Mizzou Journalism connections lead Delaney Ehrhardt to co-author first book
By: Caleb McDairmant
Delaney Ehrhardt, BJ ‘23, always knew she loved writing, especially watching bullet points turn into fully fleshed-out pages. What she didn’t know was that her first major post-grad project would land her in major retailers like Target, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. Her recently published, co-authored book, Prompting Originality, is a guide for harnessing the power of artificial intelligence as a creative collaborator.
Since its release, Prompting Originality has been named a finalist for the 2024 Best Book Awards from the American Book Fest in the ‘Business: Technology’ category.
“We found that dictionary definitions of originality often emphasize being ‘achieved alone’ or ‘only once,’ but originals like Shakespeare and Picasso collaborated and drew inspiration from others,” Ehrhardt said. “We position AI as another collaborator, one that can help us achieve greater originality and creativity.”
With 10 chapters and more than 50 creative prompts, the book encourages readers to actively engage with AI over the course of the book. Ehrhardt enjoys the book’s human-centric approach to artificial intelligence and its art direction, which feels more like an adult comic book.
“It’s not your average, boring technical guide,” Ehrhardt said. “This one is engaging, bright, playful and encouraging. It’s a fun way for people to see that human intelligence is and will forever be needed.”
Norty Cohen, BJ ‘78, co-author and founder of St. Louis-based marketing agency Moosylvania, believes AI gives everyone a similar starting advantage, placing “creatives on a level playing field, with everyone starting at 80 percent.”
“AI is like starting a football game and everybody starts with seven points before you’ve even put a player on the field,” Cohen said. “To score more points you’re going to have to take whatever it is AI can do and catapult yourself into something better.”
Cohen was inspired to write the book out of concern for AI’s growing presence and its potential impact on originality, particularly “what’s going to happen once AI starts grabbing stuff and rethinking or rearticulating the same ideas.”
He reached out to Missouri School of Journalism professor Jon Stemmle for students to help as editorial assistants. Stemmle recommended Ehrhardt and McKenna Neef, who both worked on the project the summer after they graduated. Although Neef chose to move to Chicago and pursue a different path, Ehrhardt transitioned her summer of learning into a full-time role at Moosylvania.
“At the time I didn’t have a job. The job search is rough. This was my foot in the door,” Ehrhardt said. “I started off as a freelance writer, and then when I was offered a full-time position, I was still half working on the book, half working on client work. It’s been such an incredible journey.”
The book was over a year in the making. Much of her summer was dedicated to researching and interviewing professionals who work with AI. Although she initially wrote 50 pages of research, much of it was condensed as the project evolved. Though cutting pieces she had worked on for months was challenging, it became one of her favorite parts of the process, helping her gain a more complete understanding of AI.
The Missouri Method is awesome, and Mizzou is very forward thinking. MOJO Ad set me up for success. Not only with the experience and the connections, but with the work and the energy. It was inspiring to work with people who were just as passionate and ambitious, and the professors are amazing.
Delaney Ehrhardt
“My favorite part was when we interviewed professionals to understand their perceptions and applications of AI, and what they thought the future of AI would be,” Ehrhardt said. “It was eye-opening to see it from an art director’s standpoint, to see how a chief marketing officer is using it or from the nitty-gritty technical aspect of a coder.”
As a journalism student working on the School’s premier student-staffed ad agency’s MOJO Ad’s State of the Youth and Young Adult (YAYA) report on culture and technology, Ehrhardt discovered an insight that would inspire the book: the idea that originality is often seen as a strictly human quality.
“When I first met with Norty, the book was supposed to be about originality and what that defining factor is, that takes half-baked concepts to full-fledged products and ideas,” Ehrhardt said. “I mentioned this insight to him, and then it turned into a whole handbook about AI.”
During Ehrhardt’s time at Mizzou, AI wasn’t as widespread as it is today. She credits the journalism school’s forward-thinking approach and the Missouri Method as key contributors to her success.
“The Missouri Method is awesome, and Mizzou is very forward thinking,” Ehrhardt said. “MOJO Ad set me up for success. Not only with the experience and the connections, but with the work and the energy. It was inspiring to work with people who were just as passionate and ambitious, and the professors are amazing.”
After a little over a year, the book has been published and is available at retailers like Target, Barnes and Noble, Amazon and a dozen airports around the country.
“In the grand scheme of things, a year probably isn’t that long, but it definitely felt like it was never going to end. I thought this would just be a hypothetical project that would never come to fruition,” Ehrhardt said. “I started crying when I held it in my hands. I was like, it’s done.”
Ehrhardt’s work didn’t stop when the book hit the shelves. She’s hosted book launches, given interviews with magazines and served as an AI expert for journalism textbooks. Through these public relations efforts, she continues to share the book’s message with readers interested in the future and uses of artificial intelligence.
“Everything we do is more surreal than writing the book,” Ehrhardt said. “It’s continued to be so fun, so cool. This has taught me a lot about life, creative capabilities and myself. It really has been an incredible experience.”
Updated: December 16, 2024