Time to byte back: why AI can never match up to the creative mind.
The streets are barren, the office skyscrapers are empty and dim, except for the occasional light flicker.
AI has finally taken over.
Perhaps that’s dramatic. But it is a real fear. The outroar A.I. has caused over the last couple of years is undeniable. Partly because it’s changing professions and industries at a rapid pace.
Even politics is being affected, as deepfakes pose a danger to the UK’s upcoming general election.1
Whether you believe it’s for better or for worse, AI is here to stay. But what does that mean for creatives
Glitches or greatness
With the launching and constant upgraded versions of platforms like Midjourney and ChatGPT, we now can craft stories, imagine visuals and make ideas appear as in a matter of seconds.
These platforms are quicker and cheaper than hiring a human for their skills. So why not forgo human talent completely?
We’ll tell you.
Recently our Creative Director, Joe Ruddock, sat down to create a short storyboard for a video we’re making. As a pro bono piece, freelancing was off the table, so he decided to use Midjourney: a visual generator.
Here’s what he discovered:
Trial and error
Even when writing detailed, specific prompts, the results could be unpredictable and far off the mark. From the weird to wonderful – we were presented hands melting into faces and people crying through their ears. Entertaining though this was, most images were unusable.
Compromise
It took hours to get the images to a usable standard. Even then, they didn’t really reflect the original idea we were trying to communicate. This meant that our storyboard relied on images that slightly missed the concept, posing danger in giving our production team the wrong impression.
Loss of originality
Generative AI can’t execute creative thinking. It operates through existing patterns and data, meaning it is trained on generic ideas.2 Unlike humans, it doesn’t have the power to draw inspiration from anywhere, and can’t think beyond the established norms.
AI won’t take your job.
Writing this blog helped gain clarity on the true role of AI in an agency.
While threats of some kinds of AI are growing and real, we feel reassured that the bots can’t do it like us. As yet, AI cannot be truly original.
We never know what the future holds. But for now, AI should be viewed as a tool to maximise the talents and productivity of the humans who harness it.
I personally find it useful for finding synonyms, web sources, and simply having fun with images. It’s not the enemy, but it could just be our friend.
Are you worried about the rise of AI, or do you find it useful in your everyday?
References
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/03/botshit-generative-ai-imminent-threat-democracy
- https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/firefly/discover/how-generative-ai-work.html