In an age where AI is becoming omnipresent and marketers are in a constant battle for attention, the value of true human-powered creativity, is more important than ever, writes Ian Maskell, Founder, P E C O R I N O, and former VP Global Marketing, Unilever.

Picasso was deeply committed to the human touch and personal expression of the artist. He famously said, “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” He would have been skeptical of AI’s ability to capture the essence of human creativity and emotion.

In a ‘creative’ world increasingly dominated by Gen AI, there is something deeply compelling about the messy, idiosyncratic nature of human creativity. While AI can churn out endless ideas and concepts, there is a distinct power in analogue creativity — the kind born from human imperfection, insight, and emotion. This is the creativity that resonates with us humans on a personal level, because it reflects the flaws, contradictions, and unpredictable nature of our lived experience.

Picasso, himself, embodied analogue creativity, distilling complexity into simplicity, celebrating human insight and emotional depth. His famous sequence of drawings depicting a bull is striking. Starting with intricate, realistic sketches, Picasso stripped away details until the bull was reduced to its most essential form — a few bold, abstract lines that capture its essence.

This reduction was intuitive, driven by years of artistic exploration. Demonstrating how analogue creativity thrives on imperfection and refinement, creating meaning through human connection and understanding. AI mimics style but lacks emotion, Picasso's genius lay in his ability to capture the soul of his subjects with profound simplicity.

Steve Jobs admired Picasso’s Bulls and revered how simplicity takes more time than complexity, a principle he applied at Apple. Picasso started with the most complex design and slowly simplifed. Jobs did the same, making simplicity a central tenet of his ethos delivering elegant solutions & stating ”simplicity scales much faster and more sustainably than complexity”.

Musician & writer, Nick Cave, has eloquently explored this subject in his Red Hand Files, voicing concern over AI’s role in the arts, stressing that creativity is not just about aesthetically pleasing output but tapping into the emotional, the chaotic, and the unpredictable. Cave articulates how true artistry emerges from human struggle and imperfection, the very things AI lacks.

Nick Cave is the embodiment, his songwriting brimming with raw emotion and complexity, capturing human fragility with nuance the algorithm cannot replicate. He describes how the act of making music is a journey of discovery, where the mistakes and the detours are often more important than the end product. It’s these imperfections that create the emotional resonance that draws people in, because they mirror our own flawed humanity.

Street artist Banksy has built a career on the power of raw, human insight. His provocative and politically charged work speaks directly to societal issues, tapping into collective human experiences. Banksy isn’t just about the final image — it’s about context, timing and location, often delivered with a sense of irony and subversion.

 

The work carries human fingerprints, with every piece rooted in deep emotional and cultural insight. No matter how technically proficient, work created by Gen AI would not have the impact without the ability to channel human frustration and hope and tapping into the pulse of society.

The algorithm can probably spew out ‘better music’ than Oasis but its the tumultuous relationship between Liam and Noel Gallagher that fascinates us, it’s this personal dynamic that creates a captivating narrative.

The friction and tension, full of ego clashes, public spats and raw emotion, are the very things that make Oasis so intriguing. The music is iconic, but it’s the human drama that creates such intense interest. The re-forming of Oasis is the reconciliation of two creative forces who, in their imperfection, have captured the hearts and imaginations of millions. Come on Gen AI, match that! 

In an age where AI is becoming omnipresent and marketers are in a constant battle for attention, the value of true human-powered creativity, the kind that comes from life’s messiness, mistakes, and deeply personal experiences, is more important than ever. While machines may learn to mimic us, they struggle to capture the essence of what makes us human. The alogorithm recognises AI generated ‘work’ while the human brain loves and recognises the imperfaction of our own messy reality. That’s where the power of analogue creativity lies & why the death of humany creatifity has been greatly exaggerated.

 

Ian will be writing for MAD//Insight throughout the year.