2022 was the year when creative, auto-generating AI tools seemed to spring up like mushrooms. And unlike their predecessors, these latest versions are actually breaking into the mainstream because of their practical usability. For example, Cosmopolitan created an AI-generated magazine cover in a mere 20 seconds with the help of ‘Dall-E 2’. Dutch news website RTL used AI program ChatGTP to write an article about itself that is indistinguishable from what a journalist could write (but in 3 seconds instead). Or if you’re feeling adventurous yourself, check out ‘Mixo’ which transforms your one-sentence business idea into a website in seconds.
The point is, artificial intelligence is getting scarily close to taking work away from actual designers, journalists, or website builders. For decades there have been philosophical discussions about if machines will ever be able to do anything a human can do. Or about the value of authenticity, and whether it matters if it was made consciously or with the click of a button. Well, those discussions are about to turn practical as the first pieces of work are being claimed by AI and one thing is certain, the algorithms will only improve in the future.
So 2023 will be the year wherein creative agencies will have to make a case for human design. They will have to come up with a compelling answer to the question: If AI is cheaper and faster—why should we still hire a person instead?
