Balancing Act: A Guide to Embracing AI

In our radically changing Information Age, the integration of artificial intelligence in art and business is exciting, controversial, groundbreaking and frightening. Ethics and integrity are called into question and frankly, it takes a delicate balancing act to use AI in a manner that the general public finds palatable. People have strong opinions on AI (as they should) and artists, writers, content creators seem to have a fear that AI will replace them and wipe out their careers and livelihood entirely. The future we live in is entirely uncertain and perhaps there is no “right” answer at this point in time to the questions being asked. But there are definitely ways to lean in, coexist, and partner with AI that can make these advancements feel more organic to the creative process.

As an artist and marketer, there’s a particularly unique challenge of staying authentic in creative pursuits while leveraging AI's capabilities. In this blog post, I’ll explore how to navigate this dual role, outlining how to ensure that AI enhances rather than dilutes authenticity in both capacities.

1. Defining Authenticity in Art and Marketing

Begin by understanding what authenticity means to you in both your artistic and marketing endeavors.

For me, it’s maintaining my style and creative voice I’ve developed within my writing, photography and branding over the course of my career and artistic journey.

Ask yourself about your core values. What message do you aim to convey through your work? What do you always wish to maintain?

This could mean several things, and often times this is one of the hardest questions to answer quickly. However it’s important to recognize that authenticity can take different forms (how you view yourself, your social media presence, your media channels, your branding, etc.) but it always involves a genuine connection between yourself and your audience.

2. Leveraging AI as a Creative Assistant

AI can help you do things faster. Some AI tools can uncover trends and audience insights based on data analysis. Other tools can write website and social media content for you. And some can generate artwork for you based on your specific textual cues.

Using AI as a “creative assistant” to spark new ideas, streamline processes, and gather inspiration can cut down your to-do list, lift you out of a creative rut, and serve as a cost effective method of consolidating tasks.

There are so many possibilities of how it could enhance your work and make your life easier, not necessarily subtract what makes you uniquely you.

I’d be remiss not to acknowledge that it also takes time to learn how to converse with the AI tools in order to fully integrate them into your workflow, but there are plenty of online tutorials and tech nerds like me that can do this for you. But like anything, learning curves are best navigated when you lean in.

3. Curating AI-Generated Content

While AI can generate content, it's your role as the artist, marketer and “master of the tool” to curate, discern and refine it to align with your artistic vision or marketing strategy.

As this technology is still taking off, AI tools are becoming more advanced and increasingly more user friendly for the general public. Services like ChatGPT-4 now combine text and visual capabilities based on human input and depending on what the output is, you can choose the content that resonates with your message and style, and modify it within the platform as needed to maintain your unique touch. Or as the old adage goes, you can always “fix it in post”.

Net-net here: You know what’s best for your artwork, brand and strategy by remembering your core values mentioned in my first point. Your intuition can’t be replaced by machine learning. You have access to use powerful tools to generate content for you but your human brain and mastery of your craft yield more value.

4. Staying Informed and Ethical

This is big one: Stay informed about AI's capabilities and limitations, and understand the ethical considerations surrounding AI in both art and marketing.

A lot of artists hold issue with how some mainstream generative AI tools “scrape” the internet for existing art styles and mimic those styles with no credits to the original artist. Many other artists are incensed by how AI generated images are being misrepresented and positioned as genuine photographs when they are, in fact, enhanced or created by art AI tools. These issues are unquestionably problematic and are totally valid, and also come with a very large, murky grey area.

My advice: Ensure that the AI tools and platforms you use align with your ethical standards, respecting data privacy and copyright regulations. Be aware and discerning of the tools you’re using and how it sources its data. And also, be honest about your AI usage. If you are creating artwork or photographs, transparency about the project is best way to overcome the ethics and authenticity dilemma.

5. Maintaining a Human Touch

Whether in art or marketing, preserve the human element. AI should complement, not replace, the personality your art or brand brings to the table.

Share stories about your personal and creative journey and your brand's soulful substance. While AI offers an unprecedented amount of value to your work and workflow, it can’t replace actual soulful substance.

7. Evaluating and Adapting

Engage with your community on what AI means to them. Having actual conversations with people in your circles on AI is the best way to break free of any echo chambers you may have found yourself in.

Involve your audience in discussions about AI's impact on your creative process or marketing strategies. Listen to their feedback, questions, and concerns regarding AI's role in your work.

Be open to new thoughts, adaptation, and making adjustments to your approach based on this feedback. As the technology evolves, so do the conversations and attitudes. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming there is a right and wrong opinion. The world is changing and the distance between you, your work, and AI can do just the same.

The Wrap Up

As an artist, creator, marketer or digital nomad, the unique opportunity to embrace AI in your work has fallen in your lap. This doesn’t mean overwriting or shadowing your authentic identity, it means there’s a chance to partner with AI as a creative assistant to bring efficiency and new scalability to your work.

By remaining committed to your core values, humanity and and soulful connections with your audience, you can strike a balance that allows technology to enhance the hard work you’ve already put in to your projects. Remember: authenticity is not about resisting change but about harnessing it to amplify your message and impact.

AI is a new and very powerful tool in your tool belt; work with it, overcome the fear of it, and master it. The evolution of your art, brand, writing or business will be telling of this bold move in this strange new world.