"AI tools progress, but human artistic touch remains essential" - the necessity of human artists in AI-generated art
In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), the creative industry is grappling with its role in an era where AI can potentially produce art. This struggle has been amplified by the reality that AI has risen on the foundation of creative works.
CEO of Freepik, Joaquin Cuenca Abela, acknowledges the industry's shortcomings. "Part of the fault lies with us, the AI sector," he admits. "We trained models indiscriminately, not knowing the outcome, but it worked. Now, we need to rebuild trust."
This trust-rebuilding process must involve addressing the concerns of creators, whose work has been mimicked, exploited, or marginalized by AI. Joaquin believes that transparency, collaboration, and a focus on human capabilities are key to navigating this new creative era.
Despite the challenges, many artists are finding innovative ways to use AI, and even Freepik's CEO temperes expectations with a reassuring message for artists navigating this shift: "AI can help you tell stories, but it won't tell you what story to tell."
According to Joaquin, the future of creativity does not lie in mastering tools but in mastering meaning. This sentiment resonates with Chad Nelson of OpenAI.
"Tools evolve," Joaquin reflects. "The eye doesn't."
Freepik found itself in the midst of this AI wave during its Upscale Conference, facing the looming threat that generative AI posed to its free stock image business. However, instead of resisting, Freepik embraced AI.
"It looked like it was going to destroy us," Joaquin admits. "But we asked: how can we help our users use this tool to do something new?"
Freepik's pivot was not merely technical; it was cultural. The company's objective became empowering creatives with tools that expanded, rather than replaced, their vision. This shift attracted a broader audience, including filmmakers, photographers, and architects.
Joaquin compares the impact of AI on creativity to the advent of photography, which democratized the act of capturing reality. AI allows creators to tell stories that were previously impossible, not just because of budget constraints, but because traditional tools demanded precision or effort that was too time-consuming for fleeting moments of impact.
"3D was supposed to be faster, but in many cases, it became slower and more expensive than just filming," Joaquin explains. "AI allows you to cheat, to create something visually compelling without modelling every detail. That's liberating."
Perhaps the most transformative aspect of AI is its potential to democratize creativity, making advanced tools accessible to a wider audience. Joaquin sees AI as the next phase in a long pattern of democratization.
"Stock images used to cost $500, only books and TV could afford them," Joaquin says. "Then Shutterstock brought it to $10, and we brought it even lower. That's when people started using images for social media."
Now, with AI, entirely new use cases are emerging. "You can create a YouTube ad for just 300 people. That wouldn't have made sense before," Joaquin says. "But now it does."
He sees applications ranging from high-end production houses to small businesses. "My wife used to run a café. She spent an hour every night designing posts for social media. With a little context - it's Mother's Day, it's a family place, we offer discounts - AI could do all of that for her."
For Joaquin, one of the most exciting shifts is how users interact with design tools themselves. Traditionally, design has been trapped on the desktop, requiring time, the cost of hardware, and complex software.
"Gen AI gives you a new UI," Joaquin says. "It's like talking to a designer. You describe what you want, you iterate, and you get results."
As AI image generation becomes commoditized, Freepik is focusing on building richer, more collaborative workflows. "When you need to share with colleagues or iterate on ideas, that's where our platform comes in," Joaquin explains. "We're not designing for a billion casual users. We're designing for tens of millions of professionals."
- CEO Joaquin Cuenca Abela of Freepik recognizes the role the AI sector played in indiscriminately training models with uncertain outcomes, and now acknowledges the need to rebuild trust.
- Artists are innovating ways to use AI, with Freepik's CEO offering hope that AI can help them tell stories but not determine what stories to tell.
- Joaquin believes that the future of creativity doesn't revolve around mastering tools, but rather mastering meaning, a view shared by OpenAI's Chad Nelson.
- AI posed a threat to Freepik's free stock image business during their Upscale Conference, but the company chose to embrace AI instead of resisting.
- Freepik's shift was cultural as well as technical, aiming to empower creatives with tools that expanded their vision beyond replacement.
- AI is compared to the advent of photography, democratizing the act of capturing reality, and allowing creators to tell stories that were previously impossible due to budget constraints or time-consuming traditional tools.
- AI allows creators to "cheat" by creating visually compelling work without modeling every detail, thus making the creative process more liberating.
- AI democratizes creativity, making advanced tools accessible to a wider audience, and opens up new use cases even for small businesses.
- AI can create YouTube ads for a small audience, a use case that wouldn't have been feasible prior to AI.
- Joaquin recalls the democratization of stock images in the past, from costing $500 to being accessible on platforms like Shutterstock and Freepik, which drove the use of images on social media.
- With AI, entirely new use cases and opportunities are emerging, enabling creators to explore their creativity in ways previously unimaginable.
- The AI-driven UI offers a conversational interface, allowing users to describe what they want, iterate, and receive results - likening AI to collaborating with a designer.
- Freepik is focusing on building richer, more collaborative workflows to cater to the needs of the tens of millions of professionals who use their platform.
