The next industrial revolution is here and it's powered by?AI

In science fiction the visions of the future we've been giving were that robots were going to replace people for repetitive tasks. The line workers and floor cleaners and to some degrees that's how it played out, after all, we have Roombas. With the rapid rise of AI tools the real future is going to look distinctly different where knowledge and skill workers need to start thinking ahead about how AI will impact them.

No matter how you look at it, the adoption of AI is inevitable as all companies want to save money, especially as we move towards a recession where people are already trying to do more with less. The automation it brings will lowers costs and remove human error and that adoption will become unstoppable once companies start finding ways of implementing it. Anywhere there is data that these neural networks can learn from is at risk, and the world is dripping with highly nuanced data for virtually any job that exists on a computer. This will be the next industrial revolution. It's already started.

Even if we never get to the point where AI replaces creativity outright, it will impact the industry deeply. So the question remains how does the advertising and design industry survive? How does anyone? What does any job look like as these tools take hold?

There are a few key themes that i think all of us need to be thinking about in this near future reality.

• True empathy and understanding - I'm starting out with the big one. The future might just be more analog. In a world where robots and automated systems progressively take over, people will still be people. Us getting together, connecting, being able to look each other in the eye and talk, the real tactile and intangible things will increase in value exponentially. This will be especially true in any high touch service industry like creative but also in select industries like healthcare.
• Quality Assurance - Creative companies will still be the arbiters of quality. Anybody who has seen the hands MidJourney creates knows even the best AIs still have issues. Human checks and balances will have to be in place in the near term as these tools to find their footing, but also making sure our clients hit the very high bar creatives set for ourselves. That being said, even this is a near horizon need as the tools get better and clients have increasingly capable teams.
• Ideation and curation - There will always be space for truly novel ideas and concepts to build off of and people are still the reigning champion of the unique and novel. Even the best tools right now will still pump out the wrong idea, creative, visual etc. They can only remix and rehash ideas, not create something wholly unique. There is a need for people to drive these things to get to the right answer. Beyond the big idea, someone will need to steer the ship, write the right input, craft the initial brief for the client or influence the input.
• Unique craftsmanship - We throw the word craft around a lot. But the true meaning of the word is connected to a deep, patient, uncompromising approach to the work you do and this is one thing that can be enabled with AI tools, but can't be replaced. I'm talking about the people who make, build, truly get into the details and actually get their hands dirty and can assemble their intricate ideas and things in the real world or in the digital world. The people who truly make something unique will still and always stand out.
• Teaching, building and combining neural networks - This is the main thing that will reshape the industry. Bespoke neural networks suited towards very unique needs of clients trained in very specific ways. There will be a massive push to automate parts of companies or tasks or even whole departments. This will shake the industry maybe more than anything else.
• Leadership - No matter how many systems will be replaced there will still be people involved, and those people will need leadership. True leaders, especially ones powered by the first point will rise to the top. Also no matter how much companies love automation, most people would reject the idea of of reporting into BosslyAI?. Although, given enough time anything is possible.

Some say true creativity can't be replaced, I know this because I asked ChatGPT and that's what it told me. AI isn't capable of original thought or coming up with a truly novel idea, but also the bar isn't always that high. The advertising and design industry is constantly referencing itself, which is what neural networks excel at. Combine that with the many other applications it's being applied to. Go to futurepedia.io and you'll find an evolving library of AI tools that cover everything from music creation to campaign management, 3d world creation to customer support. And we're only on version 1.0 of most of these things. What does that look like in 5 or 10 years? Type in a few words and get a unique movie, actors and everything all through AI? A fully integrated campaign with guaranteed success based on a few words? An interactive experience or web site based on a few prompts? It won't end with single use cases we have now, as people tie more of these tools together we will all need to be ready.

The real thing that will protect the creative industry, our jobs as creators, makers and doers, is the embracing, understanding, and use of these tools to accelerate and augment the work we do. If the sea is changing the only way to survive is to get in the boat.