Preparing Communities for the AI Revolution with Jono Bacon

Peers Over Beers - Community Experts Podcast

In this episode of Peers Over Beers, hosts Chris Detzel and Nicole Saunders are joined by special guest Jono Bacon, an expert in building online communities, to discuss how artificial intelligence and new technologies like large language models will impact the future of community building.

They explore how AI chatbots may take over some routine community management tasks like answering common support questions, allowing community managers to focus more on building relationships and delivering personalized experiences. However, they acknowledge the need to pivot community roles to focus less on simplistic Q&A and more on engaging users in diverse ways like facilitating thought leadership and fostering connections.

The hosts also dive into the influx of AI-generated content and how it may clutter community discussions. They debate whether the onus is on community managers to moderate bot-created content or if search engines will adapt algorithms to surface high-quality human-created content. Overall, they agree community builders need to embrace AI as an accelerator for engagement but must skill up on leveraging these tools to avoid disruption.

With his extensive experience across various online communities, Jono provides thoughtful perspectives on AI's potential benefits and pitfalls for community professionals. His insights help paint a nuanced picture of how to prepare communities for an AI-driven future.