Is ChatGPT Coming for our Creative Jobs?

ChatGPT Prompt: Please describe to me in detail how AI is not here to replace creative jobs.

By Lee Margolis, Executive Creative Director

My favorite person at Mofilm, Anisha Madzounian, Director of Ops, recently asked me to write a nice little blog post about ChatGPT, using ChatGPT, sharing the positives and negatives of my experience of using AI to help write a blog post, and using AI to enhance the creative process overall.

As someone who has had the word ‘creative’ in their title dating back to pre-internet days, I was excited to take on this opportunity. Mostly because I had heard that using AI tools like ChatGPT would be like finding a new ‘buddy’ to bounce ideas off of during the creative thinking process.

When we asked our Mofilm creator community about their thoughts on AI, nearly 50% of creators reported fear that AI tools and technologies will replace creative jobs.

That’s a fair concern: with how impressive AI art and copy has advanced, it is becoming scarily difficult to differentiate AI-generated content from content created by humans.

Growing up in a business that typically teamed a ‘visual’ type’ with a ‘word’ type, I always loved the journey that came about in the conversations between these two different minds. It was through an iterative process of bouncing ideas with each other that lead to something (hopefully) DISRUPTIVE (thank you, Lee Clow).

This discovery phase was always about ideas to discuss, sometimes bad ideas that needed a lot of work, or sometimes vetting obvious ideas, getting them all out. Then we would move onto something more original, something that has never been done before. This was always a very satisfying moment, the feeling of finding the idea or ideas that felt like a possible new take.

I’ve found the best way to survive and maintain a career is to always be open to new things. I’d like to thank my Pop for this notion, who is now in his 80s, and while he’s missing quite a few teeth, he is still good at Photoshop and is messing around with Midjourney daily.

So with all this said, I was asked to write a blog post about why AI isn’t a threat to creative thinkers and or creative jobs. Not only was I doing this out of my own intellectual curiosity, but also because I truly want to have a better understanding of it all. If I’m going to be using AI tools and encouraging others to use them, I need to be able to openly and articulately have a decent response to friends in the business, filmmakers, and creators we work here at Mofilm who are concerned about AI.

So I politely asked ChatGPT this first question:

Me: Please describe to me in detail how AI is not here to replace creative jobs.

And it had a pretty good answer:

ChatGPT: Firstly, AI is very good at performing tasks that involve pattern recognition and repetition, such as data analysis and image recognition. However, AI lacks the ability to think creatively, understand human emotions, and produce original ideas that are often required in creative industries. Creative jobs such as graphic designers, writers, and musicians require imagination, intuition, and a personal touch, which cannot be easily replicated by machines.

(I liked this part that “creative thinking” can not “easily” be replicated by machines. I was going to dig deeper on this and push back after I read the whole response).

ChatGPT: Secondly, AI can be used as a tool to augment creativity and enhance human capabilities, rather than replace them. For example, AI can be used to generate ideas, offer suggestions, and provide feedback to human creators, which can help to improve the quality and efficiency of their work. AI can also be used to automate repetitive tasks, allowing human creators to focus on more complex and creative tasks.

When I read this, I thought, “Well that seems good.” I ,But then I thought for a second that the AI telling me this… is a bit suspicious. I mean Photoshop or Microsoft Word never told me they were going to help me generate ideas. They did offer suggestions, especially spelling (and for someone who had a learning disability growing up, this was a great thing to not worry about).

ChatGPT: Thirdly, creativity is a fundamental human trait that cannot be replaced by machines. Humans have the ability to think outside the box, combine different ideas and concepts, and create something new and unique. While AI can generate new ideas based on existing data, it cannot create something truly original without human input.

Ah, “human input” again here. I like what I’m reading, but it’s from an AI bot. And it definitely felt like a “right now” type of response. It didn’t say AI would never be able to create without human input. I also hate phrases it uses like, “thinking outside the box.” I think these types of sayings are just lazy because they don’t really offer a solution, so I actively try not to use them. This gave me hope that I was better than my new friend. Not that it’s a competition… hmmmm…

ChatGPT: Finally, the creative industry is constantly evolving and adapting to new technologies, and there will always be a demand for creative professionals who can adapt and innovate. While AI may automate certain aspects of creative jobs, it is unlikely to replace them completely. In conclusion, AI is not here to replace creative jobs, but to augment and enhance human creativity. While AI may automate certain aspects of creative jobs, it cannot replace the fundamental human ability to think creatively and produce original ideas.

There. It. Is.

I agreed with the first part Mr. AI. Creatives and the creative industry are always pushing forward and evolving. Automation has always paved the way for more space to create. This might be more positive to say than saying AI “is unlikely to replace them completely.” I liked the “enhancing” aspect of the conclusion here. This is true and something I have found with all the creative tools over the years at my disposal; whether it is Haberule, Photoshop, or MidJourney.

I pressed on.

Me: Will someday AI be able to creatively think on its own? And if so, when?

It thought for a long minute and then responded…

ChatGPT: The question of whether AI will someday be able to creatively think on its own, without any prompts from humans, is a topic of ongoing debate among researchers and experts in the field of AI. While there have been significant advances in AI technology over the past few years, there is still a long way to go before AI can fully replicate the complex and dynamic nature of human creativity.

I like this.

ChatGPT: There are a few reasons why it may be difficult for AI to achieve truly autonomous creative thinking. Firstly, human creativity is influenced by many factors, including emotions, experiences, and cultural context, which can be difficult to program into an AI system. Secondly, human creativity is often unpredictable and non-linear, and it can be challenging to design AI algorithms that can replicate this kind of thinking.

Oh my gosh. That’s great. As someone who thinks in circles and has many browsers open in their head, I was reassured to read this.

ChatGPT: That being said, there are already examples of AI systems that are capable of generating creative outputs to some degree, such as music compositions, visual art, and even poetry. These AI systems are typically trained on large datasets of existing works in a particular domain, and they use this data to generate new outputs that mimic the style and structure of the input data.

Ok, I guess that makes sense. I’ll give AI that point but is the art created any good? Ugh, subjective.

ChatGPT: While these AI systems are impressive in their ability to generate creative outputs, they still rely heavily on human input and guidance. It is also worth noting that the creative outputs generated by AI are often viewed as imitations or approximations of human creativity, rather than truly original works.

Yesssss. Creating something innovative and unique is hard, and most likely uniquely human!

In summary, it is difficult to predict exactly when AI will be able to creatively think on its own without a prompt from a human. While there have been significant advances in AI technology, there are still significant challenges to overcome in replicating the complex and dynamic nature of human creativity. However, as AI technology continues to advance, it is possible that we may see more sophisticated and autonomous creative outputs from AI systems in the future.

As do humans. It’s so important, as a creative thinker, to want to push and advance in the goal to be innovative. Just like AI, I guess. It does seem like ‘AI help’ is here to support us in all aspects of our lives, creative or other, so might as well jump in and take advantage of it.

In many ways this experience of writing a blog (with the help of ChatGPT) was just a simple conversation for me to take or leave. It supported me in getting started on this assignment and avoiding the dreaded “blank page.” A creative jumpstart. And I can’t help but feel that in only a matter of months, this whole topic of using AI to help start a creative assignment will feel very commonplace. It will be equivalent to how we use Google search so often in our day-to-day lives.

And maybe perhaps this is the end of writer’s block? (Probably not).

Truth is, I think we all need that spark of motivation that comes from ‘uncertainty’, something that pushes us to explore.

And now, not only can we explore our thoughts in our own head, or run it past a trusted friend or colleague, we can also take our creative thoughts for spin with AI (and of course, take it or leave it.)

About the author (generated by ChatGPT)

Meet Lee Margolis, Mofilm’s Global Executive Creative Director. Since joining Mofilm in 2017, Lee has been instrumental in bringing together a diverse pool of filmmakers and clients to create incredible collaborative successes. From DoorDash to Enfamil, Goldman Sachs to Crown Royal, and Target to many others, Lee’s expertise has guided the development of work across multiple phases of the content and filmmaking process.

As Executive Creative Director, Lee connects brands to Mofilm’s network of 10,000 talented and passionate filmmakers. What drew Lee to Mofilm was the platform’s ability to champion makers and filmmakers, as summed up in the company’s creed: “Many voices are better than one.” Together with a team of producers, strategists, filmmakers, and creators, Lee ensures that every project is expertly crafted, from casting the right filmmaker to final production.

Before joining Mofilm, Lee built a successful career in the agency world, working at renowned shops such as R/GA and Chiat/Day on brands like NFL, MasterCard, Verizon, and Google. But Lee’s interests go beyond the world of film and advertising.

Lee is an amateur graffitist and loves to doodle, bringing creativity to all aspects of life. Lee is also a proud vegan-taco-eater, donut enthusiast, and has a proud Pitbull owner. But above all, Lee is passionate about championing filmmakers and creatives around the world. Lee truly believes that many voices are better than one and tirelessly works to bring diverse groups of talented people together to create amazing content.

So there you have it – Lee Margolis, a brilliant GECD and an all-around amazing person. Who knows what kind of incredible work Lee will create next.