AI Won’t Kill Creativity—It Will Kill Bad Creative

And that’s a good thing

I have been in advertising long enough to see the industry weather significant changes. Changes that blew up everything. New ideas, approaches and technologies that were to utterly transform the way work was done.  

When desktop publishing arrived, they said designers would be out of a job. When stock imagery took off, they said photographers were done for. And when the Internet exploded, they said TV was over. 

In every technological shift, there were questions, doubts and fears regarding what would happen to our most holy of holies—creativity. Each time, we just evolved. The work didn’t die, but the way it came to life changed. Creatives and creative industries always fear new tools at first. But then we adapt.

AI is the latest storm—or threat, some might call it. We’ve seen the headlines. But I’m here to tell you, as someone who’s spent nearly four decades working in advertising—AI won’t kill creativity. It’s going to kill bad creative. And that’s a good thing.

Much of what we call “creative work” today isn’t all that creative. Churning out emails, resizing banner ads or writing generic social captions isn’t where imagination thrives. It’s busywork that has historically eaten up enormous amounts of time and talent. AI will do this work faster, cheaper and better than humans. Once the busywork is out of the picture, we’re free to focus on what we actually love doing—crafting: Big ideas, bold storytelling and meaningful brand building. In a weird way, AI is handing us back our time so we can return to doing what really matters.

AI will create a lot of output that is just good enough, making the demand for original thinking even greater. Human empathic storytelling can’t be automated. Brands that invest in strategic fresh thinking, cultural resonance and emotional narrative will stand out. AI will make work easier to produce, but harder to differentiate. And that’s where we, the experienced creatives, will thrive.

Once you see that dynamic clearly, the doom-and-gloom headlines don’t feel so scary. And you can start thinking about AI as your creative partner.

Knowledge that’s available in seconds combined with your creative insights. The ability to generate ideas at a scale that would have taken weeks or months in the past. All of it happening before you even sit down to collaborate with your creative partner or team. 

AI also gives us the ability to generate images and produce videos of any idea in mere minutes. Not that I am suggesting we won’t always need original film and photography. But just as a way to sell your ideas. To create something in minutes that would have taken months in production. Or bring to life an idea you would have dismissed as too hard or expensive to pursue.

So instead of fearing AI, embrace your new creative teammate. Know how to use AI for research, ideation and execution so you can work faster and smarter. Become a curator. AI can generate a thousand ideas, but it takes a human eye to spot a great idea.

Use AI to uncover strategic insights and human truths, both of which are essential to great storytelling. And remember, AI is trained on the past. Humans are the owners of the future.

Every major creative breakthrough has been tied to a new tool. The printing press democratized knowledge. The camera changed art forever. Photoshop rewrote the rules of design. None of these tools “killed” creativity. AI is no different.