The power of perspective and AI inspired storytelling

As you can imagine, a big theme for most jury discussions after the awarding of medals was the impact of AI. AI was present in many of the cases entered across multiple categories, and the impact it made on powerful ideas is undeniable. It’s a way of thinking that inspires new creativity.

AI can help connect the dots by looking for patterns and data points across time and in real-time. Research can now be done at light speed, fueling our thinking and pinpointing possible solutions. Be inquisitive and accept the fact that 98% of what you discover will not be usable. But the 2% will elevate the work to new levels.

AI technology will change our workflow, so we need to start exploring how and when we can adapt. In many cases, AI will enhance how we as ideators and creators think and do. But we also need to be cautious as the internet is filled with one perspective, and it’s not that of diversity. We saw case after case of brands trying to change the internet and its bias, which is a good thing. And the downside of AI is our greater inability to separate fact from fiction. Greater authentication of identity will be a hot topic as we go deeper into the real world implications of AI.

Enter the role of real humans. There was a good amount of thought given to the idea that humans are the guide of the imagination. This guidance brings moments and events and approaches together in original ways – ways we may not have thought about. It’s what we do with outputs that will keep ideas original and fresh. We saw AI being used to convert war and homelessness stories to life in paintings. We saw cancer cells turned into a symphony for patients to listen their cells dying while they healed. We saw it used to do complex tasks identifying individuals from different parts of the world who share the exact same fast-food order and we saw how AI could map farmlands using satellite data to help farmers better manage their crops because the old way of following weather patterns is over.

The breadth of ideas was staggering, innovative but always idea-first. Technology will continue to advance, and AI will get better and better by the month as new players come onto the scene. But remember, like the computer, like meta – which is all the rave at the last Cannes Festival – it is a tool. A tool, as one speaker said, that can help you get unstuck. It’s a tool that can help supercharge creativity and – if used properly – become an indispensable partner.