The next 40 years will behold a revolution to the way that humans work. Already in relatively early stages, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have been staggering and concerning for the job market. By way of example, a recent study used IBM Watson to analyze 1,000 cancer diagnoses. In 99 percent of the cases, Watson was able to recommend treatment plans that matched actual suggestions from doctors. Furthermore, because it read and digested thousands of documents in minutes, Watson found treatment options that human doctors missed in 30 percent of the cases. With such results both exciting and alarming, many believe that for prescriptive, analytical jobs AI’s will rule supreme.
When considering the extent that AI’s may overtake creative industries’ the debate becomes far more complex. In fact, it even sways toward a symbiosis between man and machine which will give creatives of the future a competitive edge. Such an assumption comes from an analysis of our own creative process for packaging, in which we see human graphic designers continuing to play a key role.