Exploring how AI is (almost) transforming websites and creativity

AI. It's hogging the mindspace of tech leaders in 2024, I recently sat down with Eric Willis, our lead web developer at DevHub, to riff on how artificial intelligence is already reshaping the landscape of website development and content creation and where it might be headed next.

We kicked things off by acknowledging the massive advances in AI over the past year. Honestly, the launch of consumer-facing tools like ChatGPT and MidJourney blew me away. Suddenly, AI wasn't just a concept anymore; it was real and powerful enough to generate content, designs, and entire podcast scripts that sound like polished conversations between two humans. But—and this is a huge "but"—there are quirks, limitations, and moments of pure weirdness that make me wonder if AI is truly ready for prime time or if we're still in the early stages of something much bigger.

I find myself thinking back to the classic examples of AI hallucinations, which have become all too familiar. Eric brought up a recent case where an AI dictation tool used by doctors decided to go rogue, making up doses and medical terms instead of simply transcribing words. It’s one thing if an AI-generated image has three fingers on one hand, but another thing entirely when the stakes are human lives. This unreliability is what makes me skeptical—yet also fascinated—by AI's potential.

On the flip side, AI has already transformed how we brainstorm and create. Eric and I agree that AI excels as a brainstorming partner. For instance, I’ve used it to mock up layouts for a new place I moved into. I plugged in room dimensions, and while the AI's design ideas weren’t perfect, they were a surprisingly solid starting point, saving me hours of work. I’ve even tested AI tools to render architectural concepts, and while they're not ready to replace human architects, they’re getting eerily close. If I were an architect, I’d be feeling the heat.

Then there's the ongoing discussion about content creation. The fact that AI can generate articles, videos, and even music blows my mind. I can describe a scene for a coffee shop concept, and within minutes, the AI spits out a full visual mock-up that’s close to what I imagined. The editing features in ChatGPT have improved drastically, too. Instead of generating odd or off-base text, I can refine and iterate until the result is polished. But here’s the rub: even when it’s good, it still takes a human touch to make it meaningful and relevant. AI might be great at stringing words together, but it doesn’t understand meaning. That’s where we come in.

Eric made a great point about how AI is incredibly good at repetitive, structured tasks, which is why tools like self-driving cars seem feasible—at least in controlled environments. For instance, I shared my own experience in Arizona, where I now prefer to use Waymo's self-driving taxis over human-driven ones. It’s crazy, but I actually trust the AI more because it has one job: to drive safely. Yet, even with that progress, self-driving technology still has limitations, and it could be decades before we’re fully comfortable with AI taking the wheel everywhere.

Our discussion also touched on the environmental impact of AI and how it's intertwined with energy consumption. As Eric pointed out, data centers already require vast amounts of water and electricity, and if we’re talking about scaling AI to do everything from scheduling appointments to running complex simulations, the environmental toll could be massive. This isn’t just a technology problem; it’s a sustainability issue that needs addressing.

As someone who’s always looking for what’s next, I can’t help but wonder about the broader implications. AI could change everything, from how we design websites to how we interact with technology daily. At DevHub, we’re constantly trying to stay ahead of the curve, thinking about how to integrate AI responsibly into our platform without sacrificing the human intuition that makes great websites work. We’ve even discussed how AI might eventually streamline content integration, but as of now, it's not ready to handle the complexity of our projects. Daniel, my co-founder, keeps reminding me: AI can’t yet manage intricate tasks like integrating multiple tools into a cohesive user experience.

So where does that leave us? In this weird in-between stage where AI is a powerful assistant but not quite the independent creator or decision-maker some people imagine. We’re still far from a future where AI can take over entirely, but we're also not in a place where we can ignore its potential.

It feels like we're standing at a crossroads, witnessing the convergence of creativity, technology, and the unknown. AI is here, and it's not going anywhere, but for now, it's more of a tool that enhances our capabilities rather than replacing us. The future is coming faster than we might expect, but it’s not here... yet.

Full interview: AI and websites

Mark Michael and Eric Willis dive into how AI is reshaping website development and content creation.