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Hello, entrepreneurs! Welcome to The Searchlight, your weekly business compass. Let’s dive in 👇️ 

• Podcast: B2B Brand Expert & Podcast Host: "I Wish I Knew This Earlier" - Martí Sánchez

• Biz Hack: Using AI images and not getting sued for it

• Biz Essentials: Instagram is testing new profile cards for creators.

• Save the Date: Free webinar on LinkedIn lead generation

  But first, a tour of the headlines…

Weekly Catchups

News | Industry Insights | Trends

•  🤖 Not a Hype?

  A growing number of investors worry that artificial intelligence (AI) will not deliver the vast profits they seek. Since peaking last month the share prices of Western firms driving the AI revolution have dropped by 10%.

• 🚷 Banned

  In a final rule published Wednesday, the FTC banned buying or selling fake reviews (AI-generated or human-written). The rule, which the FTC unanimously approved, stops anyone who doesn't have experience with a product from writing a review about it.

• ⏳️11,000

  The potential number of hours lost annually at a 50-person company where administrative inefficiency is estimated to be 40% (the global mean cited by CEOs)

Biz Hacks

Strategies | Tools | Marketing Tips

How To Use AI-Generated Images and Not Get Sued

AI is revolutionising image creation, offering small businesses a cost-effective alternative to designers. But beware: it is also fraught with legal pitfalls.

Sydney artist Kim Leutwyler's battle with text-to-image app Stable Diffusion a year ago highlights the real risk of copyright infringement. The app, trained on millions of online images, has been accused of replicating artists' unique styles.

The only 100% safe way to use AI-generated imagery is to avoid using it for commercial purposes. Always assume copyright infringement. 

So, how can you leverage AI without facing trouble? Let's break it down.

1) Use AI For Internal Branding: This widens the scope for graphics supporting in-house presentations and documents. AI images speed up internal branding efforts, saving a lot of time.

2) For Illustrations Supporting Onsite Content: 

• If you run a blog with a sharp focus on a unique and specific topic, don’t settle for stock images that might be less relevant. Use AI images that support your copy. 

• A possible workaround to avoid copyright infringement is to get your human designer to alter any AI images you want to make public.

3) Create Image Variations For Ad Campaigns: We’re talking about times your designer does a great job on an image. AI can be used to create variations of a designer’s original image. You now have to rely less on reusing these ‘perfect’ images.

4) Let AI Adjust Licensed Images: Using unlicensed images for AI training, as demonstrated by the Getty Images lawsuit against Stability AI, is risky. You can source your images from here:

• Wikimedia Commons: Offers a vast collection of free-to-use images with various licenses. Be sure to check the specific license terms before using.

• Flickr: Many photographers on Flickr share their work under Creative Commons licenses.

5) AI vs. Human-Created Images 

• Prioritize AI-generated images when:

  • Speed and efficiency are crucial (e.g., large-scale image creation)

  • Cost-effectiveness is a primary concern

  • Personalization and customization are key benefits

  • It would help if you had a high volume of visually similar images

• Opt for human-created images when:

  • Image quality and precision are paramount (e.g., medical, legal, or financial imagery)

  • Unique artistic vision or storytelling is required

  • Brand consistency is critical and requires strict control over visual elements

Biz Essentials

Stay Ahead of the Curve

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• A list of dinners, parties, and breakfast socials for the founder community in one X thread

• Instagram is testing new profile cards for creators

• Want to become a great storyteller? Borrow popular author Matthew Dick’s “Homework for Life” concept 

• Work-life balance isn’t good for entrepreneurs…

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