There’s no doubt AI has had a major impact on the advertising industry. But its role – where, when and how it’s used – in the creation of “creative” is still up for debate. Here’s our ECD Ann Robertson’s take.
They tell me that AI is coming for my job,
but I am not afraid.
AI can’t figure out how to make my highschooler do their homework.
AI can’t look at a painting hanging in the MET and wonder why it looks like my 3rd grade schoolteacher.
AI can’t sit with my mother over breakfast as she tells me why she is frightened to go into an old folks’ home.
It doesn’t feel pride at buying a certain model of car,
or a first home.
AI doesn’t know what it feels like to be “less than.”
Or how it feels to fail, then to get up and try harder.
Or how it feels to finish a marathon.
Artificial intelligence is good at logic.
It’s great at spelling.
It’s great at compiling data.
It’s a great thesaurus.
We should use it for that.
But it cannot feel (yet).
The art of persuasion is an emotional one. It is a human one.
There is nothing artificial about it.
It takes empathy, and heart, and connection.
It takes life experience.
By the time machine learning learns not to be a machine, I will be retired.
Until then, here at Cronin we will continue to use AI to make us faster, more efficient, and even more targeted — so we can continue to exceed our clients’ expectations.
AI can generate a spark. It can kickstart ideas. But it has not yet figured out a way to replace true creativity, so I am not afraid. Instead, we embrace it.