Tyler Green interned with AI Core and spearheaded a complete overhaul of the style guide, layout, and look for their newsletter, “The Prompt!” while also learning about the latest applications for community projects integrating AI.
What new knowledge and skills did you develop in this internship?
For starters, I really was able to practice my communication skills and collaborative abilities. This work environment provided a lot of independence and was very collaborative, so in order to work effectively I had to find ways to express my ideas and needs clearly and timely. I also greatly enhanced my writing skills during this internship since I needed to write several articles for the newsletter. I had to learn how to balance competing tones and stakeholder interests in a published written medium. It was challenging to juggle my work designing the pages with conducting research, as well as writing content, but I think it gave me a good sense for what good journalistic practice is.
How was the internship related to your Applied Humanities degree?
I think the applied humanities’ emphasis on intercultural competency and empathetic thinking were major assets to my internship experience. The Applied Humanities focus on empathy in community collaboration combined with my emphasis in Spatial Organization and Design Thinking gave me a better sense for what might work best with an audience and have the tools to figure that out iteratively to be a more effective writer. This internship really gave me the chance to work those Applied Humanities muscles, so to speak.
What was the most satisfying part of your internship?
Well this one’s kinda a no brainer for me. The most satisfying part was being able to tinker with different aesthetic layouts and develop a style that not only worked with AI Core branding, but also one that connected to our audience and just generally being something I was proud of. I just got a real sense of pride after finally having arrived at a design that balanced all these factors, and looked good in its final iteration. Maybe add in a side of the whole writing articles and doing research thing, but honestly that was kinda stressful (just kidding, I also really enjoyed that). Making pages that enticed people to read more, and that could connect with people and resonate with a wide audience, that was really cool.
What did you find most challenging about your internship?
Crunch time for releasing certain issues of the newsletter was wild at times. Like, I had to scramble together some working layout AND write entire articles as well as work through structural problems, all while finding ways to implement what other people wanted to add to it. Welcome to Stress Town, buddy, population: Tyler. That being said, all this wild writing and design time made the final release of an issue incredibly satisfying and gave me a great deal of pride.
If you worked on a big project, share more about it.
I worked on AI Core’s newsletter, “The Prompt”. The was tasked with finding a way to narrow down an identity for the newsletter, figure out consistent content to release, as well as nail down a tone that could connect with people who were maybe scared or curious about AI. So, what I did was really lean into the curiosity factor. I wanted to make every page feel like you’re excitedly exploring cool new stuff with a friend. And I think I really managed to achieve that. Hopefully. Well, maybe you can tell me if I didn’t. I won’t feel bad if you do. Probably. I worked on every issue after #11, and #13 and #14 were almost entirely done by me.
How has your internship experience influenced your plans for your future?
I’d say the extensive research and firsthand experience with generative AI tools in this internship gave me a really good sense for where the technology is headed, as well as the best ways to leverage it rather than trying to fight against it. I think in the current job market, that’s becoming increasingly important. This hasn’t convinced me to take up a job in AI research just yet because I still couldn’t tell you for the life of me what half of the technical jargon means, but I think this has influenced me to consider more careers where I could lead a creative vision, similar to what I did here. So, instead of specializing in a specific craft, say graphic design, I could be a coordinator well-versed in this type of creative development and project management.
What advice do you have for other students as they start their internship?
The best advice I can give you is to never be afraid to ask a TON of questions. Believe me, it’s better to be a question machine early on and clear as many things up early rather than stumbling into them and learning the hard way. Not that this sorta thing happened with me… obviously I’m a question connoisseur. But yeah, anyways, communication is super important. Make sure you establish boundaries and ask specifics about workplace quirks too. How do lunch breaks work? What counts as good work? That sorta stuff, and everything else you’d think of. You might think you’re being annoying, but it’s worth it to just ask.