AI and Creatives: A New Tool
- Molly Newport
- Mar 30
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 25
In the introduction to this 'AI and Creatives' series, I spoke about learning more about how AI will impact the creative industry and how we - as creatives - can find a solution to feel a bit more in control about the whole situation. This time I'm looking into how AI can be used as a tool in creating art work.
Speeding up the monotonous tasks
When I'm writing these blog posts out to you, there are a few shiny little AI assist buttons at every step on my website. AI can help from choosing SEO (search engine optimisation) keywords to writing all of the content for the blog post.
Even though I could save myself a load of time and click the button to make AI do everything for me, there's nothing much in that for me. I wouldn't learn anything by letting the computer write my work for me and I wouldn't feel any emotion reading it back - I just wouldn't connect with it as a piece of work and neither would you.
However... if AI can do a better job of choosing the right keywords to help others to find my website then crack on! I see that as a worthwhile use of AI, to save my time to do a task thats straight to the point and requires little creativity and connection from either of us.
How AI can make light work of 'art'
Adobe Photoshop has a new feature on it where you can simply type in a few prompts and voila! You’ve made a piece of ‘art’! easy peasy. If you’re not an artist and you’re in the mood for something new on your walls, brilliant, bang in a few keywords, click the ‘generate’ button and you’ve saved yourself hours of trailing around Etsy and print fairs. (Please don't ask me who owns the rights to these AI generated images - I've no idea how that works).
On the other hand, if you are a creative person reading this, it is a bit scary that ‘art’ can be made so quickly, easily and cheaply. It appears that our industry is at risk and that we’ll be replaced before we can get over our fear of the white page.
Having a play with some prompts on Photoshop to see what it would come up with, I typed in the monthly prompts that I share on my newsletter to see what it would produce. The result is that it certainly makes something but I definitely don't feel a connection to it and I wouldn't know where the rules stand on using or crediting this 'art work'.
As artists, how can we benefit from this new AI tool?
Can we train it to know what we like and to come up with some starting points for us to work on? Can we make it produce some prompts that will get our brains into gear? Can we choose how we use it to streamline processes?
Will it make us lazy?
Will we discover a way to make AI work for us and just get lazy with our ideas? What's the point in working hard when something else will do it all for you? Will we just get to the 'right answer' quicker and not learn any important lessons or skills along the way? I'm sure we'll see how this plays out over the next few years!
So Now What?
My ideas for this situation might change over the next few years but as it stands, in 2025 I believe that if we are conscious about our use of AI, we can keep our control over it and stop it from running away with our creativity.
AI is there to use (or not use) as a new tool. If you don't want to use it, you don't have to. You'll never loose anything by continuing to learn, develop your own skill set and being aware of what's new around you.
Using AI is a bit like using the internet, it can help with some aspects of a project but ultimately, the project needs your hand stamp, your cabinet of curiosities and your personality woven into it.
Next time I'm talking more about personalityless content and how important it is to connect with what we're consuming.
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If you have any comments on AI as a tool or personalityless content, please do drop your ideas into the comments box!
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