Why Creativity Will Matter More Than Ever in the AI World
A few months ago, he told me that as part of a school project, “We have to create a poster on Water Conservation.”. Teacher said to create the poster using your creativity.
He already knew the topic well. He started talking about saving water, rainwater harvesting, fixing leaking taps, using water wisely, and protecting water for future generations. Ideas weren’t the problem.
The challenge was turning those thoughts into a poster that looked creative. After staring at a blank chart paper for a while, he asked, “Mummy… can I search online for some references?. I nodded.
Within minutes, Google and YouTube were full of Water Conservation poster ideas. Different layouts. Different colour combinations. Slogans. Drawings of water drops, dried vs greener world, hands holding the Earth, taps, rivers, and trees.
He browsed through a few images and videos, picked a design that inspired him, and completed poster using his own colour combination.
Once he finished, I asked him, “If Google, YouTube, or AI can show the same poster ideas to everyone… what will make your poster different from others?”
He paused for a moment. It wasn’t an easy question to answer.
We ended up talking about it for quite some time. That conversation stayed with me…. It eventually became the reason I decided to write this blog.
A Lego Moment I Didn’t Expect
Few days ago, one fine evening, he was playing with his Lego.
Usually, he follows the instruction booklet from the first step to the last. Piece by piece. Exactly as shown. But this time, things were different.
The instruction booklet was lying on one side. He wasn’t even looking at it. Instead, he started picking pieces from different Lego sets. A wheel from one. A propeller from another. Blue blocks. Yellow blocks. Whatever he felt would fit.
Every few minutes, another piece got added. So, I finally asked, “What are you building?”
Without even looking up, he smiled and said, “This is a flying rescue truck submarine.”
Flying…
Rescue truck…
Submarine…
All in one.
I looked at it more carefully. It had wheels like a rescue truck. A blue body that looked ready to go underwater. And a propeller sitting on top. As per him, it could rescue people on land, in the sky, and under the sea.
Then I asked, “Why did you use so many different colours?”. He smiled and said, “Because I didn’t have enough blocks of the same colour.”
He simply used whatever Lego pieces he had. There was no instruction booklet for that. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t colour coordinated. But it was completely his own idea.
My Biggest Takeaway: Creativity in AI world
The more I thought about the poster and the Lego, the more I realised they were teaching the same lesson.
The poster started with references.
The Lego started with imagination.
That’s what kept running through my mind.
Today, AI makes many things easier. It saves time. It explains things faster. Sometimes it even helps us think differently.
But creativity still starts with people.
AI can explain. AI can improve. AI can even give us hundreds of ideas in seconds. But it still needs someone to ask the question, imagine something new, or think differently in the first place.
We’re moving into a world where almost everyone will have access to AI.
Anyone can ask AI. Anyone can generate images. Anyone can write code. Anyone can create presentations. Anyone can automate repetitive work. So, simply using AI won’t make someone stand out anymore. The same tools are available to almost everyone.
Tomorrow, knowledge may become available to almost everyone within seconds. AI will continue to improve. The tools will become smarter.
But creativity…
It is what that will always differentiates from each other.
I hope that, as a mother, I continue to encourage him not just to learn, but to stay curious, ask questions, imagine freely, and create fearlessly. Because in an AI world, those may become the skills that truly make him stand out.
Check out an article on “As AI rises, so does the need for more human creativity”.
Read my other blog posts here.
