We’re All Being Herded Into the AI Pasture. Whether We Like It or Not.
By Geraint Gronow
December 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, I’ve been reflecting on how AI and creativity have danced through the year. Sometimes gracefully. Sometimes awkwardly.
There’s been brilliance, breakthroughs, and wild experiments. There’s also been backlash. The phrase “AI slop” has become the go-to insult for anything created with machine assistance, whether it’s thoughtful or throwaway.
It’s easy to forget, but we’ve seen this before. When Photoshop turned up, people said it would kill craft. That it would make everything look the same. That anyone could be a designer now. Sound familiar?
And yet here we are, decades later, still telling stories with type and image. Because it was never about the software. It was always about the person behind it.
AI Creativity. Old fears in a new coat
I recently visited an art university open day, the same one I attended over a decade ago. It was a strange kind of déjà vu. Same rooms. Same structure. Same reverence for traditional techniques. And not a single mention of AI.
The students, though, were buzzing with curiosity. Asking about tools. Sharing prompts. Wanting to play and experiment. Most of them hadn’t actually used AI yet, not because they weren’t interested, but because access was the problem. Subscription costs. Hardware. No real support.
Despite the enthusiasm, many of them were already behind a steep curve.
That worries me. Because whether we like it or not, the creative world they’re walking into has changed. And they’re being sent into it without a map.
We don’t need to abandon traditional skills. But we do need to update the toolbox. Balance still matters.
It’s not the tool. It’s the intent.
AI can be used to cut corners. Sure. So can templates. So can stock. So can the Ctrl+C key.
And let’s be honest, there was plenty of bad Photoshop work back in the day. There still is. The same applies to AI. Used poorly, any tool can produce lazy, lifeless work. That’s not a technology problem. It’s a taste problem.
The real danger isn’t the software. It’s mistaking speed for substance. Assuming faster is always better. Believing output matters more than outcome.
Used well, though, AI can help us push further. It can open up creative routes we might not have considered. It can unblock the stuck and speed up the mundane. It can give juniors more confidence and seniors more room to think.
This year, I’ve used AI to explore multiple campaign routes, visualise mood and tone without blowing the budget, and break through blank-page syndrome by reframing creative problems. None of that replaces the core job.
Finding the emotional hook.
The thing that makes people feel something. Smile. Care. Act.
What comes next?
The reality is simple. AI is here. It’s not going away. What it becomes in the creative industries is still up to us.
If we treat it like a shortcut, we’ll get short-term work. If we treat it like an accelerator, something that amplifies human insight and craft, we’ll get better ideas. Braver ones. Faster ones, too.
We have to move past the knee-jerk judgement. Not everything made with AI is slop. Not everything made without it is sacred.
Let’s equip the next generation. Let’s upskill the industry. Let’s get curious instead of defensive.
Because the real creative edge in 2026 won’t be the tools you use. It’ll be how human you can stay while using them.
Final thought
Creativity isn’t slowing down. It’s evolving. Sometimes carefully. Sometimes messily. Occasionally controversially. But that’s always been the case.
There’s always been bad work. There have always been lazy shortcuts.
The best creative still needs love, care, tension, and craft. No prompt can fake that.
And if it feels like we’re all being herded into the AI field whether we like it or not, remember this: you don’t have to follow blindly. Creativity has never belonged to the flock. It’s always belonged to the people willing to step sideways, think deeper, make better, and question the direction while still moving forward.
At Humaine, we blend AI with human expertise to deliver smarter, faster, and more impactful outcomes, because the future of business isn’t just about profit; it’s about purpose.
Extraordinary Together.