Get a brief.
Open ChatGPT.
Copy-paste the problem.
Wait for the answer.

If you’re a creative and that’s your process, we’ll ask you one simple thing:
Is this the job you are really passionate about?

Because If your first instinct is have ChatGPT think for you, then maybe it's time to evaluate what you really care about.

Do you care about the idea enough to sketch, scribble & think beyond the brief to find the right answer, or do you care about getting it done? Either answer is perfectly fine, but one answer means you may not last in the creative industry for too long, or worse yet, you'll grow to hate it.

If there's one thing we know about this industry, it's that if you don't care - then you just won't last. Not when AI can already do “good enough” at scale and to make you redundant. 

AI isn’t killing creativity. But our laziness is.

There’s even a term for it in cognitive science: cognitive offloading. It’s when we hand over mental tasks to external tools, so our brains stop doing the heavy lifting.

The scary part? Studies are proving this.

• A 2024 MIT Media Lab study found that heavy ChatGPT users performed worse in original idea generation compared to non-users, relying more on “average” outputs than breakthrough ones. MIT Study 
• Forbes (2025) reported that while AI increases short-term productivity, it significantly reduces long-term problem-solving ability because workers skip the messy but necessary process of critical thinking. Forbes 

So yes. AI can speed you up. But it can also dull your edge if you let it.

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Where exactly are creatives going wrong & where to draw the line?

• Zero Patience. Ask yourself - do you want it done fast or done right?
• No first drafts. Outsourcing your thinking means outsourcing your original idea itself.
• No debate. AI will never challenge you. It will not play your devil’s advocate and will nod at every prompt.
• Lazy prompting. A one-line prompt isn’t a strategy; it’s hardly even a prompt.

What we did at Upload

We’ve been knee-deep in AI for the past 6 months—not as passive users, but as active learners.

• We ran workshops for all our teams.
• Tested different AI tools and automations for real projects.
• Built content distribution bots to speed up execution.
  
  

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But here’s the line we never crossed:

• We never let AI touch the first draft.
• Brainstorming stayed human-first.
• AI was used to refine, structure, and polish—after we knew what we wanted to say.
  
  

That’s the boundary we set. AI amplified us. It didn’t replace us. Here’s how our brainstorming sessions happen at Upload - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/everyone-talks-brainstorming-session-how-do-you-run-one-tiurc/ 

Here’s how you, as a creative/agency, do it right:

If you want to stay relevant in the creative industry, draw the line:

• First draft = yours. If you can’t write the opening thought, you don’t own the idea.
  
  
• Brainstorm human-first. One of the best parts about the creative process is that you get to work with different people's perspectives. Don't alienate yourself!
  
  
• AI is for refinement. Structure, polish, reframe—after you’ve defined the parameters.
  
  
• Define the process, then add AI. Don’t ask it “what should we do?”—ask it “help me sharpen this thing I already care about.”

No one in the creative industry is paid to “get it done.”
We’re paid to get it right, to move the audience, and for brands to be remembered.

So if ChatGPT is your shortcut to the first word on a page, maybe ask yourself: Do you actually care about your craft—or are you just clocking in until redundancy catches up?