The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Creative Industries: A Centaur Revolution?

Artificial intelligence (AI) poses a significant question for the future of creative industries: will it have a positive or negative effect on human beings, specifically artists and creators?

Arguments against AI's beneficence often emphasize its potential to surpass human skill levels, citing examples such as AI's proficiency in generating simple images. However, advancements in technology and the collaborative nature of human-AI interactions suggest a different future. Chess serves as an apt analogy: the best players are often in teams of humans and computers, called 'centaurs'. This collaboration allows for enhanced performance and creativity.

Human-AI Collaboration

AI can serve as a powerful tool that enhances human capabilities, enabling the creation of more sophisticated, faster, and better works. Working together, humans and AI can elevate each other's output. These combinations are referred to as 'centaurs', drawing from the mythological figure half-human and half-horse, symbolizing the perfect blend of human creativity and machine precision.

Distributive Technology

AI is a distributive technology, implying significant changes globally at all job levels. Tech advancements, such as Stable Diffusion, are revolutionizing the way we perceive creative industries. While these AI tools excel in generating simple images based on prompts, they face limitations when handling more complex tasks like creating tailored images, such as logos or advertisements.

Current AI tools, like AutoGPT, can perform basic coding or web development tasks, but frequently encounter bugs and errors. This suggests that in the creative realm, AI-generated outputs may lack the necessary specificity and coherence for advanced applications. Therefore, it is essential to have 'AI auditors', or human experts who back-check and edit AI-generated content. This underscores the ongoing need for human intervention in creative fields.

Supply and Demand Dynamics

The future of jobs in creative industries is likely to see an increase in supply due to lowered barriers of entry. As AI tools lower the skill requirements for creating art and design, a flood of artists and designers may enter the market. This influx of low-quality or generic AI-generated outputs could lead to increased competition in the industry.

However, the role of humans will not diminish. Instead, they will increasingly function as 'AI auditors', ensuring the integrity and quality of AI-generated content. This collaboration ensures that the best of both worlds is achieved: the efficiency and precision of AI and the creativity and nuance of human artists.

In conclusion, while AI is reshaping the creative industries, it is unlikely to replace human creativity and skills entirely. Instead, it enhances and complements them, leading to a new era of human-AI collaboration where creativity knows no bounds.