches that over our realities and some of these like foundational things will just start They'll just become super important because they're open technologies are open and permissionless. That's what's really different Thank you so much Wonderful sir, I really want to take your question, but we are running out of time So if you can give me a 10 second question and Dave if you can commit to a 30 second answer We can have this be our last question Hi, hi Dave. I want to talk about elephant in the room So work is publishing platform and AI is giving direct answers. What? Work as a platform is doing to control this I know Google just answering questions is that instead of going to the platform to read something about it in? 30 seconds or fewer Let's find out together I don't think the need for written content for producing content goes away entirely. I think there's just lots more content Produced and digested in lots of different formats, but how that? Means that WordPress needs to react and respond what it needs to become I think is that's part of the question that we need to go away from here and answer But I don't see it as being like if it's largely the same in five years, then I think We can't expect our market share for like content production for the web just there 40% Thank you so much. Can we get a round of applause for Dave? And before you run off Before you run off Dave on behalf of the full WordPress community At work can't please bow we want to present you with this gift as a thank you for speaking today So thank you so very much everybody hang tight. There's another talk