AI: settling the unsettled creatives

Humans have always been wary of new technology, from the Agricultural Revolution to the Industrial Revolution to the Digital Revolution, says Distortion Creative Group CEO Rob King.

Fear of new technologies is hardly new. 11,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, a young, determined woman called Talia was tired of endlessly foraging wild barley. She posited the idea of planting the seeds ourselves. Laughter and derision ensued from her tribe, but sure enough, the barley grains yielded a bountiful crop, inspiring their community, and heralding the dawn of a new age.

The lesson here, of course, was that more efficient techniques can lead to incredible flourishing. And yet, fear of the unknown is deeply wired into us. Our brains are built to detect threats and avoid risks. Even looking at the last decade, there was hesitation to adopt electric cars, and now there’s a reluctance to switch from traditional methods to AI-powered solutions.

Our biology conditions us to question new tools before embracing them. For nearly a century, we’ve been telling scary stories about AI. From ‘Metropolis’ (1927) to The Terminator (1984) and iRobot (2004), AI has been portrayed as an existential threat.

Today, we imagine Silicon Valley masterminds as Bond villains, manipulating technology in ways we can’t control. AI has become the modern bogeyman: an entity we created, now haunting us with its potential. Yet, every great story also has a hero. And in this one, that hero is us.

Digital cameras didn’t kill photography; they evolved it. Photoshop didn’t end graphic design; it enhanced it. AI is no different. It’s a tool, and its effectiveness depends on how we use it.

Take back control

AI can generate text, images, and ideas, but it doesn’t think, ponder, challenge, or feel satisfaction from its work. AI won’t pull an all-nighter for the sheer love of storytelling. It won’t have a creative breakthrough or experience the frustration of crafting something truly original.

AI can assist, but human oversight is critical. The best creative work will always require a human impulse to shape it. Humans will always be the ultimate guardians of when and how AI is used to protect and enhance a brand.

It’s time we repositioned ourselves then, not as cogs in a machine, but as ‘communicators’. We decide how AI fits into the creative process. AI should work for us, not the other way around.

So, is AI truly brilliant or slightly bullshit? The answer is that it depends on how we use it. The heroes of this story will be the people who embrace change while staying in control, and they will ultimately decide AI’s role in the future of creativity. And that’s a story worth telling.