AI for Creative Is Mostly Crap

There's a terrifying trend that is happening all across technology: the use of AI in all things creative, including writing, graphic design, photography, film, music, and much, MUCH more.

Here's the problem with AI - it doesn't understand humans because it isn't a human. In fact, AI isn't even "intelligence" because it cannot think for itself and can't create new concepts that don't already exist. AI is still an input-output system. The difference now is that the inputs and feedback about the outputs are stored in massive data centers that allow it to pull from a ton of information. It's not that AI can think for itself; it's that we have the computing and storage power to make it seem like it's thinking for itself.

This means that AI is only as useful as the information it pulls and the directions and guidance that a user gives it, and can only create things that have already been created. Oftentimes, AI misses the point entirely because, well, AI is a robot and not a human.

Here is the creative that META AI suggested we run in a campaign for our client, The Big Squeeze.

META's AI:

And here is the REALLY terrible graphic that META's Ad AI made:

This is, to put it lightly, absolute crap. If a marketer didn't check META's AI (which, by the way, you have to toggle the AI variations OFF as they are defaulted to ON), then these ads would run alongside what was actually made. What does this tell the potential customer? Here's a list of things that we would immediately think:

• This product is fake, or it's a scam

• This product is not high quality. (The Big Squeeze is engineered to be ergonomic, and it's a completely US-based company. The owner and engineer, Steve, created this product in Colorado, and all manufacturing is done in the United States.)

• This business/ brand is lazy and doesn't pay attention.

• Maybe this ad is a joke to get views. Still don't trust it, though.

The real core of the issue is that the AI ads completely miss the use of this tool. It is for squeezing product out of TUBES, and I don't see a single tube. The Big Squeeze is also for professionals rather than everyday consumers. Think Shoe Goo, Expensive Tube Paints, Hair Color, mechanic lubricants, etc. In fact, very few people use the Big Squeeze in their kitchen because not much comes in tubes other than specialty pastes like tomato paste and anchovy paste. META's AI completely missed the mark on how a human would actually use this product. We don't even have to mention trying to squeeze a bottle of Olive Oil through the Big Squeeze (which is what I assume is happening in the last photo).

For comparison, here are some graphics the Zova Marketing Team has made:

Yeah... there's a pretty big difference. We've positioned The Big Squeeze as more of a tool for professionals, and AI took it as an everyday use kitchen item. Definitely the wrong direction.

AI just isn't good for creative work. AI is good for a number of other types of work, like coding and technical assistance, brainstorming (but not creating or polishing ideas), standard spell and grammar check, and other more straightforward, linear processes. But creative - that's a no. Your brand is your organization's personal identity, and things like colors, fonts, iconography, and vocabulary all play a huge part in how people perceive, interact with, and ultimately make decisions about your brand. You don't want to let AI mess that up.

So why is AI popping up literally everywhere with no way to get rid of it or opt out? There's a big reason for that, but that will be an article for another day.

Stay human and keep creating for humans.