How can I use AI tools without losing my unique creative voice?
With the AI revolution in full swing in the media, and the constant talk about it – whether it’s the end for humanity, or simply a new technological revolution to embrace, I thought I would explore the pros and cons for us as creatives making a living our of our art, and how we stay relevant as this fast-paced technological advancement takes hold.
How to Use AI Tools Without Losing Your Creative Edge
The fear I mostly see right now is around creatives losing their voice and everything becoming blandly the same, generated by a bot. This is mostly to do with the fact that some of the first AI tools we’ve come across as general business owners are copywriting aids. But to say that AI only does this is missing out on some of the biggest, most impressive purposes that I see going forward (more on that later). But for now, let’s address the copywriting.
I’ve used AI to generate this blog post title, subtitles and some of the talking points. But there is no way that it manages to replicate my voice well enough yet, or indeed not need some heavy editing to make it an interesting read. What it has done is help me with SEO, keyword research and ideas that I can talk about. It has not made it interesting to read or dynamic – any interest you’re finding in reading this I am confident is 90% down to me (arrogant perhaps, but if you try it out for yourself, I think you’ll find the same)!
I have so much I want to share, but my personal stumbling blocks are writing catchy titles that encapsulate my thoughts, combined with SEO optimisation so it actually gets found and read. Because I can write all the most fascinating stuff in the world, but if no-one can find it, then what’s the point?
When I finish writing this, I’ll copy and paste it into and AI tool and ask it for feedback on grammar, spelling and readability to make it even better.
What does this mean for copywriters and editors? I think their jobs are safe – BUT I do think that they will (if they don’t already) start to use AI to augment their skills, or to speed up their processes. It currently does not in my opinion surpass the creativity of real humans. Whether it could in the future is probable, as even an hour spent trying to teach ChatGPT and Google’s BARD to emulate my voice was yielding some results, and what we do with that capability will be interesting to watch. A parallel I like to draw is between illustrators and draughtsmen a century ago. Now we have graphic designers – but artists are still in high demand and are valued hugely. Graphic design has only opened up our creativity, albeit in different ways, and graphic designers are now hugely respected and admired for the art they can create digitally.
It's the same with photography, we can now use AI to edit our digital images, or create images entirely within a computer, but I will still always want to go out and shoot analogue film.
It becomes less about what we CAN do with AI, and more about what we WANT to do with it.
How to Make Your AI-Generated Content Stand Out
So how do we maintain or create a voice within the arts that retains individuality, originality and ethicality? Just as we have always done, by sharing our processes with each other, by being open and honest about how we create our finished works. Once metalworking was considered a type of magic, so now we are harnessing the power of the computer which feels almost otherworldly too. The power of AI is still constrained at the moment by what we tell it to do. Getting the right prompts to get the results we desire is an art in itself - and a looming common future job position I suspect?
Yes jobs, work and employment will I believe change greatly as AI moves forward, but that has always been so. A quick look at 19th-century job titles will expose a huge number of jobs that are simply no more, following the advancement of electricity and electronic devices, for example a ‘Knocker upper’ - before there were electronic alarm clocks, there were human alarm clocks. People in the 1800s would hire "knocker uppers" to shoot peas at the glass of their window or tap on the glass using a long pole to wake them up. A more recent example would be the ‘human computers’ NASA used to do all their calculations on graph paper and by hand – it’s how we first got to the moon. We also no longer need or use telegraphists or lamplighters.
How we respond to these technologies is how we find our relevancy going forward. And I don’t believe I’m being naïve when I say no computers will ever replace human creativity. They might be able to emulate it when we ask them to, but as long as we retain our own sense of worth and honesty and openness there will always be a unique place for our art.
I also don’t want to live my life in a computer (despite Meta’s millions of dollars invested into virtual reality). I want to go outside, feel the grass under my bare feet. Swim in the sea and climb up mountains. That to me is where my art comes from. Not from solely within my mind, but as nature sustains me and inspires me. We are human beings connected to our natural world. Yes we can retreat into fake ones, but only for a while before we become sick, physically and mentally.
How will we know what’s real and what’s not?
I think this is where a lot of people draw parallels with the Matrix films. But I’m going to focus on the more proactive and practical aspects. Already there are numerous websites popping up that can analyse text for use of AI (sorry students, you will still be caught out for not submitting your own work!). Whilst AI is more than capable of writing an essay, it can be identified as such and verified.
We will simply need to become our own checks and balances, in the same way as we do in all other walks of life. I believe we are still playing catch up with the legalities and moralities of technology (recent happenings in the USA with Congress and tech company CEO panels show how starkly our understanding and laws lag behind technology) – and in my opinion that is something we will have to address with an urgency not yet applied. And hence why I believe some of the big corporations like Mircrosoft have called for a six-month halt to progressing AI. The implications for example for waging war, fake news and propaganda are simply too risky. We also can see dystopian events - Sci-fi imaginings suddenly seem all to possible. Tests have shown that AI is very good at learning ways around its own safety nets that we have attempted to put in place. WE are not as clever as we might think!
So with all that said, what can we use AI for right now that feels aligned with our moral compass as artists and creatives?
Blog post titles
Blog post outlines
SEO optimisation
Keyword Research
Ad copy help
Website page analysis
Competitor analysis
Ideas for content
Create transcripts from videos
Create better schedules or workflows
Save time creating documents
Writing business plans
Performing mundane tasks
Repurposing content into different formats
Summarising your long form content
Product research
Meeting note taking
In conclusion – is it worth investing your efforts in AI as a creative?
Quite simply yes, it is the future, that’s not to say you need to use it all the time, but knowledge is power. If you can learn how to use something and how it can be used to help you, it is then your informed decision to do so, not a knee-jerk reaction to something that feels new and intimidating. It is important for you as a creative business owner to carefully consider the potential benefits and risks of using AI tools before deciding whether or not to adopt them.
Use AI to generate ideas, not replace thinking. To save time and money, not erase individuality.
Don't look at AI like you'd look at a hammer; look at it like you'd look at a thesaurus or Photoshop. One that has limitations based on each individual user and is not infallible. That (currently) needs the checks and balances of humanity.
Be transparent about the use of AI. It is important to be transparent about the use of AI in your creative business. Let your customers know that you are using AI tools and explain how these tools are being used. This will help to build trust with your customers and ensure that they are comfortable with the use of AI in your business.