Creative Disruption:
Artificial Intelligence Takeover of the Creative Industry
At a Glance For centuries, humanity has used Art to evoke an emotional response, be it to drum up war, inspire revolutionary rallying cries, unite people for peace, communicate and educate people on matters of national or imperial importance. One thing that has always been consistent is the idea that it was human creativity that inspired the greatest creative work.
The 21st century, however, is witnessing a creative disruption in the creative space. Artificial intelligence has posed both a threat and an opportunity for creatives. This evolution of creativity is redefining the meaning of what Art is, pushing the boundaries of creative expression and the pace at which it is developed.
But what is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? According to Search Enterprise AI, Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. This encompasses a wide range of subfields such as expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition and machine vision among many others.
Should we worry? Well, that depends on if you are a sceptic or a visionary optimist. The reality is Artificial Intelligence has permeated into all facets of the creative industry. The visionary optimist will point to the further democratization of the creative space because of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. A 15-year-old can create a whole ad campaign using AI generated ideas and utilize his/her own creativity to add that human flare to it, a college student can utilize AI to create a whole new musical genre by sifting through decades of musical data and finding the right musical notes that evoke the right emotional responses that draws fans to his/her TikTok account. Record labels can utilize data analytics and AI to find the next “big star” by quickly matching fanbase data, lyrics, tone of voice and a whole host of other metrics that make a great musical genius.
The pessimist will point to how AI disruption can lead to job losses like in many sectors of the economy that are seeing job losses due to Automation. Designers are already facing a challenge with AI driven platforms that can generate websites at ease. Wix, a platform that generates websites using AI without user input is becoming an industry standard. Autodesk Dreamcatcher can create multiple iterations of designs with limited designer input.
Well, we are ever the optimists. Social media has provided people from all over the globe to utilize their creative skills and earn a living. Instagram influencers and now TikTok influencers are the monetary ways of getting out of poverty. So why not add Artificial Intelligence to the mix? If more creatives can leverage data analytics using them to create better content for their followers (and paying customers), then why not? Using tools like Google Deep Dream to generate stunning color coordination that allows a user to tap into the imagination of viewers can potentially create a whole new meaning to creativity.
Why it matters to you The future is opportunity but Zimbabwe lags. Technology has always been created by humans and it belongs to us to do with it as we please, but only if we are willing to be bold, venture into the unknown and leverage it to our benefit. The internet has become the great equalizer, meaning Zimbabwean creatives no longer have to cater to a local audience but put themselves on the global stage. The last 22 months of the pandemic has shown that people are willing to adapt from finding entertainment from live concerts to finding entertainment in the virtual world.
It is time for our nation’s computer Wizkids and our creative geniuses to band together and come up not with just the tools to compete in the AI creative space but to generate content that is world class and worthy of a global audience. If you read the first Creative Disruption article about NFT’s you would know the economic value of art going virtual. Add Artificial Intelligence to it and you will have new genres of music, new forms of artistic expression and new virtual reality content for social media platforms that can be monetized.
One thing is clear: Artificial Intelligence will be the defining tool of the 21st century that will disrupt every facet of life. The question is: Will we catch up or be left behind once again?
