Will AI Take My Job? Unlikely—But it Might Eat My Admin
Harvard Business School’s latest paper, Generative AI and the Nature of Work, has some eye-opening insights for creatives. Spoiler: AI won’t replace you just yet, but it might become your new admin assistant. Here’s what this could mean for us as designers—and why it might just make our lives a bit more interesting.
Less Admin, More Art
AI loves doing the boring bits. Just as developers can now focus on coding rather than email chains, designers might soon see AI handling all those tedious tasks like project scheduling and invoicing. This means more time for us to get back to the fun stuff—design, ideation, and actually creating.
A Solo Studio in Your Pocket
According to the study, generative AI fosters more autonomous work. So, instead of roping in team members every time you want feedback, you could use AI to create drafts, concept ideas, and generate a dozen logo options on the fly. You’ll still need to work with others, but AI is here to keep the solo creative company when everyone else is “in meetings.”
An Open Door for Experimentation
One of the perks of AI is its “let’s try anything” mentality. AI can generate endless variations without getting tired or bored, which means you can experiment with new design styles and techniques you wouldn’t usually risk in client work. Think of it as your creative lab partner who never judges your wildest ideas.
Skill Up or Ship Out
With AI picking up routine tasks, creatives will need to double down on their unique human skills—like big-picture thinking, storytelling, and empathy. So, while AI becomes a tool for doing, we’ll need to become experts in knowing what to do and why. This shift isn’t just about working faster; it’s about working smarter, too.
Collaborate Less, Create More
Finally, while AI might reduce the need for constant team check-ins, it could make the collaboration we do have more meaningful. With the basics handled by our digital co-workers, teams could meet less for the mundane and more for the bold, creative decisions that actually matter.
In Short
Generative AI won’t make creatives redundant—it might just make us better at what we actually want to do. So if you’re worried about AI “taking your job,” don’t be. It’s just taking the bits you probably weren’t that thrilled to do anyway.
Hoffmann, Manuel and Boysel, Sam and Nagle, Frank and Peng, Sida and Xu, Kevin, Generative AI and the Nature of Work (October 27, 2024). Harvard Business School Strategy Unit Working Paper No. 25-021, Harvard Business Working Paper No. No. 25-021, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5007084 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5007084