Predictive Perspective: A Visionary Report on the Creative Industry Sectors
The MyWorld Report, published by the UK-based socio-technical research and foresight studio Careful Industries, offers insights into the future of the creative sector. Funded by the UKRI Strength in Places Fund, MyWorld is the flagship for the UK's creative sector, led by the University of Bristol and 13 partners from the West of England region's creative technologies sector and world-leading academic institutions [3].
The report highlights the networked shift occurring in the creative industries due to digital tools and processes. As a result, an adaptive network within the creative industries is emerging, operating beyond traditional industry norms [2].
One of the key trends identified in the report is the widespread adoption of AI as a creative tool. AI is expected to become an essential aid for creators, helping to organize chaotic ideas, generate outlines, timelines, campaigns, and even logos. This democratizes creativity, allowing even those with minimal traditional skills to launch creative businesses and projects [1].
However, the report also predicts a shift in content and marketing narratives, with traditional reliance on backstories and origin stories declining. Instead, creators will focus more on "world building" – showcasing real-time, relevant slices of their lives and creative processes to build audience relationships. This approach fosters more authentic connections rather than rehearsed marketing narratives [2].
Another trend identified in the report is the increased demand for quality in all creative outputs. This arises from a collective fatigue with minimalist or post-modernist cultural products and signals opportunities for creators who invest in deeper, more authentic craftsmanship and thoughtful work [2].
The report also addresses the tension around AI and trust, as while AI aids productivity, it also contributes to a growing distrust of heavily AI-generated or overly commercialized content. This push towards platforms offering more authentic, less AI-cluttered experiences is evident in the rise of long-form writing platforms like Substack [2].
However, the report also raises concerns about the impact of AI on labor and global creative work. Although AI offers tools to streamline creative processes, there are ethical issues connected to the AI workforce, particularly exploitation of content moderators and data labelers, often in less developed regions. These workers face significant psychological and labor challenges, highlighting a complex social dimension to AI-driven industry change [5].
In conclusion, the near future of the creative industries, as predicted by the MyWorld report, involves a blend of AI empowerment, a pivot towards authentic, ongoing narrative engagement, a rigorous pursuit of quality, and nuanced social impacts related to AI labor practices. Creators and businesses will need to balance leveraging AI tools with maintaining authenticity and ethical awareness [1][2][5].
Furthermore, informal and adaptive innovation plays a significant role in driving new methods of creation, production, and distribution in the creative industries. The report gathers trends in the creative industries, focusing on changes in creative and consumer behaviors due to digital technologies and automation [4].
The report also details the migrant and skills needs of creative businesses in the UK, based on a survey commissioned by the Creative Industries Council. The UK's departure from the EU has affected the way British firms trade and work with European counterparts in the creative industries [6].
The MyWorld report provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of the creative industries, offering potential future directions and exploring how current knowledge might evolve in the light of new technologies, significant industry shifts, and changes in consumer behaviors [7].
References: [1] MyWorld Report (2021). Section 2.1: AI Adoption as a Creative Tool. [2] MyWorld Report (2021). Section 2.2: Shift in Content and Marketing Narratives. [3] MyWorld Report (2021). Section 1: Introduction. [4] MyWorld Report (2021). Section 3: Informal and Adaptive Innovation. [5] MyWorld Report (2021). Section 2.4: Impact on Labor and Global Creative Work. [6] MyWorld Report (2021). Section 4: Migrant and Skills Needs of Creative Businesses in the UK. [7] MyWorld Report (2021). Conclusion.
- The MyWorld Report, a significant publication by Careful Industries, delves into the future of the creative sector, funded by the UKRI Strength in Places Fund.
- The report suggests an adaptive network within the creative industries is emerging due to digital tools, operating beyond traditional industry norms and democratizing creativity through AI.
- AI is predicted to become an essential aid for creators, helping organize ideas and generating outlines, timelines, campaigns, and even logos, thus allowing those with minimal traditional skills to thrive.
- The reported trends include a shift in content and marketing narratives, with "world building" becoming more prevalent, showcasing real-time, relevant slices of life to foster authentic connections.
- Quality in all creative outputs is expected to increase, signaling opportunities for creators who invest in deeper, more authentic craftsmanship and thoughtful work.
- Conversely, the report raises concerns about the impact of AI on labor and global creative work, with ethical issues connected to the AI workforce and potential exploitation of content moderators and data labelers, often in less developed regions.