Short Answer: No, AI can’t completely take over creative roles. However, they may assist creatives to lessen workload.
Have you seen tons of Ghibli art styles online over the past months? Well, most of them are AI-generated. And the scary part is it’s getting better and better to the point that it’s almost indistinguishable from the original.
AI is scary for many creatives. It’s a fact. Even I am scared of it, honestly. Many artists expressed their sentiments on social media platforms, primarily on X, about how AI has been evolving so fast that it subtly steals artwork styles from others already.
This is just the tip. Many other companies have been slowly cutting creative workforce due to the advent of AI.
Recent data shows over one in four illustrators and more than a third of translators have lost work to AI, with nearly half reporting income drops. On Glassdoor, many creatives also expressed their frustrations on how they’ve been laid off from work due to AI.
This leads to the question of whether AI can take over creative roles. While data speaks for itself, does this completely wipe out the human-touch of creative roles?
Highlights:
- Over 25% of illustrators and a third of translators have lost work to AI.
- AI can now generate art, music, and writing that can pass for human work.
- However, AI lacks genuine human experiences, cultural understanding, and strategic thinking abilities.
- Smart creatives use AI as an assistant for repetitive tasks.
- AI should augment creative work, not replace it, by handling grunt work.
Current State of AI in Creative Industries
Beyond those viral art pieces, AI has quietly invaded other creative spaces, too. Logo design, digital illustrations, and even complex graphic layouts now get churned out by algorithms in seconds.
What used to require years of design school and professional experience can now be done by anyone with a decent text prompt.
Writing has gotten hit pretty hard as well. Content creators are using AI to pump out blog posts, social media captions, and even poetry that sounds surprisingly human. Publishing companies have started using AI to screen manuscripts, which means fewer human editors get to touch those initial reviews.
In my experience, what used to be a lucrative gig turned out to be a dying practice. I used to get clients and work for multiple companies in a span of weeks; now, I’ve literally applied to at least a hundred companies but nobody has ever responded to my applications. Those who did scheduled me for interviews, but that’s just about it. They mostly ghosted me.
Even music production is wild right now. Are you familiar with the Italian brainrot trend? Well, a lot of content creators out there produce AI-generated songs for these memes. AI can compose entire symphonies or drop sick beats across any genre you want.
Still, all this AI dominance might look scary on paper, but there’s a huge gap between generating content and truly understanding what makes creativity tick.
What AI Can’t Replicate
AI might be fast, but it’s missing some crucial stuff that only humans bring to the table:
- Real emotions and life experiences: AI can’t draw from heartbreak, childhood trauma, or that weird dream you had last week. They might show they are able to, but it won’t be as close as to the real one you felt or experienced. Go on, try it. I assure you it will disappoint you.
- Cultural nuance: Understanding why certain colors offend specific cultures or why a joke lands differently in different communities is something AI can’t perfectly get. Grok has been notorious for this; it’s shown funny irrelevant explanations whenever X users try to say, “@Grok, please explain.”
- Strategic thinking: AI can offer insights, but building long-term brand narratives that actually mean something is something it can’t organically do. The AI Index Report 2025 of Stanford HAI shows that AI still struggles with complex reasoning and heavily relies on pattern-recognition.
The Future Model
Instead of viewing AI as the enemy, smart creatives are treating it like a really efficient intern. Need 20 logo variations in 10 minutes? AI’s got you covered. Want to explore different color palettes or brainstorm initial concepts? Perfect AI territory.