AI Has Risen
And it’s not coming for your job.
It’s coming for your mediocrity.
It doesn’t need a desk.
It doesn’t get tired.
It doesn’t care about your portfolio, your degree, or your “process.”
It just shows up.
Faster. Cheaper. Relentlessly average, and on demand.
If your edge was effort…
If your value was velocity…
If your creativity is templated, templatable, or trapped in tools…
I am here to inform you, AI has already won.
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This isn’t new.
AI has died before.
Twice, in fact.
The 1970s, and then again in the ’90s.
False starts, and a lot of unfulfilled promises.
It was eventually buried under its own ambition.
But in 2012, deep learning clawed its way out of the grave.
Then came the transformers.
Then ChatGPT.
And suddenly, an AI resurrection.
A bit of an AI Easter if you will.
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But what changed this time?
The tech clicked.
But so did the infrastructure:
• Data: The internet became its brain.
• Compute: Nvidia made it scalable.
• Breakthroughs: Transformers made it useful.
• People: Hinton, LeCun, Bengio lit the fire.
• Teams: OpenAI, DeepMind, Google Brain fanned the flames.
• You: Whether you’ve adopted it or not, you’re already living in its world.
AI didn’t disrupt the creative industry.
It out-evolved it.
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And now, the middle is gone.
You’re either a high priest of taste…
or you’ll be gone next.
Because let’s be real, AI can:
• Write better.
• Design faster
• It can also analyze quicker, iterate endlessly, and it will never ask for PTO.
But here’s what it can’t do:
• Invent meaning.
• Craft myths.
• Build brands people believe in.
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Greg Isenberg said in his post today:
“The Creative Director is the new power hire. Taste is now a growth lever.”
He’s right. But let’s be honest:
“Creative Director” has become a default title. A safe middle ground.
The creative leader of tomorrow won’t be a job title. They’ll be a cultural force.
Not a technician.
Not a project manager.
Not a Canva power user.
They’ll be part designer, film director, screenwriter, and spiritual brand guide.
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Strategy, ops, and execution will all be automated.
What’s left is taste. And that’s both scarce, and sacred.
So no, the AI era won’t kill creativity.
But it will kill the kind that plays it safe.
The kind that waits for briefs.
The kind that copies trends and calls it insight.
The future belongs to those who can build worlds, not just decks.
Who can create devotion, not just attention.
Who don’t just sell products,
but inspire movements.
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This isn’t an obituary for creatives.
It’s a purge.
What’s dying isn’t artistry.
It’s average.
It’s derivative.
It’s replaceable.
The ones who ultimately survive this?
They won’t be the best at execution.
They’ll be the best at belief.
This is your moment.
Lead or be left.
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🙏