AI in Creative Industries

We Tried Replacing 1000 Human Jobs with AI The results were shocking—and not for the reasons you’d think. Here's what happened when we tried replacing 1000 freelancers with AI... 🧵 How close are we to Economic AGI? Despite all the recent talk and hype around AGI, nobody has a clue or benchmark. I previously built a $1B+/yr marketplace, and so I wanted to know: What % of human jobs on UpWork & Freelancer .com could be solved using AI today? That’s our proxy for an Economic AGI benchmark. Ryan Brandt and I scraped over 1,000 latest job postings and used the latest AI models (o1, Claude, Gemini) and agents/tools (Windsurf, Axiom, etc.) to apply for jobs and attempt to complete tasks. The results? AI could solve ~15% of tasks…but we made exactly $0. Here’s what we learned—and what this means for the future of work:👇 1️⃣ ~5% of jobs: AI could solve these in 1 shot (e.g., logo design, content writing, simple scripts) by simply pasting the request into ChatGPT Example: Someone offered $750 to update a simple logo. Another paid $20/hr to convert text PDFs to Word. Many clients were simply unaware of any AI tools 🤯 2️⃣ ~10% of jobs: AI could solve these with agents/tools (e.g., storefronts, web scraping, browser automation). 🛠️ But the agent/tooling space is messy & unreliable. People just wanted to pay for working solutions. 3️⃣ ~5% of jobs were ironically about clients delegating AI tasks to humans. (eg, use AI voice generation tools to make a voiceover) Clients want humans to "deal with it" rather than wrestling with agents themselves. 4️⃣ Most job descriptions themselves were detailed and well-written prompts, which we could directly just paste into ChatGPT! So Why Did We Earn $0? Even with AI’s power: - Pay-to-play: Workers must pay to apply to jobs. Each bid alone cost $1+ just to apply - Crowded market: Jobs attract 20+ bids, often from workers with thousands of 5 star reviews and decades of project experience - Broken UX: Platforms aren’t built for AI-driven work We applied to ~30 jobs (max limit on our plan), priced in the bottom 10th percentile, and shared full AI solutions upfront in 50% of bids. Results: - Less than 1/2 of bids were even opened - Only 6 clients replied - After multiple of back-and-forth clarifications and rework, we never got paid - Net loss: $100 in credits + API fees Lessons Learned 1️⃣ AI is here—but adoption is slow. People are stuck in old ways. 2️⃣ The AI tools/agents market is a mess. People want solutions, not more tools. 3️⃣ Traditional marketplaces aren't built for the AI economy. UpWork/Freelancer have absolute terrible UX for both sides: I’ve built a $1B+ marketplace at Super.com and am deeply passionate about this space. If you’re building in AI, Agents, or thinking about the future economic engine and AGI, I’d love to chat, help ideate and angel invest. If this resonated: like, share, follow or tag someone building in this space. What do you think the future of AI Agents and Work looks like? 👇

African filmmakers: We need to talk about AI 👽.  ⏱ While you’re spending hours in the edit suite, writing grant applications, or attending festivals, AI has already rewritten the script for the entire industry. The disruption isn't coming at some point in the vague future - it's already here. Yet, most filmmakers I meet on the continent are still treating AI as some distant Silicon Valley fantasy. The most common answer I get when I ask them what their AI strategy is? “At first I was scared, but now I use ChatGPT as my therapist.” That’s not good enough guys. 🚀 In the time that it took me to wrap my head around this post, we’ve gone from AI picturing me as a Black woman with 6 fingers to ChatGPT 4o Image Generator going viral over its perfect one-try Studio Ghibli rip-offs. This is what is happening to the film industry globally: 📝 Development can now be done in the blink of an eye: AI can produce storyboards, generate background scenes, and even draft scripts in seconds and at a fraction of traditional costs. ➡️ Your ideas are not ambitious enough (and this doesn’t mean that everyone should do superhero or epic films, dear god). 📉 Production costs are getting slashed: It doesn’t make sense anymore to raise funding for production studios in Lagos, Cape Town or Marrakech when AI is enabling creators to generate a complex historical scene from their home computer. ➡️ Your production budgets and cost structures are outdated. 🗣️Language barriers are dissolving: Seamless dubbing is now possible in minutes. The good news is, this will help your content travel across borders. But… ➡️ Businesses providing dubbing, subtitling and voice acting are dead. 🖥 Post-production has undergone a quantum shift: What used to take a team of highly skilled people weeks or even months can now be done by AI that color-grades, edits, creates sounds and even suggests scene adjustments overnight. ➡️ Editors, VFX supervisors, but also animators and game designers, your workflow is obsolete. Your job as you define it today probably is as well. AI is transforming African cinema before it even got its footing, and there is nothing we can do to stop this. The question is whether African filmmakers will guide this process or whether it will be driven by outside forces. The good news is that the same tools that major studios are using are freely available. They can be the greatest equalizers. But for this, you have to master them. Get it? ----- For more business insights on the African Creative and Sports space, subscribe to my monthly newsletter HUSTLE & FLOW: https://lnkd.in/drBY8jnz

AI Fingerprints Found in Millions of Scientific Papers, Study Reveals Introduction: The Quiet Rise of AI Authorship in Academia As large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Google Gemini become increasingly capable of producing high-quality writing, their influence is now visibly permeating academic literature. A massive study analyzing over 15 million scientific papers has uncovered measurable linguistic patterns that suggest a significant portion of biomedical research may already be shaped—at least in part—by artificial intelligence. Key Findings from the Study • The Scope of the Analysis • Conducted by U.S. and German researchers, the study focused on biomedical abstracts published in PubMed—one of the largest databases of peer-reviewed life sciences literature. • Researchers used AI-detection techniques to track stylistic patterns and word choices consistent with LLM-generated or LLM-assisted writing. • AI’s Growing Influence in Scientific Writing • The results show that at least 13.5% of scientific papers published in 2024 were likely produced with help from a large language model. • Since the emergence of tools like ChatGPT, there has been a marked increase in specific phrasing and terminology that mirrors LLM outputs. • These “AI fingerprints” suggest that AI-generated or AI-edited content is becoming increasingly normalized in academic publishing. • Implications for Research Integrity and Peer Review • The widespread use of LLMs in academia raises questions about authorship transparency, originality, and peer review standards. • Editors and journals may need to establish disclosure protocols and develop more robust AI-detection tools to maintain the integrity of published work. • While AI can assist with grammar and structure, overreliance could blur the line between assistance and authorship. Conclusion: Rethinking Scientific Writing in the AI Age This study provides compelling evidence that AI is no longer a background tool in academic research—it’s rapidly becoming a co-author. As scientific publishing adapts to this new reality, the challenge will be to harness AI’s efficiency without compromising intellectual integrity, accountability, or the human creativity that drives true discovery. https://lnkd.in/gEmHdXZy

A single Ghibli film takes 50,000 hours to draw. An AI image takes 7 seconds, and gets 7 thousand likes. In the textile town of Murshidabad in Eastern India, 19th century weavers created muslin so fine it was called 'woven air.' A single artisan spent months crafting fabric with 1,800 threads per inch, so delicate that 20 yards could pass through a ring. Indian muslin clothed emperors and queens, with each piece carrying generations of knowledge passed from master to apprentice. When British industrial looms arrived, they replicated the patterns for a fraction. A tradition dating to 3000 BC collapsed. Muslin weavers, unable to compete with mechanized efficiency, reportedly had their thumbs severed to prevent them from practicing their craft. An imperial report from 1850 coldly noted that ‘the bones of the cotton weavers were bleaching the plains of India.’ As someone from India, this was part of my education, tales of how industrial efficiency often renders cultural meaning invisible. Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli, creates hand-drawn animation where every frame flows from human hands. A single three-second scene of rain requires 300 individual drawings, each droplet placed with intention. His studio's dedication earned Spirited Away the first Academy Award for an anime film and $360 million in global box office. Following ChatGPT's latest update, social media floods with AI-generated Ghibli portraits, made with a prompt and half a cent. When I visited Japan in 2017, my host took me to a theater showing Ghibli classics after our meetings in Ginza, Tokyo. ‘To understand Japan, you must understand Miyazaki,’ he said. What followed was Spirited Away - a meditation on environmentalism, consumerism, and identity. Throughout the film, Chihiro must remember her true name to maintain humanity in a world where greed transforms humans into monsters. When Miyazaki encountered AI animation, he stated: ‘I am utterly disgusted. This is an insult to life itself.’ Something essential was missing - the understanding that comes through human creation. In Murshidabad, weavers embedded prayers into fabric, with certain patterns reserved for specific ceremonies. Their fingers carried history and cultural identity woven into each thread. The Hermès Birkin is handcrafted over 48 hours by artisans who train for years, versus a ‘Wirkin’ replica. Though identical to the eye, one carries tradition, craftsmanship, and heritage. Which would we rather own? Joseph Campbell observed that ‘what we're seeking is an experience of being alive.’ Perhaps this explains why we still seek handcrafted goods, original art, and human connection. The meaning isn't in the appearance but in the human story behind creation. What happens when we get the product without the meaning behind it? As AI generates perfect simulacra of human creativity, we face a question more profound than tech capability: what becomes of the meaning we once found in human creation?

For the first time, Nano Banana’s AI agent can design across all mediums: images, video, 3D, music, even voiceovers. Honestly, this makes me rethink my entire view of creativity. I used to believe design was defined by tools—the brush, the camera, the editing suite. But if one agent erases those boundaries, then what even is a “designer” anymore? I catch myself wondering: will future creatives introduce themselves not by their craft, but by their perspective? In my opinion, this isn’t just another creative tool—it feels like the beginning of a new design era. I’ve spent years switching between Photoshop, Premiere, Blender, and Ableton. Suddenly, all of that fits into a single agent. It’s thrilling… and unsettling. Here’s what it means: → Creative disciplines are converging. → The barrier to professional-level work is collapsing. → The role of “designer” itself may be redefined. Here’s how I think we can stay ahead in this new landscape: ✅ Focus on taste and judgment—the one thing AI can’t replicate. ✅ Build multi-modal fluency: don’t just know visuals, learn sound and interaction. ✅ Treat AI as an amplifier, not a replacement—bring in your unique point of view. The real shift is this: creativity is moving from production to direction. From “how do I make this?” to “why should this exist?” And that, to me, is both exciting and terrifying—because it means the creative field is no longer about tools. It’s about judgment. 👉 So here’s the debate: will this new wave of AI usher in a golden age of creative abundance—or a race to creative sameness? #AI #Creativity #FutureOfWork #Design #Innovation Video credits: x.com

If I were starting as a designer in 2026, here's what I'd do: Most designers are optimizing for the wrong things. Being good at Figma is no longer how you stand out. AI will become better at polishing UI than most designers anyway. What matters now is knowing what to build, recognizing product quality, and articulating intent clearly enough that AI becomes your best sparring partner. That's the new designer skill set worth betting on in 2026. If you have clear thinking, good visual taste, and judgment about what to build, you'll win. When anyone can execute at a baseline level, your product mindset becomes your only differentiator. So here's the thing: developing that mindset is way harder than developing technical skills. But no one is born with it, it all comes through practice. You need to ship and ship and ship until you get really good at it. So if I were starting today, here's what I'd focus on: 1/ Develop your product mindset before pro tool skills Study great products obsessively. Ask why things work. Build your internal quality bar for what good looks like. 2/ Learn to articulate your intent clearly AI execution is only as good as your clarity of thought. Practice describing what you want in specific, unambiguous language. Prompting is the new wireframing. 3/ Ship constantly, not perfectly Excellence comes through repetition. Build 10+ versions of something rather than perfecting one in isolation. 4/ Understand the full stack enough to be effective You don't need to code, but understand how AI systems connect. Take advantage of MCPs, agents, and automations to build end-to-end experiences. 5/ Develop strong opinions Your value isn't speed. It's knowing what's worth building and recognizing quality when you see it. You'll win as a designer by developing clear vision and sharp taste, then using AI to execute at impossible speed. The golden age of the design founder is here. But only if you're developing the right muscles.

We’ve just stepped into a new era of creativity. The Mokobara ad film you see here wasn’t shot in a studio. No cameras, no actors, no locations. Every single frame — the characters, the settings, the visuals — was generated through prompts using generative AI. Think about that for a moment. What once required casting calls, production crews, weeks of planning, and expensive shoots… can now be done in hours with a keyboard. This isn’t the future. This is happening now. So what does this mean for us as creators, brands, and storytellers? It means the playing field is changing. The technical barriers are falling away. What used to take deep pockets and big teams is being democratized by AI. But here’s the key: tools may change, but the power of storytelling won’t. In a world where anyone can generate visuals, the real differentiator will be the story you tell. The ability to connect with an audience, move them, and inspire action will matter more than ever. Generative AI will keep getting better, faster, and more accessible. But it will never replace the uniquely human spark that gives stories meaning. The future belongs to those who can combine imagination with storytelling — and let technology do the rest. 👉 What do you think — will storytelling become even more valuable in the age of AI? Mokobara Ad created by Aaron & Pranay Maurya | | Somya Parikh | Raghav Shrivastava | Aaron Gabriel C. | #Mokobara #GenAI #AIAds #AIFilmMaking #Marketing #Storytelling

The conversation around AI in Hollywood is shifting fast – and how it gets built matters more than ever. I work closely with leaders across studios, streaming platforms and global franchises. Media and entertainment companies need to create more content, faster, while staying true to their brand and IP. And they need partners who honor the craft, nuance and authenticity that define great creative work. The stakes are high. Demand for content is rising while timelines are shrinking. And no studio, streamer or franchise can afford to sacrifice the originality that sets their work apart, whether they’re expanding beloved characters and franchises or creating stories that are entirely new. Studios want to partner with companies that share their commitment to the integrity of their IP – companies that truly understand creativity, how it scales and what it takes to protect it. For decades, Adobe technology has been at the center of how films get made. Our tools have earned multiple Academy Awards for scientific and technical achievement, and filmmakers have relied on them to cut, shape and finish their own award-winning films. We understand firsthand what’s at stake in the day-to-day realities of production. The director who needs a reshoot while lead actors are halfway around the world. The animator who must maintain character consistency across hundreds of shots in a single series. The studio launching a franchise film across dozens of markets and languages, with every asset needing to stay true to their brand. That's exactly why we built Adobe Firefly Foundry. Foundry enables media and entertainment companies to build and train custom AI models on their own IP. Their characters. Their worlds. Their visual language. Teams can maintain character consistency in pre-visualization, generate hundreds of thousands of on-brand assets quickly and compress the timeline from concepting through post-production. Every output across image, video and audio stays aligned to their story's creative identity. It also gives studios something just as important: the ability to collaborate with creators thoughtfully while expanding access to their IP. This means that as they scale, studios still protect their actors, their characters and the integrity of their work. Creativity is too important to be a side bet. At Adobe, we're deepening four decades of partnership with the creative industry and working hand-in-hand with creators, studios and media organizations to shape what comes next. Really excited about what the next forty years of storytelling will bring. https://lnkd.in/gy6cr942

AI is turning history from static pages into living experiences. Have you seen this one? This video visualising Mecca’s transformation in Saudi Arabia across centuries shows how AI can compress hundreds of years of urban, cultural, and architectural change into minutes — with clarity no textbook can match. Why this matters: 🧠 Education impact Studies show visual learning improves information retention by up to 65% compared to text-only formats Immersive and interactive content increases student engagement by 2–3× AR/VR and AI-powered visual tools are projected to become a $28B+ education market by 2030 Urban & historical visualisation AI can process satellite data, maps, archives, and imagery spanning hundreds of years What took historians months to explain can now be understood in seconds Governments and institutions increasingly use AI visualisation for heritage preservation and city planning Business impact The same technology is already transforming enterprises: Companies using immersive training report 30–40% faster onboarding Visual AI reduces decision-making time by up to 50% in complex projects Interactive storytelling improves stakeholder understanding and alignment by ~70% The real shift AI turns data, history, and strategy into experience. And experience drives: Faster learning Better decisions Stronger trust Measurable ROI If AI can clearly visualise centuries of Mecca’s evolution, imagine what it can do for: Infrastructure roadmaps Smart city planning Product strategy Customer journeys The future won’t be explained in slides. It will be shown, simulated, and experienced. #AI #Visualization #EdTech #DigitalTransformation @zushka.ai #SmartCities #FutureOfLearning #BusinessInnovationvia

As a CMO, one of my top priorities right now is working out what role AI will play in our marketing work at Google. In my experience, Creatives are always the first to play with new tools, and AI is the most exciting sandbox yet. I believe this moment could be a fundamental shift in how we create, allowing us to have impossible ideas and to do things we never could before. While it is still early days, we are already seeing AI revolutionise our workflows, whether it's saving us countless hours storyboarding with ImageFX, or generating 300 variations in one day of our Best Phones Forever spots, using AI to generate copy and visuals. AI can help us do creative testing way faster, or respond to a brief with lots of ideas (or help us organise all the ideas we had but never shipped). Building a culture of experimentation on my team has always been a top priority. Now everyone, regardless of their role on the team, can make things and bring their ideas to life. And the most important part is that humans are in control. We are still the ones calling the shots and making sure that the final work we put out into the world meets our high bar. AI just helps us get there faster, bolder, and with more fun toys along the way. Exciting times! I really enjoyed chatting with Fast Company and Jeff Beer about how my team is harnessing #AI across every stage of the creative process, from ideation to creation. Check out our full conversation & let me know how you’re using AI in your creative process: https://lnkd.in/gxvv2UBD