The Shortlist Episode 81: The Short(er) List: Oops! All AI

For this hilarious episode of The Short(er) List, we let AI take the driver’s seat. We had it write the script, so we figured—why stop there? Here is the episode summary, pasted straight from the robot:

Here you go — a fun, friendly, slightly irreverent two‑paragraph summary that captures the vibe of the episode and makes people want to listen:

In this delightfully chaotic episode of The Short(er) List, host Becky Ellison, along with Producer/Guest, Kyle Davis, fully surrender to the robot overlords … at least for seven minutes. 

We handed the mic (and the script) to AI and agreed to perform whatever it wrote for us—jokes, segues, propaganda‑level coffee endorsements and all. Along the way, we break down the pros and cons of AI in AEC marketing, riff on the weird accuracy of the script (how did it know Becky’s job title?), and loudly reaffirm that robots may be speedy, but they are NOT funny. Yet. Together, we explore the promise, pitfalls, and pure absurdity of AI‑generated content while trying very hard not to become AI slop ourselves.

But it’s not all chaos and robot teasing—we actually cover some helpful stuff too. We dig into how AI can speed up repetitive marketing tasks, brainstorm ideas, and save coordinators’ sanity. We keep it real, we keep it human, and we may panic a little about how good AI is getting. If you’ve ever wondered whether AI is a friend, a frenemy, or just that coworker you politely nod at from across the room, this episode is your snack‑sized deep dive. Tune in, laugh with us, and decide for yourself whether the future of AI is brilliant, terrifying, or both.

Podcast Transcript

Welcome to The Shorter List. Hi, I'm Becky Ellison from The Short List Podcast, and I am going rogue because apparently some things are just too silly, weird, or extra to fit into our regular Short List episodes.

So we are bringing those conversations, rants, and other fun stuff that was too spicy for TV to you in bite-sized little podcast treats, hosted by me and featuring all of your favorite Middle of Sixers. I am here today with our producer, Kyle Davis.

That's right, I stole him too, because somebody has to do the hard work. Hey, Kyle, how's it going?

Hello, hello. Good morning.

We're doing a real fun episode today. I'm very excited. Everybody is talking about AI these days, of course.

Do we love it? Do we hate it? We hate it.

You have to know your enemy, right? So we thought it might be fun and interesting to have AI write us a podcast script for the episode, and we would just do literally whatever it says. So what you are about to hear is officially AI Slop listeners.

Brace yourselves.

Total surrender to the robot overlords.

Yes. Robots, if you're listening, we give up. You win.

This is what the future of podcasting is going to sound like. So we gave it a prompt with very minimal direction, and we are literally just going to do this whole episode. It wrote it for us.

We don't have to think anymore, you guys. We're in the future now.

We're finally free.

We are so free. Just float downstream and let the robot do the thinking for you. Okay, so here we go.

We're going to give this a try. As some of you listeners may know, I am not a big fan of AI used in creative endeavors, but hey, you know what? I'll give it a chance.

Why not? Here we go.

I'm sure it's going to be great. Can a robot write a symphony?

Can a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?

Here's a full seven minute podcast script for The Shortlist with Becky as the host and Kyle as the producer slash co-host.

It's tailored for AEC industry marketing coordinators and focuses on the pros and cons of using AI and marketing with a fun conversational tone. Sounds good, right?

Episode title generated by the robot: AI and marketing, friend or frenemy?

Not bad.

PR. We had to sneak that friend in there.

At some point in the early 21st century, all of mankind was united in celebration. We marveled at our own magnificence as we gave birth to AI. AI?

You mean artificial intelligence?

I guess we have to make sure that, like, we have to note that it would have been cool if we had just read it word for word, like robots all the way through, but I don't think it's going to be possible to not chime in and pop off a little bit.

So I know, right? Like leave space for some editorializing from humans, please.

Sounds good. Oh, intro music fades in. Welcome back to The Shorter List, the podcast where we take big marketing topics and make them snack sized.

Close.

I'm Becky.

It was close. That's frighteningly close. I can't even tell with that.

Man, I thought I was creative. I'm Becky, your host and senior creative strategist. How does it even know my job title?

I don't think I put that in.

Freaky.

And with me, because I can't do this alone, is Kyle, our producer slash co-host slash guy who knows where the good coffee is. Kyle, is that even true? Do you know where the coffee is?

I mean, I think I know where like the medium coffee is.

The medium coffee.

The adequate coffee.

Okay.

Coffee's all the same to me. I don't care.

But back to script.

Yes, back to script.

That's my official title now, Keeper of the Coffee. And honestly, Becky, if AI could make my coffee order right every time, I'd be its biggest fan. You know, this is, excuse me, a damn fine cup of coffee.

This sounds like propaganda.

Well, that's actually a perfect segue, because today we're talking about AI and marketing, specifically for our friends in the AEC industry. Is it the future? Is it a fad?

Or is it just another thing that makes coordinators say, cool, but how do I actually use this?

Spoiler alert, it's all three.

Oof. So let's break it down. We're going to hit the pros, the cons, and then give you a couple of practical tips so you don't feel like you're drowning in buzzwords.

Ready?

Let's do it. And if we go over seven minutes, AI will edit us down.

That's not true. Kyle will edit us down.

I will do it.

How dare they? Okay. Oh, it says left.

It's under my next slide. I need to fill that guy.

It knew what you were going to do before you did it.

This is crazy. Perfect. Okay.

Pro number one, speed. AI can crank out content faster than you can say RFQ deadline. Need a project description?

Boom. Need social captions? Done.

And for coordinators who are juggling proposals, social posts and maybe a surprise award submission, that speed is a lifesaver.

Exactly.

But here's the con number one, generic content. AI doesn't know your firm's personality unless you teach it. If you just copy paste what it gives you, your brand voice might sound like dot dot dot every other firm using AI.

Terrifying thought.

So basically, you'll sound like a robot trying to win a design award. Not ideal.

Right.

Self-awareness.

I know, right? So if you're using AI, think of it as a starting point, not the final draft. Add your firm's tone, your differentiators and those little details.

Add the thing, like add the most important part, saying start with your robot foundation and then sprinkle in some like the whole thing that your business is about. Cool.

Add your firm's tone, your differentiators and those little details that make your projects shine.

Okay. Pro number two, idea generation. AI is great for brainstorming.

Is it?

Stuck on a tagline?

Need five ways to say innovative design? AI can give you options. I actually do need five ways to say innovative design.

I'll give you five ways to say innovative design.

With your own human brain?

New creative ideas and...

Oh, what, right now?

Something different.

We're breaking the mold, baby. We're setting the bar higher than it's ever been. Look at us marching boldly into the future.

I don't know.

Tomorrow's technology today.

Oh yeah, there we go. That sounds good.

Look at us.

Oh, oh, yes. But here's con number two, accuracy. AI can make stuff up.

It's called hallucination, which sounds fun, but is actually terrifying when you're writing about structural engineering. Okay, I'll give it that, that you don't want people hallucinating.

Decent joke for a robot.

Right?

Kyle now laughs.

Oh, sweet.

Yeah. Nothing says trust us like a proposal that claims your firm designed the Eiffel Tower.

Where did that come from?

It's a fun conversational tone.

Yeah. Oh, right. Sure.

So, always fact check. AI is smart, but it's not your project manager.

All right. Last pro. Efficiency for repetitive tasks.

Things like formatting resumes or pulling boilerplate language. AI can help automate that.

Your resumes seem important to me, but fine. Sure. Give it to the robot.

And the last con, data privacy. If you're feeding AI-sensitive project info, make sure you're using secure tools. Don't just dump your client's confidential plans into a free chatbot.

Fair. I think that is pretty, that's pretty fair.

Because nothing says career-limiting move, like leaking a billion-dollar project.

I've never proposed on a billion-dollar project, have you?

No, that's way too high.

That's a lot. That's crazy money. I can't even imagine what kind of project that would be.

Space station?

Build a city.

Like moon base. Yeah, I don't know. We'll talk about innovative design in outer space.

Danger, Will Robinson!

Danger! No, Will Robinson! Danger!

Exactly.

So here's the takeaway. AI is a tool, not a magic wand. Use it to speed up the boring stuff, but keep your human creativity from and center.

And if you're wondering where to start, try using AI for brainstorming or social captions.

Low risk, high reward.

All right. That's our seven minutes.

Ding, ding, ding.

If you liked this episode, subscribe, share it with your fellow coordinators and let us know, are you using AI yet? There was an M dash in there, by the way. I just want everyone to know that was let us know M dash.

Are you using AI yet? Or are you still side eyeing it from across the room?

And if AI wrote this episode, you'll never know.

You will, cause we said it.

You will, we told you at the start.

We did. Oh, laugh. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Ha ha ha ha ha. Thanks for listening to The Shortlist. See you next time.

Outro music fades out.

Would you like me to add timestamps for each segment, include a quick ad break, or write a catchy episode description and social promo copy for this?

Maybe.

Maybe we should.

Let's do it.

So what's she like? Well, her name is Samantha and she's an operating system. She's really complex and interesting.

Wait. I'm sorry. You're dating your computer?

Well, there you have it.

That is what would happen if AI took over our podcast. Maybe it's better. I don't know.

It's probably not better, but I think like almost all things with this, as someone who's a skeptic, it's like, it's always like disappointingly better than you think it would be.

Right.

You're like, oh, gosh, there is something to this.

It's awful.

Like a skilled psychic who, like, you know, if you have enough experience doing that, you can almost convince people you can read their minds. And I think, how did I get suckered by the robot? Well, it was it was interesting.

The robot had some good points, I got to say, and it knew a lot of things.

The jokes were mid.

The jokes were beyond. And see, that's why robots are never going to be able to take our jobs, because robots will never be funny. AI will never, ever, ever, ever be funny.

That's like the first bullet point in your job responsibilities, right?

Be funny.

It is. I think it is. It should be if it's not.

That was interesting. We are going to probably go back to human generated content next time until the robots take over completely, in which case you'll be robots, we'll be robots, podcasts will be irrelevant.

Rate, subscribe, and remember to share the love and make a friend. Recommend the podcast to another AEC marketer who wants to feel seen. That what the robot basically said exactly that in the sign out.

That's so, oh, that bothers me so much.

Yeah, but not to the nuance.

I know, right?

Not with the nuance that you brought.

Yeah, that's right. Share the love, make a friend. Yeah, that's human connections.

But I mean, pretty good episode here.

This is a perfect example of what the shorter list was designed to do.

Yeah.

You could even say it was an innovative design.

Innovative design episode. Yeah.

Or something like that.

I think, yeah. So now we can just like check out and have the robots do all the episodes. They it has our voice now.

It can just simulate our whole thing and we can just sit back.

Yeah, we just canceled all the other episodes.

Yeah, it's just going to be AI slot from here on out. Welp, we had a good time. We won't always talk about robots, I promise.

See you next week with something probably even weirder.

Yay.

I am a robot.

The Shortlist is a podcast that explores all things AEC marketing. Hosted by Middle of Six Principal, Wendy Simmons, each episode features members of the MOS team, where we take a deep dive on a wide range of topics related to AEC marketing including: proposal development, strategy, team building, business development, branding, digital marketing, and more. You can listen to our full archive of episodes here.