Will Generative AI continue to bludgeon us to death with slop?

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder on the internet, Facebook released disturbing and hilarious AI profiles. After the expected backlash, our overlords at Meta pulled the release back but promised to return them soon.

The proliferation of AI agents creating content is already happening, and the move to remove humans from the equation is accelerating at breakneck speed. Is this really what the world needs right now? More AI-generated slop? We must think about the negative consequences of over-reliance on AI in communication efforts and the blandness of the design of AI agents.

That’s why the industry trend I’m most closely watching this year is generative AI’s continued adoption and growth in the graphic design and creative services industries. Just type “AI Design” into your web browser and be amazed at the results you get. Why would you ever need to hire a human again?

After you get the results of your query, it will become apparent. The AI-generated content is never quite right. You always have to tweak it and refine it to fit your needs. At this point, you need the human touch to get the results you seek.

It’s never been a better time to be in the business of creating things with all the new tools available. As a devoted Adobe user, I find the tools that Adobe continues to release and update for the Creative Cloud exceptional.

For instance, with the latest update to Photoshop, the generative fill feature has become even more sophisticated, allowing you to create life-like mock-ups easier than ever. The ability to fix images, automatically select subjects (does anyone remember cutting clipping paths for hours?), and generatively expand existing photos to fit a layout are powerful.

Frankly, it’s hard to keep up.

But like any good craftsperson, you must understand how the new tools can help you do a better job for your clients. As a person who likes to create multiple options and iterations, it has allowed me to work quicker than I have in the past and cycle through ideas faster to get to a solution.

Technology helps immensely, but the power of the pencil on paper and the thinking behind a great concept only happens with the human touch. The value of the human-centered creative process and the ability to produce designs that resonate is paramount. The massive amount of AI slop an agent can create will only help muddy your message.

This year will prove that while generative AI will help enhance the creative community efforts overall, the power of the human touch will only become more instrumental and in demand than ever. It’s about finding a balance that allows us to leverage the power of technology while preserving the unique value of human creativity in design.

Humans unite! Cheers!