Life
Adrian’s Arena: Blink and They’re Gone — How the Fastest Startups Win with AI Marketing
How the Three-Second Rule applies to marketing, lean strategies, and startup growth and tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Ideogram, and Canva.
TL;DR
- The Three-Second Rule – Startups have three seconds to grab attention—most waste it.
- AI for Execution – ChatGPT, Perplexity, Ideogram, and Canva AI streamline branding fast.
- Lean Marketing Wins – Test, refine, pivot quickly without big budgets.
- AI & Copyright – If needed, use tools that respect IP rights, like Adobe Firefly.
- Speed is Everything – The startups that iterate the fastest will outpace the competition.
A Masterclass in Brand, Marketing, and AI Execution
Last Saturday, I had the privilege of leading the afternoon session of a full-day startup masterclass. The morning was led by Andrew Crombie, a seasoned brand strategist, who guided participants through the foundations of brand identity and positioning.
My session in the afternoon focused on marketing, audience engagement, and AI-powered execution, providing startup founders with tangible, high-impact strategies they could apply immediately.
Kicking off the afternoon’s Masterclass
The day was organised by Paddy Tan and Jeslin Bay from BlackStorm Consulting, who continue to do incredible work supporting entrepreneurs across Singapore and beyond. Their dedication to helping startups move from idea to execution is one of the key reasons why workshops like these are not just educational but truly transformative.
And what better place to host such a masterclass than Singapore’s National Library Building (NLB)? With its stunning modern design, an atmosphere that fosters learning, and an incredibly helpful team of staff, it was the perfect venue for a day of deep discussions, business strategy, and marketing breakthroughs.
The stunning National Library Building of Singapore (NLB)
Having built a career in digital marketing and technology across multiple regions, I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunities to mentor startups, lecture small businesses, and am a repeatly-requested trainer in programs such as this. The invitation to lead this session came from my experience in helping founders bridge the gap between creativity and AI-driven execution—a topic that has never been more relevant.
The ‘Aha!’ Moment: Realising the Three-Second Rule
The standout moment? When participants took part in a rapid-fire marketing exercise, testing their ideas in real time. Each group had to create a quick marketing hook for a reusable water bottle brand and present it to another group for immediate feedback.
That’s when it hit them: they had just three seconds to capture attention—or their idea would be ignored. Watching the realisation dawn on their faces was priceless. A few teams initially focused on the sustainability angle, but their peers’ feedback quickly shifted the conversation: “It’s not just about the bottle being refillable—who would actually use it? Which celebrities? What’s their favourite drink?”
Masterclass Participants pitching their ideas and gaining instant feedback
Brilliant Basics of Marketing: Timeless Yet Urgent
We kicked off with some fundamental marketing principles—what the fantastic marketing guru Rory Sutherland calls a “discovery mechanism” for finding unseen value. Marketing often feels complex, but when you strip it down, it’s about two things:
- Understanding your audience deeply
- Communicating why they should care—fast
The above exercise proved this in real-time. Many teams started with logical, product-focused messages, but when tested with an actual audience (their fellow participants), the hooks that worked were the ones that sparked an emotional connection, not just a feature list.
Sneak peak of the Masterclass Activity
The Three-Second Rule in Social Media is More Relevant Than Ever
The Three-Second Rule isn’t just a workshop exercise—it’s a fundamental truth in social media marketing today. If you don’t hook someone within the first few seconds, you’ve lost them.
The average user scrolls through 300 feet of content daily (the height of the Statue of Liberty). Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts reward content that captures attention instantly. Even traditional feeds prioritize posts that stop the scroll and generate engagement quickly.
But the rule has evolved. It’s no longer just about making someone pause—it’s about keeping them engaged long enough to interact, comment, or share.
Winning the First Three Seconds
Here’s what works today:
- Strong Opening – Start with a bold statement, a surprising fact, or a direct question.
- Captions & On-Screen Text – 85% of users watch videos on mute—your text needs to be engaging.
- Instant Movement – Faces, fast cuts, or big text make content stand out.
- No Slow Intros – Get to the point—immediately.
If startups want to stand out, they need to capture AND hold attention in those critical first moments. Because in a world where everyone is scrolling, speed wins.
Learn Marketing Principles: Why Speed and Flexibility Win
This is where Lean Marketing principles came into play. Startups often don’t have massive budgets or unlimited time. What they do have is speed, adaptability, and the ability to iterate quickly.
During the workshop, we worked through the Lean Marketing Canvas, a framework that helps startups test, measure, and refine their marketing strategy in real-time. The Lightning Task exercise was the perfect example—teams built, tested, and refined their ideas within minutes.
AI Tools: The Startup’s Secret Weapon
A major highlight of the workshop was showcasing how startups can combine AI tools to go from concept to market in record time. I introduced and demoed four core AI tools that, together, can act as a “business in a box”:
- ChatGPT – Perfect for brainstorming brand names, crafting value propositions, and generating compelling messaging. It helps shape unstructured thinking into something usable.
- Perplexity.ai – Brilliant for validating assumptions with real-time, reliable market research. Startups often act on intuition—this tool helps back it up with data.
- Ideogram.ai – Great for creating visuals with integrated text, which is perfect for quick brand-building with or without a strapline.
- Canva – The final piece of the puzzle, allowing startups to pull all the elements together into market-ready marketing collateral in minutes.
There are several similar tools (e.g., Google’s Gemini), and many others could also be included in this list—in fact this could have been a full day masterclass on its own! Yet for me, this combination means that within a single afternoon, a startup can go from a rough concept to a fully-formed brand identity, ad creatives, and go-to-market plan. That’s the power of AI when used smartly. And that’s before we even consider how to execute the marketing.
Tough Questions: Navigating AI’s Challenges
One of the most thought-provoking discussions came during the Q&A:
It’s a fair question. With AI tools like MidJourney or Ideogram generating images, who really owns them? My advice was clear: if it’s a very important consideration for your business, then be intentional and choose platforms that respect IP.
I shared that Adobe Firefly is trained only on licensed and public domain content, reducing the headache of potential copyright issues, and ensuring all generated images are commercially safe to use. This kind of AI literacy is key—using AI isn’t just about speeding up processes, it’s about doing so responsibly.
Lessons from the Audience: Startups as Innovators
Beyond the structured sessions, some of the best insights came afterwards. during informal conversations with the entrepreneurs. What struck me (as it always does) is how diverse their businesses were, yet how similar their challenges remained.
Startups—whether in tech, wellness, sustainability, or services—all grapple with the same questions:
- How do we stand out when attention spans are shrinking?
- How do we market on a tight budget?
- How do we turn curiosity into action?
The beauty of today’s marketing landscape is that lean methodologies and AI tools now level the playing field. You no longer need a Fortune 500 budget to create a strong brand—you just need smart execution, rapid testing, and the ability to adapt in real time.
Final Thoughts: AI, Agility, and the Future of Marketing
If there’s one takeaway from this session, it’s this: speed matters. Whether it’s capturing attention in three seconds or testing new ideas in hours instead of months, the startups that win are the ones that embrace agility.
With AI as a co-pilot, the future of marketing isn’t just reserved for those with deep pockets—it belongs to the fastest learners, the boldest experimenters, and the ones willing to pivot when needed.
As I left the session, I wasn’t just impressed by the ideas—I was energised by the hunger to learn, experiment, and push boundaries. Singapore’s startup ecosystem continues to inspire, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
What do you think?
If you only had three seconds to pitch your startup to a potential investor, what would you say—and why would they care? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
Thanks for reading,
Adrian
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- Adrian’s Arena: Gen Z Dating in APAC—How AI Is Changing the Face of Romance
- Adrian’s Arena: What Is Project Stargate and How Will It Impact Asia’s AI Future?
- Adrian’s Arena: Why I (Mostly) Switched from Google Search to Perplexity AI
- Adrian’s Arena: Navigating the Complexities of AI Copyright Across Asia
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Life
Geoffrey Hinton’s AI Wake-Up Call — Are We Raising a Killer Cub?
The “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton’s warning that humans may lose control — and slams tech giants for downplaying the risks.
TL;DR — What You Need to Know
- Geoffrey Hinton warns there’s up to a 20% chance AI could take control from humans.
- He believes big tech is ignoring safety while racing ahead for profit.
- Hinton says we’re playing with a “tiger cub” that could one day kill us — and most people still don’t get it.
Geoffrey Hinton’s AI warning
Geoffrey Hinton doesn’t do clickbait. But when the “Godfather of AI” says we might lose control of artificial intelligence, it’s worth sitting up and listening.
Hinton, who helped lay the groundwork for modern neural networks back in the 1980s, has always been something of a reluctant prophet. He’s no AI doomer by default — in fact, he sees huge promise in using AI to improve medicine, education, and even tackle climate change. But recently, he’s been sounding more like a man trying to shout over the noise of unchecked hype.
And he’s not mincing his words:
That tiger cub? It’s AI.
And Hinton estimates there’s a 10–20% chance that AI systems could eventually wrest control from human hands. Think about that. If your doctor said you had a 20% chance of a fatal allergic reaction, would you still eat the peanuts?
What really stings is Hinton’s frustration with the companies leading the AI charge — including Google, where he used to work. He’s accused big players of lobbying for less regulation, not more, all while paying lip service to the idea of safety.
It gets worse. According to Hinton, companies should be putting about a third of their computing power into safety research. Right now, it’s barely a fraction. When CBS asked OpenAI, Google, and X.AI how much compute they actually allocate to safety, none of them answered the question. Big on ambition, light on transparency.
This raises real questions about who gets to steer the AI ship — and whether anyone is even holding the wheel.
Hinton isn’t alone in his concerns. Tech leaders from Sundar Pichai to Elon Musk have all raised red flags about AI’s trajectory. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: while the industry is good at talking safety, it’s not so great at building it into its business model.
So the man who once helped AI learn to finish your sentence is now trying to finish his own — warning the world before it’s too late.
Over to YOU!
Are we training the tools that will one day outgrow us — or are we just too dazzled by the profits to care?
You may also like:
- Asia on the Brink: Navigating Elon Musk’s Disturbing Prediction
- The AI Race to Destruction: Insiders Warn of Catastrophic Harm
- Elon Musk predicts AGI by 2026
- You can learn more about Geoffrey Hinton at Wikipedia by tapping here.
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Life
The End of the Like Button? How AI Is Rewriting What We Want
As AI begins to predict, manipulate, and even replace our social media likes, the humble like button may be on the brink of extinction. Is human preference still part of the loop?
TL;DR — What You Should Know:
- Social media “likes” are now fuelling the next generation of AI training data—but AI might no longer need them.
- From AI-generated influencers to personalised chatbots, we’re entering a world where both creators and fans could be artificial.
- As bots start liking bots, the question isn’t just what we like—but who is doing the liking.
AI Is Using Your Likes to Get Inside Your Head
AI isn’t just learning from your likes—it’s predicting them, shaping them, and maybe soon, replacing them entirely. What is the future of the Like button?
Let’s be honest—most of us have tapped a little heart, thumbs-up, or star without thinking twice. But Max Levchin (yes, that Max—from PayPal and Affirm) thinks those tiny acts of approval are a goldmine. Not just for advertisers, but for the future of artificial intelligence itself.
Levchin sees the “like” as more than a metric—it’s behavioural feedback at scale. And for AI systems that need to align with human judgement, not just game a reward system, those likes might be the shortcut to smarter, more human-like decisions. Training AIs with:
(RLHF) is notoriously expensive and slow—so why not just harvest what people are already doing online?
But here’s the twist: while AI learns from our likes, it’s also starting to predict them—maybe better than we can ourselves.
In 2024, Meta used AI to tweak how it serves Reels, leading to longer watch times. YouTube’s Steve Chen even wonders whether the like button will become redundant when AI can already tell what you want to watch next—before you even realise it.
Still, that simple button might have some life left in it. Why? Because sometimes, your preferences shift fast—like watching cartoons one minute because your kids stole your phone. And there’s also its hidden superpower: linking viewers, creators, and advertisers in one frictionless tap.
But this new AI-fuelled ecosystem is getting… stranger.
Meet Aitana Lopez: a Spanish influencer with 310,000 followers and a brand deal with Victoria’s Secret. She’s photogenic, popular—and not real. She’s a virtual influencer built by an agency that got tired of dealing with humans.
And it doesn’t stop there. AI bots are now generating content, consuming it, and liking it—in a bizarre self-sustaining loop. With tools like CarynAI (yes, a virtual girlfriend chatbot charging $1/minute), we’re looking at a future where many of our online relationships, interests, and interactions may be… synthetic.
Which raises some uneasy questions. Who’s really liking what? Is that viral post authentic—or engineered? Can you trust that flattering comment—or is it just algorithmic flattery?
As more of our online world becomes artificially generated and manipulated, platforms may need new tools to help users tell real from fake. Not just in terms of what they’re liking — but who is behind it.
Over to YOU:
If future of the like button is that AI knows what you like before you do, can you still call it your choice?
You may also like:
- WhatsApp Confirms How To Block Meta AI From Your Chats
- Asia on the Brink: Navigating Elon Musk’s Disturbing Prediction
- AI-Powered Photo Editing Features Take Over WhatsApp
- Or try the free version of ChatGPT by tapping here.
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AI Just Slid Into Your DMs: ChatGPT and Perplexity Are Now on WhatsApp
ChatGPT and Perplexity AI are now on WhatsApp, offering instant AI chat—but their privacy trade-offs may surprise you.
TL;DR — What You Need to Know
- ChatGPT and Perplexity AI are now available on WhatsApp; add their numbers to start chatting like any other contact.
- Perplexity’s CEO has signalled plans to monetise user data, raising clear privacy concerns.
- AI is now embedded in your messaging habits — convenient, but potentially costly in terms of control.
AI Assistants Are Now Just a Message Away — But Not All Come Without Strings Attached
In a move that brings AI one step closer to your daily digital routine, both ChatGPT and Perplexity AI are now officially available inside WhatsApp. It’s the kind of integration that feels obvious—why wouldn’t you want intelligent assistance inside your messaging app? But as this shift blurs the line between private chats and persistent AI surveillance, the rollout isn’t without controversy.
Let’s unpack what’s new, how to use these tools, and why this seemingly helpful update deserves a closer look—especially if you care about your data.
How to Chat with ChatGPT or Perplexity on WhatsApp
If you’ve ever wanted to casually message ChatGPT as if it were just another friend, it’s now entirely possible. Here’s how:
- To talk to ChatGPT, add +1 (800) 242-8478 to your WhatsApp contacts.
- To use Perplexity AI, add +1 (833) 436-3285.
Once added, you can ask questions, generate summaries, search with sources, and even request image edits or creations—right from within a familiar chat window.
This isn’t a new app or integration through a web wrapper. These bots appear in your WhatsApp chat list, just like any contact. The interface feels native, frictionless, and a little too comfortable.
So What Can They Actually Do?
The functionality varies slightly between the two AIs, but both are impressively capable inside WhatsApp:
✅ ChatGPT
- Powered by OpenAI (most likely GPT-4-turbo depending on the provider setup)
- Offers intelligent conversation, summarisation, translation, code help, and more
- Integrates image generation where supported
- Responses are typically fast, contextual, and conversational
✅ Perplexity AI
- Designed around answering questions with cited sources
- Can generate images based on prompts and photos you upload
- Leans into search-style responses, useful for research, fact-checking, and recommendations
- Their team has teased more features coming soon, including multi-modal capabilities
In a launch video shared on X, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas uploaded a selfie and asked the AI what he’d look like bald. The chatbot responded with a cleanly edited (and slightly dystopian) version of the same photo—with Srinivas minus his hair.
It’s silly, yes, but it also shows how deeply AI is becoming embedded in our everyday tools—combining search, generation, and personalisation in real-time.
Why It’s a Big Deal
This is more than just a novelty. It marks a turning point in how we interact with AI:
- Mainstream meets machine learning: WhatsApp is one of the most widely used apps across Southeast Asia and the world. Embedding AI here is a huge leap in accessibility and adoption.
- Interface convergence: We no longer need separate apps for search, chat, and image generation. This is AI collapsing use cases into a single, everyday environment.
- Habit formation: Messaging-style AI makes it feel natural to ask for help, brainstorm ideas, or even delegate thinking. It turns AI into a co-pilot—one emoji tap away.
But with this convenience comes a new set of questions.
Privacy Watch: Perplexity’s Data Dilemma
Despite the cool factor, not everyone is thrilled about these integrations—especially after recent comments from Perplexity’s CEO.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Srinivas shared that Perplexity is working on a new AI browser called Comet that could track detailed user data and sell that data to the highest bidder. The statement drew immediate backlash. It contradicts what many expect from modern AI—personalised help without surveillance.
It’s not just a hypothetical. If Comet shares infrastructure with Perplexity’s chatbot, there’s every reason to be cautious. While no WhatsApp-specific tracking has been confirmed, the company’s broader business intentions are clear: data = dollars.
Meanwhile, Meta—which owns WhatsApp—has already added its own AI assistant, Meta AI, as a persistent button in the lower-right corner of the app. You can’t remove or hide it. That, too, has raised concerns around accidental activation and constant data processing.
When you stack all these elements together, a clearer trend emerges: AI is becoming ambient—but at a cost to control.
Trade-Offs: Utility vs. Transparency
| Feature | ChatGPT on WhatsApp | Perplexity on WhatsApp | Meta AI in WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native chat interface | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ (icon only, not a chat) |
| Image generation | ✅ Yes (if supported) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Cited sources | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Privacy red flags | Medium (OpenAI usage unclear) | High (CEO admits sale intent) | High (Meta default tracking) |
This table says it all: even when the functionality is strong, the trust gap is growing. AI in messaging apps has powerful upside—but it should come with transparent boundaries.
Final Thoughts
AI is now fully embedded in the most personal app we own—our chat inbox. It’s no longer a tool you visit. It’s one you live with. That brings incredible convenience, yes, but also ongoing trade-offs in how our data is used, monetised, and protected.
For users in Asia, where WhatsApp is central to business, family, and education, this evolution means it’s time to get smarter about smart assistants. Use them, experiment, and enjoy — but stay alert to what’s happening beneath the interface.
Over to you!
When AI knows everything you’ve typed — are you still the one in control?
You may also like:
- AI-Powered Photo Editing Features Take Over WhatsApp
- WhatsApp Confirms How To Block Meta AI From Your Chats
- Meta Expands AI Chatbot to India and Africa
- Or visit WhatsApp to try this now by tapping here.
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