Do you trust AI’s creative judgment?
Martin Maričák
13 replies
I don’t trust AI’s creative judgment, and yet I use it.
Using AI makes sense for some parts of the creative process:
🟢 AI is good for refinement.
🔴 But not good enough to make a final touch.
🟢 AI can be great sparring partner during ideation.
🔴 But not good enough to make something that’s novel.
I found these two mental models helpful when thinking about using AI for creativity:
1. McDonald’s theory
When co-workers can’t decide where to go for a lunch, Jon Bell recommends McDonald’s.
“It’s as if we’ve broken the ice with the worst possible idea, and now that the discussion has started, people suddenly get very creative. I call it the McDonald’s Theory: people are inspired to come up with good ideas to ward off bad ones.”
2. Creativity faucet
Julian Shapiro takes notes from Ed Sheeran, and Neil Gaiman:
“Visualize your creativity as a backed-up pipe of water. The first mile is packed with wastewater. This wastewater must be emptied before the clear water arrives.
(...)
Bad ideas, by the way, are often the clichés your brain has been overexposed to.
Once bad ideas are emptied, a surprising thing happens: better ideas begin to arrive.”
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When it comes to creative work, I don’t think of AI as my replacement:
AI surfaces the bad and the average.
It empties all the wastewater from your system.
So you can say: “This is nonsense! I have a better idea...”
What is your perspective for using AI for design and writing? Are you comfortable with posting AI generated content under your name?
Replies
Aztec Elric@aztec_elric
I trust AI for certain tasks, but I still need to select and oversee its work
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When I feel like I need a completely different idea, I use AI.
In some areas, AI is smarter than me, so I trust it.
But ultimately, I vet it myself.
I'm a bit nervous about AI taking over creative jobs. But maybe it can be a tool to enhance our creativity, not replace it altogether.
@mitchell_benn What do you think it would take for AI to have an outsized impact on creative jobs?
AI might be able to churn out decent content, but it can't capture the human voice and emotion that makes writing truly powerful.
AI doesn't have creative judgement, it's currently no more than a tool for people to use, no different than a paint brush or a wrench.
It should be used as such - use it to refine, come up with alternative ways to word things, but the core thoughts and phrases in the end should be the authors.
Rather than trust, I'd consider it more of a preference
For design, AI tools help me visualize ideas quickly. But for writing, I prefer to craft my own words to ensure they resonate authentically.
AI is a valuable tool for generating ideas and optimizing workflows. However, when it comes to creativity, nothing beats human intuition and emotion.
I see AI as a creative assistant that amplifies my capabilities. It helps me explore new possibilities, but I always refine and personalize the final output.