Discussing his role in the 1979 movie Going in Style, George Burns said, “The most important thing in acting is honesty. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”

Fast forward to today and the fine line between what’s real and what’s fake seems more blurred than ever. Merriam-Webster, for example, recently selected “authentic” as its word of the year. The yearning for authenticity has been spurred on in part by growing concerns over artificial intelligence and its ability to deceive and dehumanize.

Artificial intelligence was also among the topics discussed by several ad agency creatives in our Production Outlook Survey, which is in this issue of SHOOT. Reflected in that feedback was the need for humanity--our thoughtfulness and even a recognition of our biases--in order to properly harness AI.

Survey respondent Chris Crawford, chief creative officer of Elite Media, related, “There is a lot of buzz and excitement about the power of AI and how we can push the bounds of creativity and use it for good. Technologies are advancing at a fast rate, and regulators are trying to get a handle on how to implement safeguards. We’re in constant conversation about what that will mean for multicultural audiences and how to use these tools responsibly. Content creators should continue to seek to understand how bias shows up, how it impacts representation and the way that people see themselves, and how to keep human connection at the center of our creative products. We’re looking for natural openings and opportunities to use new technologies in ways that make sense for our clients and audiences instead of trying to force them. This is an exciting time to lean into new opportunities and innovate while also not losing sight of our audiences and the connection they seek to make with brands.”

Cedric Devitt, chief creative officer at Big Spaceship, shared, “Currently, over 80% of Big Spaceship AI use is in our workflow and efficiency, with the remaining 20% focused on AI-enhanced creative. However, no purely AI-produced copy, visuals, or creative of any kind has been leveraged in consumer-facing work unless a concept specifically and transparently has required it. While AI is a valuable tool employed by our teams, it remains critical that human expertise guides how we prompt these tools and thoughtfully refines the output that they can give us.”

Robert Goldrich an editor of SHOOTonline