Artificial Intelligence within The Creative Industry:
The creative industry is unparalleled in its significance. It’s booming, ever-evolving, and increasingly crucial in our commercial landscape. Since the Industrial Revolution, people have feared losing jobs to technology. But many creatives, myself included, thought, "That won’t happen to us." The world will always need creativity, a uniquely human skill that no technology can replicate.
Then in 2021, OpenAI launched DALL-E.
Panic stations!
I wasn’t alone in my anxiety. While studying a degree in a field I thought was irreplaceable, I suddenly felt uncertain in a corporate, cost-cutting environment. I wondered if I would ever land a creative role.
Three years have passed. Technology has advanced rapidly, and AI continues to improve. Yet, I still managed to land my dream design job at a thriving creative agency. So, it all feels a little anticlimactic, doesn’t it?
How to Make AI is Changing the Game
Artificial intelligence in the form of picture, illustration, or photography generators was initially scary. The thought that a client could create something tailored and original within minutes using carefully curated prompts, without a design team, was unsettling. It felt like a perfect setup for a Black Mirror episode. However, according to data analysis and trend mapping, this is not entirely what’s happening.
The World Economic Forum shows that AI will not only augment existing jobs but also create new roles in entirely new fields [1]. We are experiencing a time of rapid technological advancement similar to that of the Industrial Revolution [2]. The rise of artificial intelligence doesn’t necessarily mean the eradication of all creatives. Instead, it heralds a complete reworking of the corporate world and the economy. It’s an exciting time to be alive.
The Way Ai Can Work For You
We've seen celebrities harness AI to increase their engagement with fans. Canadian singer Grimes offered to split royalties with fans who created AI tracks using her voice [3]. Later, she created a platform for AI generation, allowing others to sing alongside her voice. Such tools aid creativity and foster collaboration between artists, increasing accessibility. Those without mentors or educational opportunities can use AI programs to enhance their skills and collaborate with their role models to create something previously unattainable. These programs don’t put creatives out of work; they empower them to achieve their creative visions in unprecedented ways.
“Any tool that allows an artist to create is an amazing thing…” [4]
While synthetic artwork and Ai-generated styles are on the rise, this doesn’t mean the eradication of human-made art [5]. In fact, the value of human-made creative work could increase due to the quality and intention. When you’re hired as a creative for a business, you’re not just hired for your creativity (although I am sure that is a huge part). You’re hired for the way that you use that creativity within the business, how you approach briefs, and demographic needs, how you change minds with design, and how you evoke feeling and emotion through your creativity. Things that no technology can replicate without the use of someone telling it to. Those qualities are far more valuable and intricate than what Ai, regardless of its sophistication, can mimic [6].?
领英推荐
It’s Needs To Be Better?
The use of AI as a valuable aid is on the rise. It's an incredibly beneficial tool for prompts, teaching, asset generation, and much more. However, there's an intriguing discourse around AI and its biases. Because AI can be used for image creation, there have been instances of racial bias within generated images. Forbes highlights the importance of diversity in the AI industry, using image analysis bias as a key example. "Imaging biases emerged in recent months when people discovered that the image previews on Twitter favour white faces over black faces, regardless of where the face appears in the image [7]”. This is just one example of how AI can yield offensive results and create harmful representation within media channels.?
These biases extend into image generation, especially with programs trained on existing data sets. Midjourney is one such program where bias in machine learning becomes evident [8]. The data fed into the program allows it to learn and produce results. When Midjourney was trained with Western-centric data sets, the results reflected that bias. This raises concerns about how much AI could perpetuate cultural stereotypes or inadvertently erase important cultural views.
Artificial intelligence, like many tools and programs, will keep evolving. I don't lean strongly pro or anti, Ai, but I think it’s crucial to keep the conversation regarding its impact. By staying informed and engaged, we can harness the benefits of AI while addressing its potential drawbacks. When doing research for this post, it was uplifting and relieving to hear many experts emphasise that creativity is a uniquely human gift, something that technology will never replace.??
Thanks for reading!?
Would love to hear your thoughts on Ai within the Creative Industry!?