Nick Law is here to bust the myth that AI isn’t creative. “It’s a different species of creativity that complements and amplifies human creativity,” he explains.

Law believes that AI will force a total rethink of what it means to be a creative leader. “It’s impossible to be creative without a medium. Every new technology affords different ways to create.”

Speaking as part of The Blueprint’s Truth About Talent: AI, a new interview series marking the search firm’s 20th year and designed to cut through the negative hype cycle surrounding artificial intelligence, Law shared his perspective on what this new era means for the creative industry. The series explores the thinking of leaders operating at the sharp edge of innovation - multidisciplinary practitioners bridging creativity, commerce and technology.

Law is a leader with an established track record of infusing technology with human creativity (he was VP of Marcom Integration at Apple, CCO of Publicis Groupe and CCO R/GA). He has deep experience of successfully breaking down silos.

In place of the traditional AI doom mongering, he has long advocated for the singular truth that creativity cannot be outsourced to an algorithm. For while he believes that AI will power new forms of creativity, in the age of AI human creativity will only become more valuable.

“The only people who think there's an algorithm for creativity are engineers,” he quips, adding: “AI is really good at being inventive (a skill they value) but not great at being expressive (a skill they don't understand).”

As Law explains: “Engineering has been a prized skill because to create software you need to solve logical but very complex problems. As it happens, AI is really good at this.” In contrast, the creative process is the polar opposite. “It's simple but illogical. Ineffably human. Harder for AI to solve, and therefore harder to automate and a particularly valuable human ability,” he adds.

A new creative industry will emerge out of the energy of new practitioners. That's unlikely to happen in the holding companies.

The AI talent gap

Yet Law’s view on how AI will reshape the creative industry is anything but binary. That same technology that will elevate individual creativity, just might spark an entirely new model for creative businesses.

“AI is bad news for the industry but great news for autodidacts with creative ambition. Jobs will disappear, and, eventually, new ones will be created. A new creative industry will emerge out of the energy of new practitioners. That's unlikely to happen in the holding companies,” he says.

The impact of self-learners on the tech industry is not a new one; The world’s first computer programmer Ada Lovelace actively pursued her own learning. While Bill Gates taught himself many of the skills needed to bring Microsoft to life, including programming.

In the AI era this drive to learn is more important than ever. Prompting the question, are we underinvesting in upskilling creative practitioners on the potential of AI? Law disagrees. Perhaps the very question itself is flawed; using the past as a blueprint for the future.

“Like all new technologies, a new generation of native practitioners will not only arrive fluent in the technology - but understand the distinct culture and grammar that emerges,” says Law. He pulls no punches as he adds: “Very few legacy talent will be able to be upskilled.”

Law believes that creative leaders must be experts in technology. “They've always had to understand the possibilities of the mediums they use, whether that's print, broadcast, the internet, or AI. The good news is the barrier for learning genAI tools is very low,” he shares.

Warning that most creative organisations still lack the talent mix to fully realise AI’s potential. Law lays bare the downside to talent strategies set in stone. “Most agencies have still not recognised the essential difference between a team that creates TV and a team that creates messages and experiences on the internet - let alone what an AI enabled team looks like,” he shares, adding: “To make new things, agencies need to remake themselves; but an unshakable faith in the art and copy team makes it impossible.”

If existing performance marketing is any indication, personalisation doesn't mean interesting.

The AI attention economy

If you are in the business of creativity then removing the barriers, silos or skills gap that stop you from making new things should be top of the agenda. Yet as the ever-increasing headlines on a consumer backlash to ‘AI Slop’ underlines that the industry drive towards personalisation at scale is a leaky creative pipeline

“Just because you can doesn't mean you should,” says Law. He continues: “Advertising only works if you can get attention - and attention is earned by being interesting and available. If existing performance marketing is any indication, personalisation doesn't mean interesting.”

Law does not advocate for mindlessly adding to this content obesity crisis. As he explains: “More content just means less cognitive availability. It also ignores how important shared stories are for a brand to live in culture. Customer service, on the other hand, will definitely benefit from personalisation at scale.”

While using AI to genuinely amplify creativity remains the goal, it is clear that the industry’s existing ecosystem is not built on this model. Law agrees that AI adoption within agencies will finally kill an industry-wide business model rooted in the price of time, not the value of great ideas. Yet, while it is obvious to Law that selling hours makes agencies untenable, it is not clear what the new commercial model will be.

It is this ambiguity which sits at the heart of the anxiety and unease surrounding AI. Yet as Law’s approach demonstrates in this new era of AI-powered creativity asking better questions is just as important as having all the answers.

The Blueprint’s Truth About Talent: AI series aims to cut through the anxiety surrounding AI with insights and learnings from the leaders driving this new wave of creativity. For more information email gareth@wearetheblueprint.com