Micah Berkley, a Black tech entrepreneur and consultant, is harnessing the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize the branding industry, according to the Miami Herald.

In a recent UberEats encounter with a Wynwood restaurant, he noticed the absence of food images on the app. Berkley proactively contacted the restaurant’s management, offering to create 50 photos for their menu. The restaurant manager agreed, and Berkley, using the AI image generator Midjourney, delivered 50 images within 24 hours. Two weeks later, the restaurant reported a 25 per cent increase in profits.

“I want people to understand how powerful AI is because there’s no reason why we need to be broke anymore,” Berkley said. “I don’t want my people to be broke. We could do this. You could send a company an email saying you want to do photos for the rest of the items in their store and that you can almost guarantee a 50 per cent increase in sales. It would cost $300.”

A Bronx native, Berkley relocated to Miami from Chicago in March 2022. With a background in data science and over a decade of experience in various tech roles, Berkley has always harboured an interest in entrepreneurship. His desire to empower others to build business acumen stems from witnessing deception and financial losses in multi-level marketing schemes.

Micah, the visionary behind the Transform Project, a Black tech startup incubator, has emerged as a prominent non-traditional serial entrepreneur and digital marketing strategist, championing the mantra of "More Data… More ROI." His commitment extends beyond business success, as he actively strives to ignite entrepreneurship within the Black community and impart knowledge about startups and urban innovation to minorities.

Collaborating with the Big Brothers and Sisters of Chicago, Micah has played a pivotal role in mentoring at-risk youth and guiding them toward entrepreneurship.

In addition to his role at the Transform Project, Micah was formerly a director at Hyatt Corp.'s Global Network Operations Center in Chicago. He helped implement groundbreaking processes and incorporated network operations centre (NOC) monitoring, social media, data mining, and application analytics into a unified platform, providing a comprehensive view. The result has been a 78 per cent reduction in financially impactful operational events, translating to millions of dollars in savings for Hyatt.

Before his role at Hyatt, Micah contributed his expertise to GTech, where he developed statistical risk models for their NOC. His academic background includes a Bachelor of Science in Human Behaviour and Technology Integration from the Ivy League institution Brown University.

He has since held roles at BMW, Fashion Nova, and Unik Media Group.

Berkley attributes the fear surrounding AI to societal skepticism toward science, drawing a parallel to the rise of former President Donald Trump. He emphasized the potential of AI as a force multiplier, stating, “AI is here to be a force multiplier. It turns you from Mighty Mouse to Superman.”

Using applications like ChatGPT, Berkley creates AI-generated language to enhance his creative process. By incorporating this language into apps like Midjourney, a generative AI program, and using No Code software and the AI image generator Stable Diffusion, Berkley creates lifelike avatars with diverse backgrounds based on his prompts. His computer can detect hand movements, allowing him to manipulate the avatars for marketing purposes, including showcasing branded products.

However, the use of AI for profitable art has sparked debates over intellectual property rights. Lawyer Somara Jacques, a user of AI tools like ChatGPT, emphasizes the importance of transparency, warning against potential fraud if individuals present AI-generated models as real humans for financial gain, according to the Miami Herald.

Meanwhile, Carl M. Szabo, the vice president of NetChoice, advocates for the positive use of AI, highlighting its potential to improve lives. Szabo said that while AI-generated content depends on user attention for polish, it can be a valuable tool for people from all backgrounds.

“A lot of people don’t even have the resources to talk to people about this,” Berkeley said. “Once you show it to them, their minds open up immensely.”