Often presented as a threat to creative professions, but increasingly as an idea tool you can rely on, artificial intelligence has now fully invited itself to the communicator’s table. Whether during brainstorming, at the center of mood boards or between the lines of web pages, many professionals use it. But if creativity is synonymous with innovation and the unexpected, can we really count on the success of artificial intelligence?
But how does AI work?
Before we get to the heart of the matter and find out if artificial intelligence can really demonstrate creativity, it seems crucial to simply understand how it works. First of all, it is important to note that these tools that we usually call AI are more precisely generative AI. Because if artificial intelligence has continued to improve for several decades, the real revolution that we could witness recently lies in the availability of this type of tool.
From now on, it is no longer necessary to go through complex lines of code to communicate with the machine. Everyone is now able to write ” encourage “, that is, a command formulated more or less simply, in everyday language. Generative AIs are therefore capable of responding to anyone’s requests to generate, enhance and interact with text, lines of code, images, video or music…
To do this, they rely on the main language models (LLM or a large language model) which are nothing more and nothing less than programs that allow them to integrate a very large amount of information and interpret it in relation to each other. Thus, they will be able to create links or identify the absence of a link between two pieces of information. Subsequently, they will be able to interpret text in natural language and produce an image by integrating different logical elements.
How do we use AI in creation?
At first glance, we would be tempted to call artificial intelligence creative. Between the idyllic landscapes of The middle of the trip and portraits created in Dall-E winning competitions, it’s really hard to deny the ability of artificial intelligence to create works of art. It is no longer uncommon for professionals to use this software as a creative assistant to save valuable time and resources. A fashion effect or a real revolution, we find this practice in any case both during the design phase of the project and at the end of the chain during the final result.
In 2023, brands like Heinz, Undiz, Coca-Cola and Bescherella brought to life advertising campaigns generated by artificial intelligence. As for the text, it also seems that this technology has proven its effectiveness. According to a study by Hootsuite, 85% of community managers used generative artificial intelligence to create text last year. A number that says a lot about the trust in these tools and their ability to convince. However, we can predict that the euphoria associated with this new practice may wear off.
AI is reaching its limits
Artificial intelligence has limits that risk limiting its creative ability… As well as ours. The first obstacle to creation lies within the framework of artificial intelligence learning. Indeed, although the input data is colossal, it remains limited to what we make available.
Another obstacle lies in how they will process information relative to others. Generative AI is fully capable of identifying the semantic relationship between dog, doghouse, and bone, for example. However, it will be much more complicated for her to create links between two concepts that a priori have nothing to do with each other. In short, it works too logically, when creativity requires a fair balance between sense and absurdity. Therefore, it is impossible for her to find a link between a bottle of Evian and babies on roller skates. To use a counter-technology analogy, if creativity is the spark, Chat GPT will be hard-pressed to find two flints to start it.
In the ARTE show, 28 minutesDigital Science PhD Amélie Jean summarizes the limitations of artificial intelligence as follows: “ (artificial intelligence) can imitate certain components of the human brain, but it rules only one thing: analytical intelligence “.
A creation put to the test of artificial intelligence
Therefore, we can ask ourselves what kind of problems we can face in the face of the increasing use of artificial intelligence in the world of communication and creative professions. It’s simple. Since artificial intelligence relies on events to provide answers that are as accurate as possible, we risk facing a certain standardization of creativity. This will be all the more true if a large number of people make the same requests to generative artificial intelligence. Then they will tend to give us the same answers over and over again. Good news, we’ll be dealing with fewer bad ideas. Bad news, brilliant ideas can become rare.
“ Civil aviation autopilot programs based on artificial intelligence make decisions faster and more efficiently than humans »
To go further, we can also ask how the public accepts these images or texts generated by artificial intelligence. As mentioned earlier, although the euphoria associated with this new technology is still very much present, there is a danger that it will fade over time. Indeed, although the results obtained can be astonishing, it is increasingly rare that we can detect an image generated by artificial intelligence.
The question arises, will the recipients of artificially generated messages and images perceive them and give them the same value as human-made creations? At a time when brands are looking to reconnect with their audiences by creating proximity, it’s possible that delegating creative tasks to a machine will further distance them from their customers. Contacted regarding this, Alfred Courroydata strategy and artificial intelligence consultant seems to be going in this direction: ” For a long time, civil aviation autopilot programs based on artificial intelligence have made decisions faster and more efficiently than humans. However, I know few people who would agree to ride in an unmanned aircraft “.
While it’s currently difficult to quantify consumer disillusionment with this new practice, we can rely on recent numbers that give a little more detail to the public’s perception of human-machine dialogue. According to the Made In Vote study When it comes to chatbots, 9 out of 10 French people say they can tell for themselves whether the answer offered to them was generated by a robot. When this is the case, only 17% react positively. Although generative artificial intelligences are increasingly capable of creating the illusion of humanity, we can assume that the general public will increasingly appreciate a human dialogue or creative product. He must still be able to distinguish the creation of a man from the creation of a machine.
Are creative people irreplaceable?
No less certain. It is important to keep in mind that generative artificial intelligence is capable of producing content at a lower cost. Therefore, we can imagine that companies or agencies that need cheap creativity will not give up on the solution so easily. And therein lies the crux of the problem with creative people. Still at ARTE, Dr. Amélie Jean insists on the auxiliary role of tools like GPT chat and declares regarding the recent strike of Hollywood screenwriters: “ They are not strictly afraid of AI, they are afraid of the CEOs of large manufacturing groups who will decide to replace them with artificial intelligence. A creative person knows their worth as well as you. “.
This highlights the obvious limitations of generative artificial intelligence for creative people, but does not ignore the danger that artificial intelligence can pose to them and their profession. Therefore, we must rely on decision makers who are potentially unaware of the shortcomings of this technology, or who may choose in good conscience to consider creation based on cost-benefit logic.
Therefore, it seems difficult to comment on the future of artificial intelligence in relation to creative professions. One of the reasons obviously lies in the fact that artificial intelligence is currently in an exponential and unpredictable development. Although creative people do not seem so easily replaceable, we undoubtedly have to admit that they do not currently have their destiny in their hands.
In order to offer you the most extensive expertise, we met Charlène Chupin, a freelance interface designer and mentor in the Graphic Design and Visual Communications course at the Artline Institute. Charlène has worked on projects of all kinds, directly for agencies or brands. Of course, his profession is one of those most affected by the emergence of generative artificial intelligence. However, his view on the matter is quite positive.
Exclusive interview with Charlène Chupin
JUPDLC: In your opinion, is artificial intelligence a threat to creatives or on the contrary a tool?
Charlene Chupin : Nowadays, artificial intelligence is not a threat to our creative jobs, but an aid / everyday tool that helps us to complete certain missions and tasks faster. For example, generative filling in Photoshop or text generation on interface frames; with the help of a plugin in Figma. But that doesn’t take away the need for copywriters to convey emotion, tell stories within a website, or even advertisers to think of strong and memorable brand concepts.
JUPDLC: Do you think that due to the nature of our activity, we are moving towards the standardization of creation, especially at the graphic level?
Charlene Chupin : No, I don’t think so. Take MidJourney for example. I invite you to look at all the creations that can be generated by AI. Graphically they can vary greatly. I would say that today we can no longer be an ordinary performer or technician but a true creative. What makes us a good designer is our ability to realize real thoughts and then put them into practice using, why not, tools that use artificial intelligence.
JUPDLC: How do you see the future of creativity?
Charlene Chupin : As mentioned earlier, artificial intelligence is a tool that we need to use to automate tasks, save time, help us put into practice the concepts we have been thinking about. Tomorrow there may no longer be any practical application of our usual creation software, but only a phase of deep thinking, conceptualizing ideas to write instructions and create results. We will no longer be”thinker-doer” but only a thinker!
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