From AI-generated profile pictures on social media to automated data analysis, artificial intelligence technology is quickly becoming integral to online and digital media. However, with the progression and improvement of AI picking up speed at an alarming rate, it has created a concern about future employment. What was once considered a vital job could soon seem obsolete, replaced by a computer. Many people, especially in creative fields of work, have felt this uneasiness. Still, there is an opportunity in the future with AI if they are willing to adapt and embrace this new technology as a tool to be mastered.
Time Saving
Some processes involved in design and digital media have always been tedious and time-consuming. Batch processing of images, general long-form layout or typography, and metadata creation are just a few tasks that designers have had to endure in their careers that don’t take much of their creative juices but are essential. With AI, much of this work can be automated, leaving more time for the designer to work on truly inspiring projects.
Breaking a Cycle
Sometimes the beginning of a project is the most challenging part. Finding that perfect spark for a concept is often buried under smaller, common ideas. The first three ideas generated in the brainstorming phases are usually considered safe or more obvious within creative projects. These ideas are easy to come up with, and most people would come up with similar concepts when presented with the challenge. Only once you keep pushing past these, deeply inspirational ideas start to bloom. AI could be used as an unbiased tool that could point the initial ideas in a direction that creatives may have yet to explore. For example, when coming up with thumbnails for a design, AI could assist in generating hundreds of thumbnails to choose from to build on instead of a designer having to pour over these thumbnails for hours.
Innovation has always been uncertain by some, with fear of being replaced or becoming obsolete. But, if you are willing to learn and adapt to new tools and technologies, a full career is still possible. In the case of AI and the design industry, it will never fully replace the work of valued designers and creatives, but anyone who isn’t willing to embrace it as a new tool will have a risk of falling behind.