How to zig when everybody zags?

Being a creative person right now sucks. 

You practice your craft for all these years and one day AI comes and does everything you can do, and so much more, with a click of a button.

Why would anyone pay for your art? For your services? For anything you make? They can have it in an instant.

Well… for you.

I mean, if quality is not up to standard, yeah, you lost that job. But what is quality? Is it just high definition graphics? Is it a template of copywriting best practices? Or is it something else?

Sure, what (Generative) AI can do right now, is novel. People are excited. In awe. But that fades away, it always does. What does not fade away is the impact of a creative piece. And to have impact, it needs a soul. 

Yes, a drawing can have a soul. A book can have a soul, a movie can have a soul as well. That’s quality. But in order to have a soul, it has to be created from something with a soul. Not a machine. It needs to come from a place of feeling. It needs imperfection. It needs some kind of resistance while it’s being made. That’s what makes it alive.

So AI is exciting right now. But it will quickly fade away in the endless and endless of soulless “creative” products it will create.

You know what else excites people? Contrast.

And how can we use contrast in the era of digital, automated, super-fast, frictionless AI domination? How can we zig when everybody zags?

Go analog.

Analog is a slow, painful, manual, and a highly rewarding process. 

So, since everybody now is doing Generative AI creative works, when you go analog, you’re suddenly unique. People get amazed by your patience, and your love for your craft. You show them your process, your tools, you tell about your thoughts and feelings while you’re creating, and they form a connection with you.

And while they wait for your creative work to be finished, to be polished, and get delivered to them, they get excited (again).