Treading a Fine Balance

We have all heard itsaid at some pointin our careers: nomatter how goodwe are at our jobs we can bereplaced by someone better ina day. This kept us on our toes,pushed us to put in maximumeffort and made us competitive.Then we heard we could bereplaced by computers. Andit really happened. Entireindustries shrank into a smallchip. The message was loudand clear: evolve or becomeobsolete. So we adapted. Wesought authenticity, creativityand human ingenuity –qualities we believed machinescould never replicate.

Fast-forward to today andno matter what you do or howwell you do it, AI is coming foryou. Writers, actors, singers,directors, editors, models,photographers – no one issafe. AI can generate scripts,compose music, edit videosand create hyper-realisticimages of people who do notexist. It writes backgroundscores, dubs content andproduces ad campaigns beforeyou can spell it. The playingfield is no longer about talentor experience; it is about whocan use AI the best. The foodchain has not disappeared; youjust have to climb it again.

Do I sound pessimistic?Maybe. But that is not whereI’m going with this. I recentlyheard someone say that AIis where the internet was inthe late nineties. And that isa chilling thought. When wefirst used dial-up internet,we had no idea how it wouldchange the world. AI is in thatsame early stage of massadoption. And if history hastaught us anything, it is thatonce technology becomes commercialised, it eventuallybecomes a commodity. Thereal question is not whether AIwill take over, but how we willredefine our relationship with it.

Too many people have alreadyabandoned the effort of actuallycreating. Need an email? AskChatGPT. Need a social mediacaption? AI’s got it. Need a blogpost? AI churns out thousandsof words in seconds. We areseeing more words than we caneven read and understand. Theissue is not that AI is helpingus; it is that we are letting itdo the heavy lifting withouteven attempting to engage ourcreative skills. Worse, somepeople don’t even review AIgenerated content before usingit. I will never forget a storyfrom a previous workplace.Someone asked a juniorcreative to research Kashmir,and they copy-pasted materialfrom ChatGPT. The bosspointed out that the content waswritten from an Indian official’sperspective. When we let AIthink for us without using ourown judgment, we lose controlover our own work.

Thanks to AI, creativeagencies are producingmore work with fewer people.Companies that prioritise AIsavvy creatives are thriving,while traditional agencies areshrinking. AI is mostly used forhigh-volume copywriting, andthe average creative manageris now expected to churnout three to four PowerPointpresentations in a day. Butwhen everything starts to lookand sound the same, creativitysuffers and so does the abilityto capture attention.

When we rely on AI foreverything, we stop exercisingthe part of our brain that knowshow to struggle, refine andcreate something original. Thebest creative work – the kindthat stays with us for decades –comes from human experiences,emotions and personalstruggles. AI doesn’t have that.It can mimic, remix, and refine,but it cannot originate the waywe can. The irony is that themore we depend on AI, the lesswe bring to the table. And in thelong run, it will not be AI that willmake us obsolete, it will be ourchoice to disengage.

We have had ground-breakingtools before. Technologies thathave reshaped the world andhow we work. But AI is different.It’s not just another tool; it’sa power tool. Every one of ushas limited knowledge of howit will unfold, and if you thinkit’s an enemy, keep it closer,learn to use it wisely, but don’tlet it become your crutch.History tells us how chaotic theprinting press was before thedust settled. AI has the samedisruptive potential. Whetherwe become passive consumersor active creators in this newera is up to us. AI can enhancecreativity rather than replaceit. Here are five major AI toolsevery creative person shouldknow about.

A powerful writingassistant. But don’t let it dothe thinking for you. Use it torefine and structure your ideas,not to replace your voice.

A gamechanger for visual artists,but originality is key. Use it forinspiration, mood boards or tospeed up conceptual work. Butalways add your personal touch.

An incredibletool for video editingand effects, but humanstorytelling is irreplaceable.Use it to enhance productionvalues, not to replace yourartistic direction.

Perfect for musicgeneration. But remember,AI can compose, but it can’tfeel. That is where you come in.

Great forgenerating visuals andartwork, but true art comesfrom intent. Use it to sparkideas, not to mass producecontent without purpose.

Change is inevitable, butcreativity is not aboutautomation; it is aboutconnection. AI might write anarticle, but will it make you feelsomething real? And in a worldwhere everything is becomingartificial, be unapologeticallyyou. We can’t predict thefuture, but one thing is clear.If AI is your pet, you are stillthe master. So before you askAI to do the work for you, askyourself: are you creating, orare you just letting AI fill in theblanks? Because the momentwe stop writing, thinking andfeeling for ourselves, webecome replaceable.

One last thing. If your boss,teacher, or client can tellsomething is AI-generated,you have failed to use it well.Einstein once said that trueintelligence is knowing how tohide your sources. AI shouldbe your secret weapon, not anobvious crutch. Gain commandover it. The sooner, the better.

Asrar Alam works as a creativeconsultant for major brands, creativeagencies and production houses.asrar.alam005@gmail.com