On Artificial Intelligence
THE “AI” THAT DOESN’T STAND FOR ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR.
Hate it. The end.
Just kidding. Sort of… My relationship with AI is more complicated than that, but my opinion of it overall is growing more and more negative every day. So, let’s talk about that.
WHAT DO I LIKE ABOUT AI?
Artificial Intelligence can be a very helpful tool in a lot of different areas. Because it has access to knowledge across every field of expertise, it can help a person learn a skill or a concept that is outside of their personal comfort zone.
Graphic design is my area of expertise, byt sometimes, I have to work with a new piece of software for my designs and might use ChatGPT to explain how to use the UI.
I also used to be a big fan of AI images and used to use them in a lot of my designs. I didn’t ask AI to generate images because I didn’t want to think of ideas for my designs but because I had big ideas that it could bring to life.
I am a designer, not an artist. I can’t draw much and I don’t really have the time to learn. For a while, AI seemed like a great opportunity to make the ideas I had real because I couldn’t do so myself.
At this point, I’ve stopped using AI images entirely... But more on that later. The point is that AI helped me get complex images out of my head and into the real world. And I really liked that for a while.
I am also kind of in love with Canva AI - specifically its ability to code. As a web designer, I usually use web builders to design sites because, while I can code enough to get by, coding takes FOREVER.
Canva AI can code simple software incredibly fast. It makes a lot of mistakes and would be nearly impossible to work with to make a website for a business, BUT it has helped me to make software for my own personal use in just days. Canva AI has helped me create a design approval system, a college progress tracker (because the one on the actual school website SUCKS), and a daily time-management system that’s super easy to use.
I would never have made any of these on my own because I don’t have time, but AI does have the ability to make our ideas a reality.
So that’s the good part.
WHAT DO I HATE ABOUT AI?
Mostly… I’m just plain tired of it. AI IS EVERYWHERE. You cannot get away from it. On the TV? AI generated ads. On social media? AI generated videos. On Spotify? AI generated music. I’m pretty sure we’re all sick of it.
There’s also just this feeling that comes with seeing anything AI. As soon as I see an AI generated design, I get so angry because I feel like I’m being tricked.
I feel like the person who posted it must have thought before publishing, “No one will ever know this is AI. It looks so good.”
Well, I’m not stupid. I know that it’s AI. And it makes me want to have nothing to do with your business.
When I used to use a lot of AI images, it was partly because AI images were new. They seemed like they stood out. I hadn’t seen any other IT company post an image of a knight fighting a virus. People would think that was so cool when they saw it.
Now, I don’t think that image would stand out. It would stand in with a million other AI generated images, and people would want to stop seeing posts from the IT company I was working for.
I hate seeing AI, so why would I post it?
The second issue is just the way that people use AI. Again, AI is a tool. I like using AI to bring my ideas to life (used to at least), but too many people use AI to be creative for them.
I have been guilty of this before. I enjoy designing the images for social media posts, but thinking of post ideas is absolute torture for me. I would much rather be told what the post will be and create an graphic to go with it.
So, at times when I haven’t been given a post idea, I have used AI to think of some for me. But I have stopped doing this as well.
No one connects with a business over AI-generated posts because people want to connect with PEOPLE.
This is my biggest issue behind AI music. I don’t just like music because it’s fun. I like it because I feel like I can connect with the artist over it. When there is no artist, I’m not actually connecting with anybody. And that almost defeats the point of listening to a song for me.
When it comes to social media posts, the same thing is applicable. People only respond to posts that make them feel like they know the people in the company - that make them feel connected to real people and real help if they need it. Using AI-generated social posts, websites, or images betrays a viewer’s trust and doesn’t actually tell them anything about YOU.
TO SUM UP.
I will not be using AI in any of my designs, and if you are a small business (or a corporation because a lot of them are making the same mistakes), I would strongly discourage you from relying too heavily on AI, especially for your advertising.
AI has its perks, but often, when a person sees it in your marketing, they are bound to think negatively on you and your business. So be cautious.
