Will Artificial Intelligence Take Away Creative Jobs?

In recent years, the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has caused widespread concern over its potential to render many human jobs obsolete. One area of particular concern is the creative industries, where AI is already being used to generate realistic images and videos, write text, compose music and develop authentic-looking 3D environments.

As AI continues to develop, people will increasingly use it to create content indistinguishable from that produced by humans. The worry is that AI will eventually put creatives out of a job.

Only this week, The Verge and Vice have reported on separate instances of lawsuits against AI companies for using artists' work to train their software without their permission. Programmers also filed a complaint against Microsoft late last year for violating open-source repositories to train its Codex AI software.

Creatives and techies are understandably furious that mangled versions of their work and personal signatures are popping up all over the internet. While artists understand that there is nothing they can do to stop AI development, they feel it should be licenced fairly. Their argument is reminiscent of the case against Napster, which then paved the way for streaming services like Spotify and Tidal.

Is Artificial Intelligence Really So Good It Can Put Creatives Out Of A Job?

We decided to put AI to the test. In fact, we asked it to write this article for us. We are not a review site, so we don’t think it’s fair to name and shame our software of choice, but in all honesty, the results weren’t great.

The article was three times longer than necessary and repeated itself over, and over, and over, and over… We also wanted it to include a list of 18 keywords for SEO purposes, of which it only picked out five.

That said, the content includes some valid points that we probably wouldn’t have thought of and was fairly engaging to read. However, the grammar was terrible, some of the ‘facts’ were wildly inaccurate and parts of it just didn’t make sense under the headings it came up with.

Below is an image generated by text-to-image AI software. We asked it to show us a creative professional put out of a job by artificial intelligence. Quite frankly, the poor guy looks broken!

As you can see from this AI-generated image, the technology has a long way to go before it starts threatening people’s jobs.

Arguments For And Against The Use Of AI In The Creative World

Below are the main worries currently rippling through the creative world in regard to the use of AI in their industry. However, it also has some advantages they may be overlooking.

Con: Businesses Will Rethink Their Need for Human Creativity

Businesses presently rely upon human creativity to develop and market new products or services. However, as AI advances, firms are beginning to rethink their need for human creativity.

AI tools are now capable of creating realistic images, videos and writing compelling copy, leading some businesses to question needing humans to work through lengthy creative processes.

However, there are still some areas where AI cannot replace humans. For example, AI cannot yet create original artwork or come up with completely new ideas.

Humans will also still play an essential role in managing and developing AI technology. As it evolves, humans must still make decisions on the best use of technology to complement and enhance human creativity.

Could this bot be coming for your job?

Con: Artificial Intelligence Replace Human Jobs With Machines

A recent study by McKinsey estimates that AI could replace 800 million jobs by 2030. While there is no denying that artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionise the workforce, we must remember that artificial intelligence is still in its infancy.

There are many tasks that artificial intelligence cannot perform as well as humans. For example, empathy is a crucial skill in many advertising and marketing jobs and something AI cannot replicate.

Pro: Artificial Intelligence Will Enhance Human Creativity

Some believe that AI will put creatives out of a job because it will be able to do everything they can. Others argue that AI will enhance creativity. Artificial intelligence can help us see things in ways we wouldn’t have thought of before, and help us come up with new ideas.

An excellent example of AI enhancing creativity is already present in video games. Producers often use AI to generate responsive behaviour in background characters. These non playing characters add depth to the story, but programming them manually would increase production time and costs exponentially. Using AI frees up developers to focus on the more interesting main characters, and bring new releases to market more quickly.

Pro: Creatives’ Jobs Will Be Easier

Some believe that AI will make creatives’ jobs easier. After all, computers excel at collecting and processing data quickly and efficiently, and they can also identify patterns that humans might miss.

Processing data with lightning speed and accuracy will free up creatives' time, enabling them to focus on the big-picture and come up with new and innovative ideas.

For example, AI enabled the beauty industry keep going throughout lockdown. Since then the beauty tech industry has flourished creating many new job titles that didn’t previously exist.

We asked our AI software for a work of art and this is what it gave us. It looks a bit wonky but the colours would certainly brighten up the office!

Pro: AI Will Make Sourcing And Hiring Creatives Much Easier

We must remember that AI is not just a threat to the jobs of creatives; it is also an opportunity. For instance, brands can use AI to target their audiences more effectively. Content creators can also use it to produce new and innovative material that will attract the talent they want to hire.

Businesses already use AI to create targeted ads and to track and measure the effectiveness of those ads. In the future, recruiters will be able to use the same technology to create and track job ads.

A Few Final Thoughts On Whether AI Will Put Creatives Out Of Their Jobs

The future of artificial intelligence is still unknown. Despite years of research and development, there are still many unknowns about how AI will impact the future workforce. Some experts believe that AI will lead to the loss of jobs for creatives, as machines can create content more efficiently and cheaply. Others argue that AI will create new opportunities for creatives. One argument is that it will free up their time to create more realistic and lifelike content with machine learning.

There is no clear answer as to what the future of AI holds but it will certainly have a significant impact on how we live and work. We must remain open-minded about the potential of AI and be prepared to adapt to the changes it will bring.

Artificial intelligence has already begun to change how creatives work, but will AI replace them entirely? It’s doubtful, although it will likely help them become more efficient and productive. Ultimately, we anticipate AI will help creatives to do their jobs better, not put them out of a job.

If you’re a developer looking for a job in AI, or a creative looking for a job working with AI, our team are happy to help. Specialising in IT, Digital and Marketing jobs, we cover all bases.