We need to talk about A.I.

For a long time, creatives have felt safe in the artificial intelligence world. But now, can they be so sure?

The emergence of platforms such as ChatGPT, Sydney, Bard, Midjourney, DALLE-E and Dream Studio is fascinating, incredible and represents the most transformative technology most of us will have ever encountered.

It is often said that AI cannot display creativity or emotions and that these factors stop it from being able to accurately replicate a human. However, have we now broken down another barrier with emerging technology? Is it true that AI is capable of being creative?

Over the next 12 months there will be such an explosion of new AI possibilities that it is going to be hard to keep up.

If you have not started to discuss the future role of AI in your agency, then it would be wise to start now.

Appoint someone on your team to own this area, trust me, you are going to need them.

We hear a lot about AI and whether it is going replace jobs. While AI will not replace humans as such, it will certainly replace jobs across different industries in the future.

When it comes to creativity, AI will struggle to fully replace creative roles, particularly because art and design are so subjective, but the tools that exist already are extremely capable of producing complex artwork which can evoke human emotion and can do part of a job for you.

What is creative AI?

So, what is creative AI? In short, it is the use of machines to create art. Creating art, graphics, images, logos, music, books – literally anything is possible in the creative AI world.

There are many ways that people have harnessed the power of machines in this way, some have created bots that will generate any kind of artwork possible or have used AI to piece together a movie trailer or a song.

AI technology in the creative industry

Below are just three examples of AI creative tools which use machine learning to create pieces of art. You can give some of them a try for yourself by visiting the supplied links.

Midjourney Discourd – Midjourney Ai

Midjourney is an independent research lab that produces a proprietary artificial intelligence program that creates images from textual descriptions, like OpenAI’s DALL-E.

DALLE-E Playground – OpenAi

DALLE-E Playground is an AI system that creates realistic art images from descriptions in natural language. It interprets the language and then gives creative outputs. It can also extend already existing pieces of artwork or repurpose them.

Stable Diffusion DreamBooth – Stability.ai

Stability AI can create realistic images, art and animation from a description in natural language. It can be helpful for presentations or reports and can make difficult ideas easy to understand.

The above three are all very powerful tools and well worth exploring on a free account.

The benefits of creative AI

So, what can AI do to benefit those in the creative space?

Speed of production

Creative AI is opening a world of opportunities for creatives in the 21st century. It is a way of speeding up the creative process, from brainstorming to designing to then publishing content, this removes the need to employ a human and as a result they can dedicate time to other more important and meaningful tasks.

Unique creative outputs

The type of creative work that AI is producing is unique and it’s possible that no other machine can produce something identical to that of a machine.

AI is also empowering non-creatives to be creative. By producing ideas and content and pushing the boundaries of the art world, people can see how diverse the creative world is. The possibilities are truly endless.

No more creative blocks

With a machine doing the creative work you don’t have to worry about having a mental block or having a day where you feel less creative. The machine will always be able to produce no matter what. These machines can also produce at a pace no human can work at, meaning output will be higher.

Ideation and collaboration

Using AI is also a way of opening opportunities for collaboration and presents situations where people can build on other’s skills. It can ensure authenticity when it comes to producing something that is truly individual and representative of what the creator wanted, and it can enhance confidence in a creator’s skills when they see what is truly possible with the use of machines.

Accepting and using AI is a way to understand how it works and to harness its power in a positive way for humanity. Accepting this viewpoint means we can reap the benefits of AI while still being able to do things ourselves and remain an important player in the creative process.

Concerns about creative AI

Naturally, there are concerns surrounding creative AI and what it means for the creative industry. It is an extremely new concept that not many are familiar with and as a result there can be resistance towards these tools. Are they going to replace jobs in the creative industry? How can we control what these machines do with our ideas? How secure and safe is it?

It’s just not the same as a human.

Many are apprehensive about creative AI purely because the artwork and things they produce are simply not the same as if they were created by a human.

When we go to an art gallery, and we view artwork we feel emotions and we can sense the journey of an artist. Seeing physical artwork and meeting artists can evoke emotions inside of us in a way that digital art cannot.

Many creatives argue that this is vital for their own jobs to remain safe, that humans realise digital content just isn’t the same as physical artwork.

Limitations in creative AI

Another concern is with regards to the limitations on what people can request these machines to create. With every AI tool there needs to be a policy which confirms that they will never create artwork which will offend others. Most tools state that they will not allow for harmful production of images that could be graphic, inappropriate, or distasteful, but we have to be sure that this will be monitored effectively. Most systems have been trialled and tested before being put to public use and they are continually improving on this front.

Creative AI and copyright issues

There are also concerns surrounding copyright. Who actually owns the artwork that is generated by these machines? What happens if people who were on the team are no longer living but the machine has produced content that needs to be owned by someone?

This is an ongoing concern and something which will need to be thoroughly investigated before any laws or regulations can be put in place.

Although there can be some resistance to AI as it is new and unfamiliar to many, we must consider that in the past many technological advancements were initially uncomfortable and unfamiliar. People were not sure about television nor the smartphone, but we have adapted to allow these tools a place in our everyday lives.

Will AI creativity ever match human creativity?

AI is extremely advanced and can perform some incredible tasks, but creative AI will never match human creativity. For the time being machines are not capable of replicating what a human can do with its mind when it comes to creativity. Creative AI is simply a tool to use alongside human creativity. It can speed up the process and produce more work at a faster rate than humans, but we will always need a human input when it comes to creativity.

“AI cannot replace human creativity and idea generation, but it may be the greatest supplement to the human brain ever discovered.” 

Machines cannot interpret meaning in the same way that a human can. Being able to distinguish between levels of meaning and establishing what is meaningful and what is not is a fundamental element of human creativity that machines cannot replicate.

Machines have no understanding of social context. Things that make us human are our ability to understand the context around us, to adapt our communication according to our surroundings, to understand complex topics like politics and religion and understand and feel all kinds of emotions. AI now has no ability to do this, meaning our human ability to be creative remains on top.

Will AI replace creative jobs?

Creative AI has certainly got a long way to go before it will replace any jobs in the creative industry. Although these platforms are forward-thinking and have some amazing features, we are yet to see how their work can outperform humans in this creative industry.

Being able to walk around a museum and view artwork or visit a modern sculpture exhibition is still a more enriching and fulfilling experience than viewing artwork through a screen. This could change as humans evolve and adapt to the ever-growing digitalisation of our world. There are already many job roles that have been replaced by AI, but the creative industry remains low risk for now.

However, the importance of the human mind in the creative space is something that cannot be underestimated. Creativity is subjective and interpretive, and humans are the only beings on earth that can produce such a personal and individual thing as art. AI for now is a supplement to creative roles.

AI can produce social media ads quicker and provide useful data insights, or it can create some mesmerising artwork but whether that art is appropriate for specific projects will still require human judgement. AI can write novels, but a human still needs to proofread the content and adjust where necessary.

The future of advertising creativity is here, and it’s powered by AI. The creative process of the future is going to give humans superpowers that we never have imagined. Come and meet your future creative assistant.