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In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, “creativity” sits at the very top, within self-actualization. The concept represents human beings’ desire to be the best versions of ourselves. Throughout history, the creative class has helped both reflect on and drive society forward. This is particularly true during times of chaos.
Still, creative work can be messy, and as leaders in creative industries and beyond have fallen more in love with analytics and disciplines with more predictable outcomes, the pursuit of artistic expression has been de-emphasized worldwide.
But today, creativity is experiencing a renaissance.
Creativity is inherently human.
A “renaissance” represents a period of artistic expression, creativity and technological revolution. The era most synonymous with the term occurred in 14th to 17th century Europe, following the societal upheaval of the bubonic plague and the proliferation of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1400s. This resulted in an explosion of new media, written work and artistic masterpieces like da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and the writing of Shakespeare.
A pandemic and new creative technology. Do these conditions sound familiar? History tends to repeat itself.
Defining the modern Renaissance.
Today, we are experiencing transformational shifts in how we work and live. Like the Renaissance, people are questioning their relationship with traditional perspectives, including how work serves their lives and where they plan to do it.
New technology is also upending our society and bringing creativity back to the forefront. Social media, now a mature technology, has given rise to the “creator economy,” drawing out latent creative habits in people across all kinds of industries.
And more recently, artificial intelligence (AI) tools have launched, moving immediately into the mainstream and bringing both enormous possibility and risk.
Preparing for the modern Renaissance.
With these revolutions in the creative process, creativity is now the subject of conversations around the world. So, how can we protect this important time, and each other? Here are three steps we can take to ensure this “moment” becomes a true paradigm shift.
1. Take action to protect human creativity.
At the center of the consternation surrounding AI is the fear that creative jobs and tasks will be replaced with machine workers. This was in focus during the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in Hollywood last year. Tools like Midjourney and ChatGPT will only become better at producing creative output like videos, photography, novellas, essay, and screenplays.
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
This doesn’t need to be a bad thing, if AI tools and human creatives work together. AI has the potential to reset the floor for creative work. It can reduce time for routine design and production, and aid in discovery and inspiration for new art. It can make good artists great, and great artists prolific.
Still, a drawback that AI will always have in competition with human creators is that it must only train on existing published material. Creativity is the intersection of shared human experience with individual, highly personal experiences only real people can provide. As partners, human beings and technology can change the world. As adversaries, the outcomes are much less compelling.
2. Expand access to education and expertise.
With increased access to tools, more people can share more ideas in more places. Yet, when everyone can be an influencer, the line blurs between expression and expertise. The best creators know the rules before they break them.
In a modern Renaissance, we must expand access not just to tools but to education and expertise, from design principles to how to effectively use creative assets like typography. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) from leading higher-education institutions can give learners access to expertise from experts on graphic design, creative thinking for the sciences, and more. Creative platforms like Canva and Adobe Creative Suite offer their own education resources as well.
The modern Renaissance will be measured not by how much content is created, but by how many people can participate in the movement. The creator economy provides us the opportunity to disrupt disparities, but only if we are intentional about helping everyone learn and grow through their creative journey.
3. Place community at the center.
Throughout history, pockets of prolific creativity have emanated from special communities of like-minded creators. From the Belle Époque in 19th century Paris, to the counterculture and music in Laurel Canyon, on and on. People are motivated by the places they inhabit and by what their peers are creating.
The community at the center of this particular era of creativity is unique because it is more fragmented than ever before. Artists are seeking each other out “in real life” like they always have, but are also increasingly engaging with digital communities, collaborating with people across different counties, countries and continents. Communities may center around an art form, or they may spring up as the result of a single artist or cultural movement (think Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour).
As subtitles become the norm, creators may also find that to expand their reach, accessibility should become the default. Subtitles not only increase access for Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, but also second language learners, and those in noisy, public environments like the bus or the airport. With AI, it may even soon be possible to accurately and automatically translate subtitles for influencer content too, expanding access further.
Every community is inspired by different ideals, and with identity and technology meshing like never before, people cannot be put into singular boxes. Today’s creators will weave in and out of various communities, both taking from and adding to each stop along the way. The results will be new formats, new platforms, and new ideas, spun up based on the needs of these groups and their individual members.
People are born creative. Today’s fast-paced, technology-fueled environment is pointing us back to a way of thinking that is innately human. The way that we collectively respond to this paradigm shift will determine if we realize the full benefits of the opportunity.
