AI, creativity and humanity (1)

Is AI as beneficial or as harmful as we choose to make it? We have to confront the harms and understand how to develop the benefits, argues Dougal Perman in a 3-part analysis for Sceptical Scot

In his quest for knowledge Johnny 5 devoured culture and developed humanity. When a lightning strike brought the robot to life it gave him an insatiable hunger for input data.

I love the classic 1986 film Short Circuit showcasing Johnny 5’s transition from warfare to welfare via worldliness – it gives me a way to think about the relationship between AI, creativity and humanity.

Johnny 5, robot hero of classic film Short Circuit remixed from Wiki Commons image using Google Gemini’s Nano Banana AI image generator

I want to try to explore that relationship by thinking about the potential, looking at the obstacles and considering the responsibilities we have regarding the use of AI technology in the creative industries. What can AI enable us to do? Is creating using AI compromising copyright? Just how bad is it for the environment? Will AI take my job? And if it does, who is responsible? Wait, am I responsible for AI in some way? There’s a lot to deconstruct here. Let’s start unpacking.

SWOT analysis

I am at once enthralled, excited, overwhelmed and concerned by the AI explosion. It is the biggest technological and economic disruption since the industrial revolution. But unlike the industrial revolution, and although Big Tech firms hold the power, anyone with an internet connection and a device can enjoy the benefits offered by large language models (LLMs).

Depending on the media you consume, platforms you frequent and what their algorithms feed you, you may either think that AI will profoundly change our world (for better or worse) or it’s overhyped and will have blown over by next year.

Over the past few years, I’ve immersed myself in research, learning and experimenting with AI tools. I’m working with creatives and cultural organisations to help them use AI to their advantage. For me, AI is about much more than generating weak, unedited marketing copy. Such lazy, uninspired use contributes to a sea of “AI slop”. The real advantages have greater integrity but require effort and consideration.

AI is changing the world. Like Johnny 5’s enlightenment, the biggest benefits will be in (medical) welfare, the most severe threats in (autonomous) warfare and the vehicle for transformation is (cultural) wisdom.

While I know many creative individuals and companies utilising AI to help them do better work faster for less money, I am concerned by the large number of freelancers, private institutions and even public sector organisations that aren’t engaging with AI tools and technologies. As far as I can tell, many still need to develop a well-informed AI policy (hint: that doesn’t mean getting ChatGPT or CoPilot to write it all for you.)

The opportunities and threats posed by AI to the creative industries, globally and here in Scotland, are significant. Whatever your current opinion of the technology, it’s wise to explore the topic with an open mind.

Potential

”Forget the words and pictures, I know how to do that. I want to understand the data!” a pioneering artistic director told me recently. She was telling me about AI training her performance company had received recently which she felt lacked depth.

I think the biggest wins from AI for the creative industries are gained from getting it to do things that humans cannot. That includes processing massive data sets to advance scientific research, tackling conceptual problems too big for even large teams to take on or even just enabling you to do things that you weren’t previously able to do.

Creative companies can use AI to empower their business activities. I think the biggest wins come in the form of insights (research, analysis, planning), inclusivity (transcription, accessibility enhancements, translation) and innovation (repurposing old material, blending concepts, rapid prototyping, adaptation). To illustrate these opportunities, I’ve created an infographic (with the help of AI tools, of course).

Drafting copy, structuring research, visualising prototypes and sketching storyboards are all very useful but making sense of data can yield the most value.

In some of Inner Ear’s recent live streaming, podcast and storytelling production projects I’ve used AI tools to assist us with deep research, strategic planning, mock-ups, content management and understanding our data. Take your Google Analytics reports, drop them into your favourite LLM and ask it to explain your audience’s reach, engagement and intention. ChatGPT can tell you stories about your data that reveal opportunities you didn’t know existed.

AI unlocks potential for anyone willing to engage with low-cost machine learning tools and take the time to learn how to prompt (i.e. instruct and converse with) LLMs to get the most out of them. Some creatives are recent converts:

“I resisted ChatGPT for so long because I felt it was wrong to use it. But then I caved in and now I can’t stop!” one arts organisation CEO told me. She’s hooked, having discovered the joy of drafting policy documents and analysing big data sets rapidly.

But others still resist using AI tools because of their objections. What’s standing in their way?

Part 2 tomorrow looks at obstacles, excuses and why we humans need to learn how to use the tools AI offers Click HERE