Helping Young Creatives Navigate Their AI Impulses

Creatives navigate the world in a peculiar way. They are observers, listeners, thinkers and makers. They envision, create, test, edit and revise until the work works. However, how much of this process can they afford to outsource and how much should remain human? Is it necessary to ‘create’ fast and in large volumes now that AI is here? Some people crib about how AI is ruining the creative process.Younger creatives in particular face a unique challenge. They use AI as a tool, yet often struggle to deliver great work. Amidst the articles talking about how AI is taking over jobs and Millennials labelling their work sub-par, they find themselves in a quicksand of sorts. This is why pre-AI creatives must lead the way. They understand the delicate balance where AI stops and human intelligence steps in.

Yes, it is tempting to ask AI to write a brief for a campaign. Do not make it a habit just yet. The brief may not dig deep enough for insights. Most importantly, remember that having room for interpretation creates productive tension, allowing you to imagine and challenge ideas. AI’s confident tone of voice can stifle this process by prematurely ‘locking in’ concepts better left to team input. When creatives visualise on their own, they draw from nostalgia, their environment and socio-cultural nuances unknown to AI. These have been known to work.

Define your ideas clearly and succinctly. Prompts like “clean this up” can produce a polished version that is easier to read. Then check for accuracy. AI rephrasing should not lose the original intent. When reducing the word count, make sure the tone and message are still intact. Check for obliterations. Rephrasing must not compromise the original purpose.

Think about it; the ChatGPT version may not be ambitious enough. When you think on behalf of a client, you draw from the interactions you had with them. You understand where they want to go. You have bonded in boardrooms and on balconies, on WhatsApp and DMs. You understand the pain points as well as the stakes involved. Only a driven team can help a brand penetrate the clutter. Objectives and KPIs are not enough. And, every so often, strategy building requires almost a personalised service. Once again, context is key. How often will AI recommend the backs of rickshaws and the local paan ka khoka as part of the strategy? You, however, will probably get to the same conclusion because you empathise with the brief. Will AI recognise the delicate nuances of Ramzan in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad versus the mid-tier cities? That voice in your head that says this will not work is there because of the years you have spent observing how your world works. AI was not there observing it.

While your instincts guide the best parts of a strategy, AI can help you spot any gaps, offering a lens to enhance your final plan. Use it to confirm that no major areas are overlooked.

You have a blank canvas staring at you. It is tempting to command Perplexity.ai or ChatGPT to generate ideas (and honestly, they are not all bad). A good starting point to warm you up, right? Not always. Here is what can go wrong. When ideating, we are forced into being vulnerable with each other. We make ourselves articulate the problem so that someone else in the room understands it. There is a unique energy, and relying on an AI-exclusive process means bypassing this energy entirely. The language and words you choose in that critical moment are priceless. A phrase born from such discussions may be found scribbled on the whiteboard, in a notebook, on a napkin or on the window. This is especially helpful when you can use Urdu, English, Roman, ‘Minglish’ and so on. Historically, words have expressed entire campaign ideas. For example, ‘Mein te Honda ee laisaan’ or ‘Har Lamhe ki Chaah’ (Tapal Danedar). AI is unlikely to express an emotionally engaging idea the way you can. At best, you will find yourself transliterating.

Consider AI as a helpful sounding board and analyst. It has an objective point of view that can prepare you for the tough questions a client may ask. (Side note: Finally, you have a non-judgemental critic who wants the work to shine and is not desperate to grab credit for it!)

Be clear, specific, and ready to iterate. Like any team member, AI needs guidance, feedback and examples. AI can get confused or produce unexpected results. Prompt, review and refine. Hold yourself accountable for its output and voila, you have a star performer on your creative team. One that costs you nothing and one that is here to stay.

AI does not get annoyed, tired, frustrated or demotivated. Nor does it run out of ideas; AI is generous. It holds no grudges, has no vengeance (for now) and is there for you 24/7 with the same reliable energy. No burnout, no flex hours and no sense of entitlement. We wish we could hire creatives like these.

According to Grammarly, prompts should be ‘casually expressed’. Hone your prompt-writing skills – or prompt AI to write you a prompt. Start with verbs like imagine, convince or compare. Ask it to mimic a style – name an author, a musician, a band, a brand, and say, “Do this like that.” Ask for help on tactical tasks like word count, summarising, researching, removing or replacing a specific word. Ask it to try and culturally contextualise.

Embrace the new process. Today, you can sketch an idea on a napkin, feed it to a generative tool like Adobe Firefly, and watch it turn into a high-quality digital illustration in seconds. Prompt ChatGPT or Perplexity.ai to write like Charles Dickens or JK Rowling. Test them with a hypothetical focus group, all within the same browser, in minutes. Ask for a colour palette from a Quentin Tarantino movie and apply it to an Islamic architectural theme. Apply different art movements to a single image and compare. What you can do is limited only by your imagination. What matters is our intrinsic human experience – insights gathered from real life and real people. These are the most powerful tools in our creative belt, and AI will support the rest.

One AI tool reviewed this article and called it a ‘refreshing’ piece that should be explicitly presented as a framework and toolkit, “highlighting that AI complements, rather than replaces, core creative instincts and processes.” Another AI tool concluded: “The article offers a compelling narrative about the coexistence of human creativity and AI. It successfully encourages creatives to embrace AI as a tool rather than a replacement.”

We are on the same page!

Nagin Ansari is Founder and CEO, Backspace.