AI, DJing, and the Fight to Protect Real Creativity
Over the past week, there’s been a lot of buzz about ChatGPT’s new AI design features. It’s exciting, no doubt — anyone can now fast-track their design output without the cost, time, or effort of hiring skilled design professionals. But beneath the excitement lurks a harder question: are we inadvertently undermining a valuable art form? And worse — are we stepping into an AI design vortex we can’t get out of?
It’s a question that feels familiar to me, because I’ve seen something similar happen in one of my other passions: DJing.
When Everyone Becomes a DJ
Thanks to technology, anyone can now become a DJ. With a few weeks of practice, you can master the basics, like beatmatching, and confidently play to a room full of friends. It’s fun, it’s accessible, and it’s opened doors for thousands of hobbyists and aspiring DJs.
But here’s the catch: this convenience comes at the expense of the art form. True creativity — the kind that develops from years of curating records, understanding what moves a crowd, and learning the hard lessons of what works (and what doesn’t) — is being eroded.
Mastering vinyl DJing takes years. And here’s the truth: not everyone who learns the technical skills ever really masters the art. I know this firsthand — I struggled with it myself, even when I was fairly good (which sounds contradictory, I know). But that struggle is part of what makes it special.
Interestingly, many digital DJs today are buying analogue turntables and vinyl again, either to reconnect with the craft or to bolster their credibility by playing vinyl sets. It’s a telling sign: even in an age of shortcuts, the hunger for authenticity remains.
The Same Story in Design
I’m not a designer myself — I don’t have those skills — but I know what good design and good designers look like. Over the years, I’ve worked with incredibly talented creatives, including some I hired straight out of university.
One of my favourite interview questions was simple: Can you draw?
Most would say yes — but they’d also confess they did it mainly for personal projects or just for fun. For me, that was a green-light moment. It signalled that they not only understood the design software but also had some artistic grounding — analogue skills they could bring into their digital work.
This blend of analogue and digital is where the magic happens.
The Big Question: Who’s in Control?
I’m no Luddite — I love new technology, and I fully appreciate the ways AI can empower and enable. But I’m also a purist.
I believe the best people to control these tools should be the professionals they appear to threaten — the designers, the artists, the creatives — not just anyone who can type in a prompt and generate instant output.
And yet, it’s starting to feel like the horse has bolted.
Where Do We Go From Here?
So here’s the challenge:
Can anyone now claim the title of designer just because they’ve mastered a few AI tools?
Can we embrace AI while still valuing and safeguarding human creativity, skill, and art forms?
These are the questions we need to be asking — because while AI can do many things, it can’t (and shouldn’t) replace the depth, nuance, and heart that come from human creators.
Final Thoughts
As we race forward with AI, let’s not forget to look back. Let’s remember what makes art — whether it’s design or DJing — meaningful: the hours of practice, the mistakes, the struggle, the craft.
And let’s make sure the tools serve the creators, not the other way around.
