Relationship status with AI? "It's complicated."

I typically try to write content that offer ideas or inspiration you can use to make running and marketing your business a little easier. That said, I’m also a seeker of information because finding clarity is much more productive than handwringing, especially when it comes to AI. This topic feels equal parts worried and wondering, so here’s me asking you, is AI helping or hurting your work…or both?

The Conundrum
For creatives, this is a loaded question. If we admit to using AI, we’re probably cheaters who take the easy way out. If we say AI is soulless and, well, artificial, we’re clearly worried it’s going to replace us. These are extremes with a lot of wiggle room in between. Yes, I’ve lost business to people who’ve decided to “let Claude take the content wheel.” I’ve also been hired to untangle the slop that AI can generate so, for now, I guess I’m even.

More than 88% of all professionals, including creatives, now say they leverage AI for their work. How often they use it is hard to say but until recently, I was (kind of smugly) in the very small minority. After all, writing gives me energy and purpose and a creative outlet that I love. Why would I ever want to outsource that??

The Reckoning
Creating original content for my clients is my favorite part of my work. But now and then, when I need to come up with headlines for my own blogs or posts for my company, all my words take a hike. Tired of wasting so much time for so little copy, I decided to let AI take a crack at it. Having dipped a toe into what I deemed the dark side, some parts are as bad as I thought, but I’ve also discovered (gasp!) some redeeming qualities. Here, for your consideration, are a few highs and lows from one rather new and very part-time user’s perspective.

The Not So Bad

I love the creative process, but I also believe in working smarter, not harder. In those times when I’m spinning my wheels trying to write content for myself, AI delivers a virtual brainstorming session that helps me create something that’s all my own. “All my own” is a really important point. I know every result that gets generated came from someone else’s brain. I choose to honor their good thinking not by saying thanks as I cut and paste, but by using it as a place that gets my own thoughts rolling.
My client base represents a wide range of industries and sometimes the learning curve is pretty steep. In those situations, AI can offer a quick way to start broadening my view on a topic. Working solo can also lead to siloed thinking so having different perspectives to consider is another win in my book. My caveat here is to always fact check. Accepting hallucinations or half-truths as gospel is not a good look.
Sometimes AI’s results are just hilariously terrible, and who couldn’t use a good guffaw these days? My favorite is the time I asked it to redesign my back yard and it inexplicably chose to dangle a ten-foot bra from one of my pine trees. That bold suggestion was not implemented but I did give AI full credit for the belly laugh.

The Not So Good

From strained water resources and power grids to the proliferation of new data centers, every query has a direct impact on our environment. AI isn’t the only bad actor, of course. But when I learned using it for party tricks like flipping my yard takes as much energy as powering several houses for several days, it was easy to stop using it “just for fun”. The giant bra may have helped solidify that decision.
Whether we’re asking AI to massage a design or edit our words, we’re feeding the machine and giving it permission to use whatever we hand over. I know our data gets scraped in multiple ways, sometimes without our knowledge or consent. But to willingly offer up my work so it can possibly masquerade as someone else’s work hits different.
AI has some mind-blowing capabilities, but it still doesn’t churn out great creative, even with great prompts. AI-generated graphics are easy to spot because they’re weirdly, perfectly imperfect. AI content reads flat and the syntax is off, and don’t get me started on the poor maligned em dash. If you want design that reflects the soul of your brand, hire a graphic designer. If you want content with heart, hire a writer with a heartbeat.

Like it or hate it, I think we can agree that AI is here to stay in some iteration. I’m really curious to know what aspects (if any) make your work easier and which ones (if any) make you wish it didn’t exist. There are no right or wrong answers so drop a comment with your thoughts. Relationships can be hard, but if we share our best practices maybe this one doesn’t need to be.