AI continues to improve day by day at a rapid pace. The better AI gets the more we start seeing it in the media content we consume. It’s now becoming increasingly common for people to interact with AI content and not even know it. AI started gaining mainstream popularity when companies like OpenAI launched their AI systems, like DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT. We have seen AI create music and generate different voices but the two most prominent forms used today are visual and written content. 

The Role of Human Creativity in Content Creation

As AI continues to repurpose existing content, humans have the unique ability to create relatable content that has never been seen before. This results from the capacity to think outside the box. Think about it, we have been creating since we were kids. Creating paper snowflakes, drawing pictures and building with Legos, creating is a natural part of being human. So, it makes sense that we would play a vital role in content creation. Because as humans, we bring something to content that AI can’t — emotion.

We conducted a survey about AI and human created content to understand how important it is for individuals to know whether or not a piece of content is AI-generated. Participants were asked to rate each question on a likert scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being very important and 5 being very unimportant. The responses from that data showed that people think it more important to know if content is AI-generated.

In the survey, the question was asked, “Would knowing if content was AI-generated change your opinion on the content?”. Of the responses received, 53% indicated “depends on the content”, 37% said yes, and 10% said no. That means in total, 90% of the respondents agree that knowing if content was created by AI would have some impact on their opinion of the content. This shows just how important content creators are as AI becomes increasingly prevalent in the mainstream media and marketing.

Adding Emotion and a Personal Touch to the Content Creation Process

Now that we’ve established this unique element that human content creators bring to content, how can you implement this into your content to make it really stand out against AI-generated content? 

We all have our own lives. We have all lived through different experiences and have seen different things than others. But we have all felt sad, happy, mad, confused and many other emotions. As a content creator, you can utilize this skill and human aspect to your content in adding a unique aspect of emotion to your content. 

Going back to the survey, if only 10% of people do not care whether humans created the content or not, we can conclude that human content creators are irreplaceable. This is because we understand complex emotions and underlying context that don’t logically make sense.

To create engaging content, it is important to consider how you can make your audience feel. You can do this by asking yourself the following questions:

• How can I make my audience laugh?
• How can I pull on their heart strings?
• How can I start their day with happy feelings?

Once you have a good understanding of how you want your audience to feel, you can start creating content that will achieve those goals.

Now that we’ve reviewed the role of human creativity in content creation and how we can be creative, let’s look into the differences between AI and human created content. 

AI vs Human: A Comparative Analysis 

Audience Engagement and Response to AI-Generated Content

In the previously mentioned survey, we asked participants the following question, “How would you rate the quality of AI-generated content compared to human-created content?” and the results are fascinating. It was discovered that 38% of respondents thought AI and humans create a similar level of content quality, while 28% thought that AI created lower quality content. Only 7% of respondents answered that AI creates a higher quality output of content when compared to a human content creator. What does this ultimately mean?

AI-generated content is still not as good as human-created content in the eyes of most people. This is largely because we are naturally driven by storytelling and human connection, resulting in the most impact when personal experiences are shared. As social media practitioners, it can be helpful to rely on AI in the brainstorming and ideation process, but not on the actual creation of the final content. In doing so, we risk losing the emotional touch that makes human content so impactful which is our primary goal as content creators. AI-generated content can feel like it lacks emotion, which makes it harder for people to connect with the content. 

In a different survey conducted with college students about the usefulness of AI, half of the students looked to AI as an easy use to enhance business and to do the mundane business work. This included sending emails, creating schedules and creating social media content.These students mentioned they felt they had more opportunity to succeed as they utilized AI. 

Scalability and Efficiency of AI Content Creation

Content creation requires time, effort, and energy, which is what makes it so meaningful to its viewers. AI can help creators save time on tedious tasks, allowing them to focus on other aspects of their work, but it does not create content at the same level of human creators because it lacks emotion as mentioned above.

Though there are fewer creative and artistic viewpoints to explore with AI-generated content, there is going to be a cost-benefit in using AI. There is a well-deserved price that comes with the expertise of graphic designers and content writers. To have free access to something that is a bit less creative but better than what we are able to afford, it seems to be a give-and-take situation. Startups now have access to resources that were out of their budget and help them go a long way. On the other hand, larger businesses are looking at standing out from the crowd and heavily investing in creative expertise that isn’t a compilation of computer information.

To better understand AI-generated content versus that of a human, we conducted an in-person survey with BYU-Idaho students. The goal behind this survey was to determine whether or not individuals could identify differences in content and which of the two pieces of content was created by a human. The results are fascinating! Check out the video.

The Future of Content Creation: AI-Assisted Content Creation 

Understanding AI-Assisted Content Creation

Having established a comprehensive understanding of AI and human content creation, let’s explore how these two can collaborate in the future. In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, AI is not poised to replace humans but to augment our capabilities, enhancing productivity and creativity in unprecedented ways​​​.

Collaboration between AI and Human Creators in Business

Successful businesses are recognizing the potential of AI and are integrating it into their workflows to enhance their content creation process. A significant example of this is BuzzFeed’s strategy for 2023. The digital media giant has announced that AI-powered content creation will transition from the research and development stage to becoming a core part of their business. This strategy involves using AI to enhance the content creation process, inform brainstorming sessions, and personalize content for their audience.

Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed’s CEO, anticipates an increasing role of AI and technology in the creative process. He believes that the next 15 years will be defined by AI and data not only recommending content but helping create, personalize, and animate the content itself. This strategic transition indicates a shift in the industry, expanding beyond AI-powered curation to AI-powered creation​​.

In this context, it is clear that the future of content creation will not be a competition between AI and humans. Instead, it will involve a collaborative approach where AI and humans work together, leveraging the strengths of both to produce engaging and effective content. As social media practitioners, it is crucial to understand this trend and consider how AI can be integrated into your content creation processes to enhance productivity and creativity.

Example of a Successful AI-Assisted Content Creation Project

The integration of AI in content creation has resulted in some impressive projects. One of the most notable ones is the “Masterpiece” campaign by Coca-Cola. Launched on March 6, 2023, this promotional campaign showcased the power of blending human creativity and AI technologies to create a visually captivating advertisement.

The video of this campaign takes viewers on a journey through an art museum where a Coke bottle comes to life within various famous art pieces such as Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles, Utagawa Hiroshige’s Drum Bridge and Setting Sun, and J.M.W. Turner’s The Shipwreck. What’s most striking in this video is the transformation of the Coke bottle to adopt the unique style of each artist it encounters, achieved through a blend of live-action shots, VFX, and AI.

AI played a pivotal role in this campaign, helping to realize the creators’ ambitious vision. Without AI, creating this video would have required exhaustive research into various artistic styles and painstaking efforts to replicate them, a task of enormous magnitude. AI, however, provided a way to quickly learn and imitate these styles, demonstrating the immense potential of blending technical knowledge with creative thinking to accomplish astounding feats.

Despite the undeniable benefits AI brings to the table, it’s also essential to note that AI-generated content still requires the unreplaceable human touch for editing and polishing, ensuring the final output remains high-quality and engaging​​.

Benefits and Challenges of AI-Assisted Content Creation

While AI-assisted content creation comes with numerous advantages, like time and cost savings, it’s essential to understand the challenges. AI-generated content may require additional editing and might lack human-written content’s unique voice and style. However, these drawbacks are mitigated as AI becomes more sophisticated. In just a year, AI has made strides further than society often acknowledges. One can only wonder what its capabilities will be in years to come. 

Practical Tips for Social Media Practitioners Leveraging AI-Assisted Content Creation

So, how can you, as a social media practitioner, leverage AI tools effectively? Here are some practical tips:

1.     Embrace Collaboration: View artificial intelligence as a collaborative tool, not a replacement. Use it to enhance your creativity and productivity.

2.     Experiment: Try different AI tools to see which fits your needs best. Remember, many of these tools offer free trials. Additionally, each tool can be drastically different from another, so recognize that there will always be a learning curve. 

3.     Editing is Key: Be prepared to edit AI-generated content to ensure it’s polished and reflects your unique voice.

4.     Stay Updated: The world of artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving. Keep yourself updated with the latest developments to fully leverage these tools.

5.     Balance is Vital: Strive to find a balance between AI-generated and human-created content. Doing so will ensure a unique voice and personal touch in your content while reaping the benefits of AI.

Conclusion

The intersection between Artificial Intelligence and human creativity in content creation is not a win-lose game. Rather, it represents an evolving partnership that leverages the strengths of both to produce engaging and effective content. As technology continues to advance, AI’s role in content creation will become increasingly significant. As it becomes more integrated in the creative process, informing brainstorming sessions, and personalized content for specific audiences, its impact has the potential to be even more astonishing. 

It’s important to remember that AI, in its current state, can only replicate and learn from existing data. While it can mimic various artistic styles and generate content based on patterns in the data it has been fed, it cannot originate new ideas or perspectives. This is where human creativity shines. Humans bring a unique touch to content creation, providing originality, emotional depth, and the ability to connect with audiences on a personal level.

As we move forward, it’s crucial for content creators to understand and embrace this collaborative approach. We can push the boundaries of what’s possible in content creation, producing work that is not only efficient and personalized but also deeply human and engaging.