For years now the use of AI in the workplace has been hotly discussed, and the discussion is only going to become hotter as the technology develops. The controversy surrounding it is inescapable and seems to be exacerbated in the world of design as the nature of AI forces the sourcing of work by artists who may not have agreed to have their work iterated upon. AI is undoubtedly a handy and supportive tool for creatives; I myself use it every day, and every day it gets smarter and more convenient in the tasks it can streamline and automate. But this serves to complicate matters, as at this point AI could be seen as something of a runaway train in its evolution, the conductor blindfolded by the ease of use and serviceable results.
The Pitfalls
One of the reasons the conversation about AI is so fascinating is the subject it forces us to face: What makes an artist? By extension, what makes a graphic designer, and what makes an effective piece of advertising? Does it need to involve a human’s hand to be evocative? It’s all very Black Mirror. Authenticity is important in outreach and in connection, two things essential to good marketing.
Context is also important in any creative endeavor with an audience, and AI has no way of accessing the full context of a project like a human employee can. While this technology seeks to mimic personal authenticity and a grasp of context, we have to wonder: will it one day be able? It is hard to envision now, as AI is still sourcing from existing artists and templates and can therefore only iterate what has already been done. As a result, AI designs and illustrations are generally identifiable to the average consumer, especially in the realm of illustration. Once an AI design has been pinpointed as such, it has the potential to lose the trust of the audience.
Job displacement concerns are also very real in the creative sphere. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman himself recently tweeted, “Soon, AI tools will do what only very talented humans can do today. (I expect this to go mostly in the counter-intuitive order — creative fields first, cognitive labor next, and physical labor last.) Great for society; not always great for individual jobs.” The World Economic Forum’s latest Future of Jobs Report has officially identified graphic design as the 11the fastest-declining job category over the next five years. Like any big shift in culture, the workforce will eventually adapt to AI on a large scale, but during this current time of discovery and growing pains, many designers will very likely feel their livelihoods threatened.
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