A new trend is emerging in the world of advertising, and it's a bold statement against AI-generated content. Brands are taking a stand, proudly declaring their work as 'human-made', and it's sparking an intriguing debate.
Heineken, Polaroid, and Cadbury are just a few of the companies leading this charge, with their ads appearing on TV, billboards, and social media. But this isn't just about the ads; it's a signal of a larger cultural shift. Even Apple's new series, Pluribus, joins the chorus with its closing credits proudly proclaiming, 'Made by Humans'.
However, not everyone is on board with this AI backlash. H&M and Guess faced criticism for using AI brand ambassadors, raising questions about the role of humans in advertising.
At its core, this movement challenges our understanding of creativity in an age where machines can produce impressive visuals and even evoke emotions. It's a moment where we question what it means for something to be 'creative' when AI can mimic and sometimes surpass human capabilities.
For executives, AI offers an enticing promise of efficiency. It delivers faster production, cheaper visuals, and automated decisions, all while promising increased productivity and innovation. It's an exciting prospect, especially for those looking to cut costs and streamline processes.
But advertising is more than just efficiency. It's an art that relies on emotional connection and creative mystery. And it turns out, people value this human touch.
Research shows that people often place more value on objects when they believe they carry traces of human intention or history. Even if an image is visually identical, the knowledge that it was created by a machine can reduce its perceived value and creativity.
This preference for human-made content isn't just about quality; it's about meaning and intention. People believe creativity is tied to human effort, expression, and intention - qualities that algorithms, no matter how advanced, simply cannot possess.
Of course, there are times when AI gets it wrong, and these instances can be comical. Take, for example, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra's AI-generated image from early 2024, which most people instantly recognized as unnatural. The backlash wasn't just about the weirdness of the image; it was about the perception that an arts organization was betraying human creativity.
But as AI improves, the line between synthetic and real becomes increasingly blurred. Many people struggle to distinguish between AI-generated faces and real photographs, and research shows we often overestimate our ability to detect deepfakes.
As AI continues to evolve, the boundary between human and machine-made creativity will become even harder to perceive. While commerce might not be troubled by this, the implications for creative professions are significant.
Creative work is about more than just content generation; it's a way for people to express their emotions, experiences, and interpretations. The rise of 'Made by Humans' is a response to a deeper cultural anxiety about authorship and the evolving boundaries of creativity.
There's an ironic twist here: marketing, one of the professions most vulnerable to being replaced by AI, is now using AI as a differentiator. Whether these human-made claims are a commercial tactic or a sincere defense of creative intention, it's clear that this trend goes beyond just driving sales. It's a statement about the value we place on human creativity and the emotional connection it brings.
