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Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash
AI replacing creatives? It’s the big scary question everyone’s throwing around right now. But as someone who actually sometimes makes things for a living, I keep coming back to a different question:
Would you really be content just letting AI make all your content?
Sure, it’s easy to say “yes” when you’re just looking at the finished product. Generating a slick image or a chunk of code is incredibly easy now. But what about the feel of it? Both for the creator and the receiver?
For the audience, there’s a clear difference between engaging with algorithmic “content” (the kind of filler designed purely to feed a feed) and engaging with actual creative work. We connect with art because we’re connecting with the human intent behind it. When that intent is missing, the result often feels hollow.
And for the creator? Does pushing a button to generate something actually evoke a sense of accomplishment? Making things is about expression, problem-solving, and personal growth, rather than just obtaining a final asset. It’s the messy journey that gives the output its meaning.
If you’re looking at this purely from a business sense, cranking out ads or churning out quick assets to make a buck, then yes, AI is likely going to replace that kind of work. The drive to maximize efficiency and profit is very real, and there are plenty of loud voices claiming that “creatives are no longer needed” just to sell you on the latest hype cycle. We’ve seen this kind of hyper-commercialization before with other tech trends, and now we’re seeing it with generative AI.
Maybe that’s what makes some people content. For some, the win comes from jumping on a bandwagon early and making the most of it. And honestly, that’s fine. We see that cycle with every new tech trend. People chase the hype, make their money while they can, and move on when the bubble pops. But once the dust settles, the tech usually sticks around because it actually does something useful. Unlike a lot of fleeting trends, there’s actual utility here beneath all the noise.
But if you’re a creative who actually enjoys the process of making things, AI probably doesn’t replace you. If you don’t feel that spark of accomplishment after generating some AI slop, does it even have value to you?
🤔 The Feeling of Cheating
I’ve tried AI tools. I’ve created the random, trend-generated AI stuff. It’s wild to see what it can do and how fast the tech has improved. However, after that initial surprise factor wears off, you don’t really get that feeling of actually creating something. You get that feeling of cheating.
You’re missing the messy process under the hood. You miss getting stuck in the weeds and figuring your way out.
But there’s a flip side. There are things AI actually helps you with. Sometimes it acts as a collaborator, helping you make your thoughts clearer and presenting them better. So it really depends on why and how you’re using it.
Is your goal just to prove you can easily generate what someone else spent years learning to do? Or are you using it as a bridge between your design intent and reality?
🎮 Prototyping With a Collaborator
I recently tried this by building my own game prototypes. I used AI to vibe some code and generate the visuals. I don’t understand code, and I’m terrible at artwork.
The result? It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, nor did I think it was the absolute best visual direction. I also know my code is probably bad because, well, I still don’t really understand it. I have plenty of friends and talented individuals who could do those specific parts much better any day of the week.
But the real accomplishment for me was upgrading my presentation skill. I wanted to get a playable form of my idea up and running as soon as possible. The AI helped me do exactly that.
It made sense for me. I was content with it because the tool helped me cross the gap between my raw idea and a playable prototype.
I’ve written a short breakdown of this experience if you want to dig into the details. Check it out at this link:
🎨 The Fulfillment Cost
It’s true that AI makes it easy for anyone to create things now.
But when it comes to any creative endeavor, there’s a specific kind of fulfillment in the actual making of the thing. The journey you take to get there.
For example, I follow a creator who has been making some cool digital artworks by combining different prompts and sharing the results. There’s another one who mixes genres and products together to create new takes on ads. You’ve likely seen many more like them if you scroll through your feed.
Most of this is technically possible with AI today. But is it worth it?
Forget the GPU cost for a second. Think about the fulfillment cost.
GPU costs will come down, and soon we’ll all be generating whatever we want from our phones. But will it feel the same? If someone is just looking to monetize copied, low-effort work, they’re going to lose the allure of making things pretty quickly.
From my own little experience, the fun is in the journey of making things. You like your output because of the thought journey you took to get there.
When I consider my photography, I love certain photos I’ve taken because I remember the experience, what it felt like to be there, how I achieved that specific look, and the good old-fashioned procrastination I pushed through to finally edit it. The viewer might not feel the same thing, but for me, the fun was in the process.
I feel the exact same way about designing features or mechanics in games. I feel accomplished when the thing I initially thought of finally works the way I imagined. Players might still have strong opinions about it, but getting it built? That’s the reward in itself.
🛠️ Tools Are Just Tools
The tech-bro claims that “artists are doomed” usually ignore one basic fact: AI tools are just tools. You still need to know what you want to make.
Think about Photoshop. It made painting easier and more accessible. Anything you could do on a canvas, you could suddenly do digitally. Did it mean understanding art was no longer necessary? No. It just made the skill more accessible and expanded the entire industry.
Call me an optimist, but that’s the kind of future I see for AI tech right now. I could be completely wrong, and maybe we are actually doomed, who knows!
But as a creative, I implore you to ask yourself this when you’re working: Does it spark joy?
Creative effort has a feeling of fulfillment attached to it. Making a really good Excel sheet can be fulfilling! Sure, AI can handle that part. But you can still feel that same sense of success when you use AI to help you build something that you intended to make.
So if you’re using AI to help you get your thoughts out and it brings you joy, then why not?
🤖 My Own AI Workflow
To close out this topic, I want to pull the curtain back on the exact workflow I used for this very post:
I dumped a long-winded, messy rant of random thoughts into my notes.
I used a custom skill using Google Antigravity IDE that takes those raw notes and turns them into a draft for Game Design Bites.
I fed the entire note to the AI to reframe the structure and make it more cohesive.
Of course, I still checked the output, went through the details, and fixed what I felt didn’t make sense.
I also spend time manually deciding on the final title, fixing the layout, and adding images and links directly in the editor. I use AI to help brainstorm headers and SEO details too.
This workflow lets me think freely. I can dump my ideas in their rawest, messiest form, knowing I have a literal collaborator to handle the structural heavy lifting.
They say the final 20% of a task takes 80% of your time and effort. By using AI to make that first 80% easier, I can save my energy for the final 20%. That’s the part where the real craft happens, the polish, the nuance, and making sure my voice actually comes through. If I didn’t have this support, I’m pretty sure I’d have given up at the 80% mark and never bothered with that final stretch at all.
I still spend plenty of time tweaking and refining until I’m truly content with my content. But now, that effort goes into meaningful final touches rather than just agonizing over basic sentence flow.
I could have definitely done this without AI, of course. But having it there makes the process much smoother. The real reason I write these posts is to get my ideas out into the world. Effectively conveying those thoughts is what “sparks joy” for me. If a bit of help with the phrasing frees me up to just think and write, I’m all for it. At the end of the day, I’m just happy to be sharing my thoughts through this content.
📝 TL;DR
The AI panic : AI has become everywhere, leading to loud claims that creatives are dead and easily replaced.
The creative process : True fulfillment comes from the journey of making something, not just the final generated output.
The feeling of cheating : Generating complete work with AI often lacks the satisfying, messy struggle of traditional creation.
Tools as a bridge : AI is best used as a collaborator to connect your design intent with reality, like prototyping a game faster.
The fulfillment cost : While generating content is getting cheaper and easier, the personal reward of creation might be getting lost.
Knowing what to make : AI is a tool and it still requires a human to have a vision and understand the craft (for now, anyway).
Do you have any additional thoughts? Have you found a way to use these tools that actually makes you feel accomplished? I’d love to hear from you! And don’t forget to subscribe!
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