What working in a tech startup taught me about the dangers and potential of AI for creatives

Artificial intelligence is either the savior of time-pressed professionals or the harbinger of the robot apocalypse, depending on what you read. In this article, we’ll explore the pitfalls and potential of AI and everything in between—so you can decide how (or if) to use AI in your creative work.

I’m no techie, but somehow, I worked in a small startup developing a new AI product to bring to market in 2025. The gist? Google on steroids. My job? To make the product’s edgier elements seem less intimidating to the public. 

The experience taught me that AI presents plenty of exciting possibilities for the future but is also riddled with pitfalls and unresolved issues that people often don’t know much about. 

For creative folk especially, the ethical implications of generative AI concerning copyright and plagiarism are incredibly concerning. Still, this true impact is only beginning to come to light. As with everything related to AI, we are only starting to touch the surface, and it’s advisable to tread cautiously, particularly if you value ownership of your creative output. 

Of course, we can’t dismiss the convenience of using AI in marketing, design, and other professions, which has already transformed our work. Less time spent writing content or creating images must be better, right? The jury’s out on that one, but hear me before you choose your side. Let’s go in for the weigh-up.

One of the most common claims by conspiracy theorists and traditionalists alike is that AI is dangerous, and we don’t understand enough about its potential to control it fully. While it seems unlikely that armies of AI robots will aim for world domination anytime soon, there are some seeds of truth to the idea that AI is a hindrance rather than the help it’s marketed to be, but it depends on who you’re speaking to.

For many people, AI offers a helping hand with everyday tasks, making time-consuming admin a breeze and even helping us streamline daily chores like writing shopping lists, scheduling meetings, and firing off emails. We’re even seeing AI dipping a toe into therapy and counseling, improving the efficiency of services for vulnerable people in society, and even finding habitats for nature recovery projects. It’s not all evil robots, after all. 

Or is it? 

One of the key issues that became apparent in my work to market AI to the public is that it has many drawbacks and risks, many of which people either don’t know about or simply dismiss in favor of ‘technological progress.’ These include:

Considering these risks, the question is: Is it worth it?

AI, just like the internet, is user-driven. Reflecting on his world-changing invention, the founder of the modern web, Tim Berners-Lee, said:

What he was getting at was that the web is simply a tool for people to use, for better or worse. Perhaps when Berners-Lee originally created the World Wide Web with the convenience of easier information sharing in mind, he did not think about the dark side that would emerge—internet trolls, social media stalking, criminal hacking, and the like. 

Like the web, AI is another blank space: a tool defined by code and algorithms, created and used by people. It is what we make of it. But that begs the question: “Who are ‘we’?” 

AI could have emerged at no more challenging time than in the era of Big Tech and the hyper-commercialization driven by a handful of companies at the top of the tech tree. Meta, Google, and Apple dominate the tech consumer landscape, and any thinking along the lines of the ‘good of mankind’ that Berners-Lee’s generation may have leaned towards has long since been replaced by lit-up dollar signs. 

For the end user, AI is convenient, but this is often at the expense of being used by the tech companies that bring you the product in question. AI’s success—both functionally and commercially—depends on the speed and efficiency of machine learning, which can only grow from the user-given content it consumes. Think of it like a cute, fluffy monster with an endless capacity to eat (a lot like the Cookie Monster). Feed it a little and receive a little in return. In contrast, the likes of Meta receive a whopping amount of data that can be reused, regurgitated and spun into even more developed—and profitable—AI iterations. 

AI seems to be a case of give and take, take and take for everyone, especially creatives (see more about this below)—data in, convenience out. 

Whether you’re an illustrator, graphic designer, or photographer, you’ve probably used AI in some capacity (however small) through your creative tools. Almost every digital design app now has AI features built in, with some tools like Canva and Adobe Express putting AI front and center on how they develop and market their products.

Perhaps you’ve used an image generator to create visual content quickly, or you’ve used a suite of creative AI features, such as smart filters or intelligent background editing, to create or enhance your imagery. It can be challenging to avoid using AI if you use design software due to built-in features that apply smart tech seamlessly as you work.

So, if we can use AI to get our work done faster, what’s the issue? Introducing the Creative Convenience Conundrum—time-strapped designers often use AI to speed up their workflow, but this could be at the expense of your creativity. Last year, Adobe faced a backlash when many users interpreted an update to its Terms of Service as a signal that it would train its generative AI on customers’ artwork.

Adobe quickly denied this, but the controversy illustrated many creatives’ fears and suspicions about generative AI. Indeed, we’re seeing a broader trend of users being wary of sharing their creative output—written articles and books, voice recordings, music, or photographs—for potential use in training AI models. 

Is it all doom and gloom for creatives and AI? Given the above, you might be right to feel wary, but the other side of the story involves approaching the conundrum from a different angle. Some creatives think that AI isn’t going away anytime soon (they’re almost certainly correct), so it’s better to be on the bandwagon than left in the dust. Instead, creatives must use AI more proactively, combining their creative skills and more sophisticated prompts to create content that merges the best of both worlds. 

In 2022, a compelling image of a younger woman being embraced by an older version of herself was widely reported to have won the Creative Photography category in the Sony World Photography Awards. The Berlin-based artist Boris Eldagsen then turned down the prize and admitted the image had been created using DALL-E 2, an AI image generator. 

In his own words, Eldagsen intended to be a ‘cheeky’ monkey, but he also wanted to spark a debate around the use of AI in the creative arts, and it certainly did. However, while 2022’s mood was primarily disbelief and outrage, the mood might have shifted in 2025. Today, creatives are using AI more than ever to create images, music, and writing, and it’s becoming more naturalized within standard creative practice.

Artificial Intelligence is one of history’s most significant technological innovations and is unlikely to disappear soon. So, creative folk can’t afford to bury their heads in the sand on whether it should be used passively or actively in producing creative content.  

What, then, is the future of AI in the creative industries? Perhaps, as AI becomes more integrated into our lives, its presence will become so routine that most users (particularly those of younger, digital native generations) won’t question its usage or ethics. Some creatives might use AI more overtly in creating their work as questions about whether AI dilutes creativity become less pressing.

Alternatively, we may see reactions in opposition to AI. We’re already starting to see some of this with groups like the Human Intelligence art movement established by illustrator Beth Spencer or through the fierce anti-AI reactions from established artists like Studio Ghibli founder and Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. 

We can think back to a recent case study from furniture design, in which the New Craft movement emerged in the 2010s in reaction to mass-produced, flatpack furniture. Or think about the campaigning organization Digital Action, established in 2019 to make global tech firms more accountable for their actions and policies. There’s almost always a reaction to culturally accepted norms. That’s how many art movements originated.

The anti-AI reactionists are around, but do they always get their due attention? They’re often restricted to grassroots organizations or individual critics, and the dominant ‘Cult of Big Tech’ usually overshadows their opinions.

So, now, it’s over to you. Do you think AI is a force for good or bad in creative practice? In your work, you might be staunchly against using the technology or an active AI practitioner or, more likely, somewhere in the middle, dipping a toe occasionally.

As the conversation around AI in the creative industries continues to develop, we’ll keep our fingers on the pulse here at Envato. While making up your mind about the technology, why don’t you start experimenting with what it can do? Try smart searching for project assets, brush up on AI tips and tricks, or take an image generator for a whirl to see how this divisive tech can create photos, graphics, and illustrations and where it leads you…