chat gpt and authentic creativity

In the age of Chat GPT, it’s natural as creative people to feel a little… On edge. We think of being replaced, of losing the careers we’ve worked for years to build, of employers and customers losing sight of the value in what we do – and in some cases, that has happened. People have, and I have no doubt, will continue to lose their jobs as some employers seek to cut corners and costs and bypass the human for artificial intelligence. It’s a precarious time. Nobody really knows where the rising tide of AI will carry us. But, while caution is always advisable and worry perhaps inevitable, the best counter to uncertainty, I always find, is action.

On my part, this action has consisted of learning to use Chat GPT as a tool in my own creative toolkit. Learning what it can do and how I can make it work for me, both in my work and my personal creative endeavours has been both incredibly educational and also affirming – because only by learning what generative AI can do, can we learn what it can’t do. It’s also truly underscored for me what the purpose of creativity actually is and that – for me, at least, goes far beyond what I do every day for a dollar.

I took a Udemy course on Chat GPT in order to understand how to best craft prompts to get the most out of Chat GPT’s output. But I wound up learning much more than than that! I learned what other things Chat GPT and other generative AI tools can do (from creating gorgeous decks in under a minute to writing you a song – complete with chords! –, to getting a YouTube series up and running with no creative output on your part in under thirty minutes; it’s truly staggering and definitely more than a little freaky). Perhaps most importantly, however, I learned that it is far from perfect and that a skilled human touch is necessary in order to get the best possible output. Will Chat GPT be able to replace writers? Absolutely. Without a doubt. Will it be able to replace good comprehensive writers, editors and content creators? Not entirely.

And now? Now I look at Chat GPT and the generative AI phenomenon the way I look back at and understand the Industrial Revolution. It’s easy to imagine how farmers would have regarded the rise of machines with horror and fear of impending obsolescence. And for those who clung stubbornly to their hand tools and shunned the rising tide of machination, that obsolescence would indeed have come to pass. But for those who remained open to these new tools, who took the time to understand how they work and most importantly, how they could work for them – it wasn’t a disaster after all.

Of course, this is an incomplete view of the situation. Revolutionary technology tends to overwhelmingly favour those with the money and privilege to take advantage of them. While acknowledging and understanding that, I also know that if you have the time, opportunity and ability to learn how to use Chat GPT, you will have the upper hand as we move into an uncertain new era for white collar work. As ever, it pays to be nimble.

So creatives, buckle up, dig in and get ready to ride the wave. It promises to be an interesting – if bumpy – ride!