Is AI here to help or put us out of work?
Well, here we are again. Another advancement in technology is threatening to turn our creative worlds upside down. But this is how life goes; for me, it’s what makes it exciting. Back in 1816 the first camera was created and artists were out of a job. In 1989 the world wide web was launched and paper was made obsolete. In 2003 Squarespace was launched and digital agencies shuttered their doors as technology replaced them. In 2007 the iPhone arrived and photographers around the world were suddenly out of work. And while none of those dreaded outcomes came true, each technology changed how we create. And that’s what AI will do too. So let’s look at the top ways AI can change what we do.
AI needs us as much as we need it.
When a new technology changes the world it’s usually because it makes something we all do easier. And as computers get faster and software improves, things we used to think of as human capabilities like creativity are being taken over by computers. We can worry about it or we can embrace what’s coming. But it’s here. And much like the first camera in 1816, what we’re seeing and experiencing now is nothing compared to where we’re headed.
While it impacts those of us in the creative space, some of us seem to be cool with it… to a point. Adobe recently conducted a survey to see how their customers felt about AI and roughly 75% said they would embrace it for “non-creative” tasks like image searches and editing. But I’d be willing to bet they’d let AI help with more creative tasks on those busy days. They just don’t want anyone to know.
Huge leaps are being made in AI writing, image generation/manipulation, animation, object recognition and a ton more. But as powerful as it seems right now, it’s got limitations.
Can AI be “creative” on its own? Not really because it can only make things based on the data it has available. And according to the interwebs, creativity is “the ability to produce original and unusual ideas, or to make something new or imaginative.” So to create something requires a level of original thought and an understanding of the audience it’s intended to serve.
If AI can only make things based on inputs, then we are still the creative ones driving the outcomes. AI assists us and speeds up the process.
One way to look at it is that AI is a mystery for many of us. We don’t know how it does what it does. We just know that we put in this input and it kicked out this result. For writers, designers, and coders this may end up feeling like they’re cheating. But nothing that AI creates will be “perfect” any more than what we create as humans is perfect. It will require analysis and testing to see how it performs. Those of us who become better with the inputs will be closer to success, but there will still be adjustments to make. Adjustments that humans guide.
In other words, it comes back to the knowledge, expertise, insights, and hunches we have as humans that AI will be dependent on.
Will AI continue to be disruptive in both the creative industry and the world? Hell yes! Change is always impactful and often unpredictable. But if we evolve with it and let go of things we hold precious, we can ride this new wave to bluer oceans.