F@#k, I’m going to be 50 this year. Where did that time go? In truth, I feel more alive than ever. I’ve launched a new collective; Cosmic Microwave (named after the Cosmic Microwave Background, the first light that travelled freely across the universe after the Big Bang). As I enter this next decade in the creative industry, I remain as curious as ever. I’m back studying at MIT on their Applied Generative AI for Digital Transformation course. It’s been a fascinating journey into LLMs, neural networks, AI ethics, agents, and more. It has solidified my belief that we’re entering a Golden Age for creativity.

But I’ve noticed something: many of my creative peers are eager to reject and belittle the potential of new AI tools. Don’t get me wrong, the pace of development is incredibly fast right now. But are ‘old dogs’ getting scared of the complexity of new tricks? 

As humans, we generally dislike change and can feel overwhelmed by it. A 2024 study from MIT and Boston Consulting Group revealed that fewer than 40% of business leaders have a strong understanding of AI’s practical applications in their organisations. 

This theme of technological overload is nothing new. The Pessimists Archive is a treasure trove of historical technophobia. Looking at its archive, in 1929, the American Federation of Musicians attacked ‘canned music’ in movie theatres, warning that automation would threaten musicians’ livelihoods. The fear of change often leads to rejection, which is remarkably similar to the anti-AI discourse I see on social media today. Too often, experienced creatives lament the ‘AI sea of sameness’ or the ‘AI aesthetic.’ But they’re missing the opportunity and potential that this new era brings.

Social is awash with little experiments with AI in image and video creation. They are just the beginning. These AI tools need direction. It’s all about the prompts, reference points and creative direction you provide. With a clear vision, you can prompt AI to create something entirely new. After all, the ‘sea of sameness’ isn’t new, advertising has been feeding that ocean for decades.

We’re now witnessing the coming wave where Gen AI can be augmented into our creative processes. AI isn’t a tool to fear but one to harness, allowing us to travel further in our creative exploration. Sure, it will create efficiencies, and some roles will become redundant, but it will also create new opportunities, roles and ways to tell stories. AI also poses a massive threat for spreading misinformation and safeguards will need to be put in place. Blatant plagiarism must be called out and copyright protected. But with the right frameworks Gen AI can be a positive force.

The Gen AI tools are nothing without their human conductor. Our lived experiences fuel their outputs. To test this theory, I set myself the challenge of creating a short experimental film using a range of AI platforms. I went from concept to final output in just four days—much faster than the traditional creative process for an animated film, which usually follows a linear timeline of concept, pre-visualisation, offline and online editing.

The film I created, entitled ‘The Boy In The TV’ tells the story of an individual trapped in a cycle of addiction, passed down through generations. The idea likely emerged from my subconscious, spurred by my concern that our kids are spending too much time on screens.

I didn’t choose to make the aesthetic hyper-realistic or filled with 8K detail, as many AI-generated films tend to be. Instead, I wanted to embrace a more analog feel, blending older devices with a near-future aesthetic, perhaps with a nod to Terry Gilliam.

I started by creating key art images of the central character in MidJourney, making tweaks in Photoshop. A conversation over lunch with my wife, C, led to the idea of a boy whose mother was addicted to TV. From there, I wrote lyrics, starting with the chorus ‘Switch it over, switch it off’, followed by the verses. I then input these into Suno, generating different musical tracks and vocal treatments. After numerous iterations, I settled on a track I liked.

Once the music was locked in, I generated more images in MidJourney to illustrate the character’s story. I then used Klingai 1.6 to animate the characters. Kling is particularly good at camera movements and was excellent at bringing my character’s facial expressions to life.

Finally, I brought the sequences into CapCut, an editing platform, to add effects, transitions and sound design. It was a highly fluid process between Kling and CapCut. I’m not claiming I created an Oscar-winning short, but I’m genuinely excited about the possibilities this workflow offers, especially for brands. With these tools, it’s now possible to maintain control over key characters and ensure consistency across scenes. Training AI on brand assets and developing characters that live in your brand world is now highly achievable.

So, what have I realised on reflection? It’s the blend of an  experienced head with the limitless possibilities offered by a group of AI sparring partners, such as Generative AI tools, that’s truly exciting. To the older creative heads, don’t berate AI, instead harness its potential to revitalise and use it to tell more powerful stories. To clients and brand owners, these tools democratise what was once the domain of a few specialists. But you still need creative talent and visionary minds to feed the machine. Here's to more dogs with AI tricks telling better, more powerful stories.