AI as a Tool for Creative Expression

What if we see generative AI not solely as a threat to creatives, but also a powerful new tool for creative expression?

Don’t get me wrong: I’m very familiar with the fears and criticism around AI. Just have a look at the tag “Criticism” on this page. It’s important to acknowledge and document these discussions: AI takes away jobs, it can produce bland and soulless content, it learns its skill by digesting vast amounts of human created works without proper reimbursement or acknowledgment, it uses precious resources, and crazy looking amounts of money are poured into it right now.

All of these are valid concerns.

But what if that’s only part of the story? What if we started to see generative AI also as a brand new part in our creative toolkit? What if we looked at it as today’s version of the synthesizer, the digital camera, or Photoshop?

There’s a case to be made that AI can elevate creativity, that it empowers people, that it enables new forms of expression.

I’m not sure if I’m the right person to make this case.

But in this text, I will give it a try.

Valid Concerns

The concerns around AI come from a place of genuine anxiety about the future of creative work.

There’s the “efficiency trap”: the fear that our clients will no longer value the thoughtful, time-consuming creative process, but will instead expect instant results for a fraction of the cost. I’ve experienced that myself. In these cases, AI is not seen as a tool to elevate your content, although that’s also possible: My favorite example is how Deep Research Tools can help me add useful facts, figures, insights, and quotes to the long-form articles I often write. Instead AI is an accelerator to deliver more content, quicker, cheaper.

This directly leads to the question of job security: Will we be replaced by software? Will there only be a fraction of people working in our field whose new job is to be AI managers instead of content creators?

Then there’s the criticism of the output itself. We’ve all seen it: AI-generated text that feels hollow, images with a forgettable look, and videos that are just plain boring. When used without professional skills, AI can absolutely lead to a sea of sameness. It then produces content that is literally the average of everything it was trained on.

We also can’t ignore the foundational ethical dilemma: these powerful tools were built by consuming the collective creative output of anyone who has ever posted anything online, usually without permission or payment to the original creators.

I want to make sure you understand me right. I’m not an AI apologist. I’m not even an AI optimist.

But in the 50+ years of my life I’ve seen more than one radical change. And if something new comes around like a home computer (what a quaint term!), a web browser, or a smart phone I wonder: What does this enable that wasn’t possible yet? What can I do with this I couldn’t do before?

The reason is probably my inner duality. On the one hand, I see myself as a creative person. I’ve earned my living with writing and other forms of “content creation” for more than 30 years. On the other hand, I’m also a little nerd.

A Familiar Story?

That nerd in me vividly remembers the skepticism and resistance around previous technological shifts. As a Gen X-er who grew up during the microcomputer revolution, I’ve seen this before. When digital illustration became viable, a common dismissive take was, “Oh, the computer drew it, not you.” People unfamiliar with the process didn’t understand that a graphic tablet and software were just tools, like a brush or a pencil, that still required skill, practice, and artistic vision. But because the result was on a screen instead of a canvas, it was somehow a lesser form of art.

Or think about synthesizers in music, digital animation, Photoshop.

Heck, this same skepticism was aimed at photography in its early days. Not that I was around for that one. But you can read up on it. It was seen as a purely mechanical process, not a “true” art form. Some people will still see it that way nowadays.

Each time, a new technology was accused of being a shortcut, a cheat, a soul-less replacement for “real” artistry. People have argued that it’s not real art when the tool makes it too easy.

And each time, after the initial resistance, some creative people figured out how to use these tools to do things that were previously unimaginable. Today, they are established mediums.

The current resistance to AI feels (at least in part) like the next chapter in this story, where our definitions of art and creativity are challenged, and ultimately, expanded.

You might think: “No, no, this time it’s different!”

But is it?

The Creator’s Touch

This brings me to the core of the matter: AI is an instrument, not a musician. Think of the synthesizer: It can produce all kinds of sounds, but it takes a human to compose a song. It’s very similar with generative AI: The real “magic” is in the taste, knowledge, and skill of the person using it.

Anyone can type a few words into a prompt and get a result. Sometimes, they might even get lucky and produce something surprisingly good. But a professional creator knows why it’s good. They have the experience to see the potential in a flawed draft, the skill to iterate and refine, and the taste to make the final call. They understand storytelling, composition, color theory, or the rhythm of a well-crafted sentence.

This is where the real work hides. It’s not in the first prompt, but in the dozens of follow-ups, the editing, the curation, and the integration of AI-generated elements into a cohesive, compelling whole. Without the creator’s touch, AI-generated content remains raw, unrefined output. With it, it can become part of something truly special.

And you know where else the actual work is hiding? In the creative process sparking this process. It’s all about the idea, the vision, the imagination.

It is about creativity.

The Creative Spark of Unpredictability

This is where it gets interesting and where generative AI is very different from a tool like Photoshop. A digital paint brush in Photoshop is deterministic: it does exactly what you tell it to do, every single time. Generative AI is not. It’s non-deterministic, which is a technical way of saying it has an element of randomness. You can give it the same prompt twice and get two different results.

I like to say that the border between what’s possible and what isn’t with a given AI tool is not a line. It’s more like a fractal: It’s seemingly endlessly complex and surprising.

Unpredictability used to frustrate me. Speaking in creative terms: I’ve always preferred drawing to painting when I was young, because I probably needed to feel in control. I never liked how paint can run and bleed in ways I didn’t anticipate. I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have the skill to achieve it.

Since then I’ve learned to loosen up and embrace surprises a bit more.

With that in mind: What if AI’s unpredictability isn’t a flaw? What if it’s a unique feature with a lot of potential?

Working with AI can be like collaborating with a creative partner who has a mind of its own. You guide it, but you also have to be open to its surprising suggestions. Sometimes it misunderstands you in a way that sparks a new and maybe better idea.

This back-and-forth, this dance between control and surprise, can push you out of your creative ruts and lead you down paths you might have not discovered on your own. It’s in those “happy accidents” that creative expression can be found.

Furthermore, you can also quickly experiment (or as the nerd in me would say: “iterate”). Especially AI image generators can be great for that.

I’ve learned: The more specific your idea, the harder it is to get results with today’s AI tools. It’s not impossible, but it needs skill and patience.

At other times, I’m actively using this “flaw”: I’m intentionally vague when prompting an AI, just to see what happens. Then it’s more like a brainstorming session. I might discard the results. I might start over. Or maybe there’s something in there worth expanding on.

In other words: It depends on the situation and the goal.

A Personal Example

To make this less abstract, let me give you a personal example: this very website, the Smart Content Report. Simply put, it would not exist without AI. It’s a passion project, meaning it doesn’t earn me a cent (yet). But with the help of AI, I can summarize articles to stay up-to-date, get assistance in drafting my own pieces, and generate illustrations.

Most importantly, I can easily publish in both German and English. As a native German speaker who has lived in the U.S. for over a decade, my English is decent, but not professional. AI helps bridge that gap, allowing me to edit its translations and suggestions to a level I’m happy with. It has enabled a project that would otherwise be impossible due to time and resource constraints.

Smart Content Report has proven very useful for myself. And maybe other people will find it useful as well.

To give you an even more specific example: This very editorial was written in collaboration with Gemini.

I first recorded myself talking about the general topic and the points I wanted to make. I used AI to transcribe this recording (locally on my computer with MacWhisper).

Then I gave the transcript to Gemini to make it into an outline. After correcting a few things, the writing started: The AI gave me the first draft of a part, I often edited heavily or completely rewrote the text. I asked it for feedback and decided if I wanted to incorporate it or not.

And then we moved on to the next part until we were done.

This editorial has my name attached to it, because I see it as my own piece. I had help from an AI. But I was the one in charge. These are my thoughts. This is my perspective.

It is my creative expression.

Final Word

So, is generative AI a threat to creativity? Yes, it can be. If we allow it to replace skill with speed, and taste with averages, then the fears are justified. It also feels like it’s getting even harder to earn a living with creative work.

But hopefully I was able to make my point: There’s also another way to look at it. AI can be a complex, powerful, and fascinating new tool.

And when such a tool is in the hands of a skilled creator with vision, taste, and experience, it can become an extension of their own creativity. It can unlock new possibilities, spark unexpected ideas, and enable projects that were once out of reach.

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