7 ways ‘making anything’ changes what’s worth making

When anyone can make anything, what’s still worth making? Collaboration Architect Georgi Kamov put this question to six creative leaders in a Future Forum Circle exploring creativity in an age of abundance. Here are their takeaways.

1. It’s about connection

Xuehan Jiang, Founder and CEO of Primordial, says that when producing anything becomes so easy with AI, people look at the meaning behind the creation: “Where do I actually connect with the artist, with the story, with the context?”

2. It’s also about the process

Dr Sarah Nicolls, Founder of First Light Pianos and Visiting Senior Research Fellow of Music and Engineering at King’s College London, highlights the “getting lostness” process involved in creating. “The ability to sew things together in your own way feels important for genuinely creating original things.”

3. Human curation cannot be automated

BBC iPlayer’s Kerensa Samanidis warns algorithmic recommendation risks leaving a “creative carcass”. “We have to hang on to human curation and teams that actually understand what links content together.”

4. Intention and effort

Isabel Sierra Gómez de León, Head of EMEA Creative Studio at Adobe, says that the intentionality behind a creation is what drives its value. “Even if just one person likes something that you make, that’s worth it, right?”

5. It’s about emotions

Matthew Drinkwater, Head of Innovation Agency at the London College of Fashion, believes the industry is about emotions and driving how people feel about themselves and the world around them: “Whether that’s a piece of music that makes you cry or that TV show that you fall in love with.”

6. Creativity for giving back

Ingenuity and creativity for giving back to the community is also hugely enriching and valuable, says Alex Wills, Co-Founder of Interval. “That’s hugely enriching and valuable and we need more of that.”

7. Not everyone needs to be a creator

Importantly, having access to creation tools doesn’t mean that everyone should be pressured into becoming a creator. “People have different skills,” says Dr Nicolls. “People are different, which is great. Some will be better at analysing. Not everyone needs to be a creator.”