For a while, it felt like science fiction. The concept of artificial intelligence was just that—a concept … until it wasn’t, and we began seeing the technology in typical workflows. From stabilizing footage with the click of a button or using auto-focus while shooting, we were slowly relying on its assistance to make parts of the job easier.

Now, AI has made a massive leap, most recently thanks to the emergence of generative AI and machine learning. Last May, we were watching a janky AI-generated Will Smith eat spaghetti, and now we’re watching nearly perfect human characters being prompted, companies releasing full pieces made entirely with AI and memes brought to life from stills.

AI may have found a super-helpful role in the preproduction phase with concepting and storyboarding, but we’re also seeing it suck the human soul out of video in five ways:

Threatening artists’ jobs

When the first stunning video clips were released from Sora, the only people who seemed excited were those who would typically need a skilled artist, anyway. On LinkedIn, one early Sora user bragged about no longer needing a photographer, videographer or designer. Just last month, a talented motion FX studio lost a project bid to a self-proclaimed AI expert who had convinced the brand that he could do it all cheaper with generative AI. When you begin to go down that road, it feels like it’s only a matter of time until your role can be replaced.

Also read: Coca-Cola’s AI holiday TV ads—creatives and consumers react to the spots

Using real people’s work for training without consent

Right now, AI feels like the Wild West. Large companies are openly training AI on the work of artists and the general public’s data without consent. Companies generating images for ads instead of engaging with traditional means to create content and entire AI stock libraries are now popping up for wide use. How long before the real artists upon which these services are trained disappear completely from the equation, let alone be paid for it?

Creating a wasteland of bad content on the web

Consumers are about to see an onslaught of AI-generated material. Unless the barrier of entry for AI becomes significantly more expensive, your average mom-and-pop shop may have all the production power of the world’s best studios in creating AI images, and that likely means a wasteland of generated material that will bombard the end consumer.

Dumbing down humanity and exaggerating reality

Extreme AI-generated animations and videos may be exciting to watch initially (the AI does eventually fall apart), but when created by prompts of no more than a sentence or two, these things will go from remarkable to ordinary. Generate a beautiful sunset over a beach at golden hour, and you’ll have a perfectly overstimulated version of reality that you may not get at an actual beach. When the best parts of life and art can be generated to be remarkable, will we recognize anything to be remarkable?

Producing content devoid of human connection

Do a quick search for AI-generated stock photos or videos, and you’ll be bombarded with services promising an easier and more affordable way to advertise your company. While I can see why people may not be concerned about using AI for, say, a shampoo commercial, the idea of eliminating the people responsible for scene lighting, composition, hair/makeup, directing, acting and sound design is soulless.

What can creatives do in response?

The best thing we can do is advocate for one another by recommending a copywriter, a storyboard artist or a photographer to a client who may need one instead of filling that gap with AI. The scythe will swing and fewer of us will be standing afterward, but as humans, we will always be the authority on what it feels like to be human. And while machines may cobble together beautiful images from our work, they cannot outpace the human spirit of creativity.

AI is like one of the takeaways from Disney’s “Onward.” Magic—or human achievement—is incredible but hard to master. Automation is easy and makes life simple for a while, but it takes away the magic and sucks the soul out of things that were once incredible.

After all the magic and conflict, the ending is sweet as the main characters can see their deceased father, if only for a few moments. I can be super LinkedIn-y and point out they achieve this reunion only by embracing the harder path and learning to master the magic, rather than flipping a switch, but I think I'll just go watch that ending again and tear up.