Higher Ed Pulse

Live at NACAC: Embracing AI for Personal Happiness, Confidence, and Effectiveness

Episode Summary

In this episode recorded live at NACAC, Mallory sits down with Troy Singer, Digital Marketing Specialist at Ring Digital and co-host of the Higher Ed Marketer Podcast. As they wrap up their time at the NACAC conference, the conversation dives into Troy’s personal use of artificial intelligence (AI) for enhancing his happiness, confidence, and daily effectiveness. The discussion focuses on how AI can be integrated into both professional and personal life to improve productivity and streamline tasks.

Episode Notes

In this episode recorded live at NACAC, Mallory sits down with Troy Singer, Digital Marketing Specialist at Ring Digital and co-host of the Higher Ed Marketer Podcast. As they wrap up their time at the NACAC conference, the conversation dives into Troy’s personal use of artificial intelligence (AI) for enhancing his happiness, confidence, and daily effectiveness. The discussion focuses on how AI can be integrated into both professional and personal life to improve productivity and streamline tasks.

Key Takeaways:

AI can enhance personal happiness and confidence by helping manage daily tasks and communications more effectively.
Tools like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Firefly’s Notetaker can simplify tasks, from meal planning to managing emails and meetings.
Custom GPTs are easy to create and can be highly effective for personal productivity, such as automating responses or managing to-do lists.
Troy’s AI-powered personal assistant project aims to integrate Outlook, Salesforce, and ChatGPT to monitor emails, prioritize tasks, and streamline communication.
AI helps professionals not only be more productive at work but also find balance and joy in their personal lives.

What is Troy’s perspective on using AI for personal happiness and productivity?

Troy is a strong advocate for using AI to boost both personal happiness and productivity. He explains that AI helps him manage daily tasks more efficiently, boosting his confidence in managing his professional and personal life. He highlights how, in the past, people were encouraged to figure things out independently before asking for help, but with AI, individuals can now ask for assistance in navigating scenarios more effectively.

Troy uses AI tools like Perplexity for quick and real-time answers, ChatGPT for customized responses, and Firefly’s Notetaker to help him stay present during meetings. For him, these tools act as digital mentors that help streamline his work and enhance his personal life, making him a more effective and confident individual.

What are Troy’s favorite AI tools, and how does he use them?

Troy mentions that he regularly uses about 10 AI platforms, but his top three are:

Perplexity – A smarter alternative to Google, providing real-time, in-depth information. Troy uses it to handle 80% of his queries, getting up-to-date, detailed answers faster than traditional search engines.
ChatGPT – Troy has created several custom GPTs, which act as personal assistants in various tasks. He uses them for writing notes, crafting professional responses, and enhancing communication.
Firefly’s Notetaker – This tool helps Troy stay present during meetings by automatically taking notes and integrating them into Salesforce. It also generates reports tailored to his team and superior’s preferences.

These tools help Troy streamline his workflow, allowing him to focus on more critical tasks and maintain a high level of productivity.

What is Troy’s AI-powered “masterpiece” project?

Troy is working on building an AI-powered personal assistant to help manage his professional life more effectively. His project will integrate Outlook, Salesforce, and ChatGPT to monitor emails, suggest responses, and prioritize tasks in real time. The goal is to create a system that will scan incoming emails, run them through ChatGPT for suggested responses, and prioritize them based on importance. The assistant will also use platforms like Power Automate and Microsoft’s To Do to automate and track tasks.

Troy’s vision is to build a personalized assistant similar to Iron Man’s “Jarvis,” but he plans to name it after a female figure. He aims to complete the project within a few weeks and hopes to share his progress with others once it’s finished.

How does AI impact Troy’s personal life?

Troy emphasizes that AI doesn’t just improve his professional life but also enhances his personal happiness and effectiveness. He uses AI for everyday tasks like finding recipes based on available ingredients, making travel plans, and improving his overall life management. The confidence and efficiency he gains from AI positively affect his relationships and personal well-being, allowing him to enjoy life more fully.