Creative Industries in the Age of AI In the creative industries, AI can automate the administrative tasks involved in the creative process.

All successful businesses require a level of creativity and innovation. The human beings that historically provided these two critical foundations are now finding themselves partially replaced by some form of technology or Artificial Intelligence.

The creative industries, where ideas and expression are the soul of the business, are where the impact of AI is being both felt and feared the most.

The creative industries encompass the arts, design, writing, music, film, and all professions associated with these areas. The insights and ideas generated by brilliant minds across these industries have transformed businesses, cultures and societies over centuries.

Tech and AI are challenging every aspect of the creative process, and the extent of the expected changes is limitless.

The Scale of Disruption

In arts and film, AI is disrupting the creation, distribution, and experience of visual content.

In writing, generative AI tools like ChatGPT, along with the proliferation of social media, have been rapidly transforming the media and publishing landscape.

In music, AI is revolutionising the industry, changing everything from the use of automation for composition and production to distribution to promotion.

This disruption, while affecting the economic future and opportunities of creative industry workers, also presents challenges related to copyright infringement. Plagiarism is also a concern, as the present creative work is not only used to train algorithms but can also be copied in the works that generative AI tools produce.

AI-driven platforms utilise large volumes of content, creating conflicts over the ownership of creative content. Examples of this creative content ownership conflict include the conflict between music streaming platforms, artists, and music producers over the percentage of royalty payments, as well as the fact that search engines and social platforms often use content from legacy media without crediting the source.

An oversupply of content – look at the masses of content readily available at a quick click or tap - results from lowering barriers to entry for creation, which compromises the visibility necessary for new authors, actors, designers, or musicians.

AI-generated art, music, and content are everywhere, but what are the origins of these materials?

The Human Edge

Human creativity stems from everything we experience in life, including the people we meet, what we read, hear, and watch.

AI is trained on data. There is no inherent creativity in AI models – yet.

AI is not run on emotions or gut. It cannot feel. And feeling is how human beings create. From joy to grief, love and contentment to hatred and fury, our emotions and lived experiences have helped us create masterpieces in the arts, design, literature, and music. For businesses in the creative industries, even in something deemed 'commercial' like advertising or marketing, an understanding of human emotions, desires, and motivations leads to the creation of content that works. Examples like Always's Like a Girl, Dove's Real Beauty, and heartstring-tugging Cadbury and Coca-Cola adverts are prime examples of emotional adverts that AI can replicate but cannot create.

Humour is another very human quality. Humour in films, writing, and advertising, when done well, is a potential money-maker. And it's another thing that AI tools like ChatGPT are unable to bring to the rapidly generated on-demand content.

A recent example that illustrates the human edge is the months-long strike by thousands of Hollywood writers, which, besides other demands, also asked for protection against generative AI tools. The strike affected the Hollywood business and ended with rules being established that bar the use of AI for writing or rewriting, and prevent film studios from forcing writers to use AI.

However, the fact remains that technology is constantly evolving, and we must learn to coexist with the many iterations of AI.

The Learning Curve

Human beings tend to prefer the status quo - we like the company of like-minded people who reinforce our views and react with scepticism to significant changes. From the invention of the wheel to the printing press, human beings have historically taken time to understand the usefulness of new changes and their positive impact on our lives.

Perhaps, the difference between then and now is the rapid pace of tech evolution. When we become comfortable with a technological change, something new arises and forces us to learn all over again. However, there is no longer a realistic way to shut down technology or AI. The recent instances of short internet outages have shown us how everything comes to a screeching halt. As we navigate a constantly evolving landscape, the focus should be on using AI to enhance, rather than replace, human creativity.

Use AI to understand what consumers want – the current technology has changed the way you access your customers' opinions and feedback. It has shifted the business-client relationship to be two-way, where you can listen and customise your products and services based on constant input via online reviews and social media interactions. Human beings want to be heard, and AI is helping to meet that need.

Creative industries can use generative technological tools for their ability to streamline repetitive tasks. For example, in the publishing industry, there are now AI tools that can provide narrative structures and personalised recommendations to authors based on reader preferences.

Creativity cannot come from nothing.

Humans would rather have AI take care of our everyday business of living - the preparation of food based on nutritional requirements, the cleaning and the laundry, and the paying of bills. In the creative industries, AI can automate the administrative tasks involved in the creative process. That would help provide the much-needed time, space, and bandwidth for artists, musicians, writers, designers, and others to create more and create well.