Will AI Make Creators Obsolete?
Creators have been freaking out online about whether AI will ultimately replace them.
Over just the past year, AI has become more advanced and more accessible at a staggering pace. With AI generating images and videos in minutes, many creatives worry that it could replace them. Some companies have already downsized staff in favor of "outsourcing" to AI for a lower expense.
The good news for creators is that this has happened before.
History Repeats Itself, But Evolved
Think back to the 1990s when Microsoft Excel was gaining popularity.
Many accountants were worried that Excel would replace them because it could store and calculate large datasets faster than they could by hand. Some accountants lost their jobs in favor of Excel, but today, no business can function without accountants (and they all use Excel). What businesses discovered was that Excel could do the busy work of structuring and calculations, allowing accountants to add value with analysis of even larger datasets.
It was a cycle: new technology made some jobs obsolete, but opened the door for an evolved form of those jobs.
How To Ensure AI Doesn't Replace You
How does a cycle from the last century about accountants and Excel apply to creatives, though?
Just like Excel, AI is a fantastic tool to free up your time. Instead of spending days creating initial designs for a client (or yourself), use generative AI to generate the initial design, allowing you to complete the final project more quickly. Or use AI to create multiple mock-ups of different designs, allowing you to iterate and hone in on what you want fast.
AI is a tool, just like many technologies before it, and ignoring it will be to your detriment.
