The Future-Proofing Superpower You Already Have

Ai can refine, restructure, and predict—but the magic?
That’s still you.

A lot of creatives feel uneasy about Ai. The fear makes sense. We’ve spent years nurturing our craft, developing a voice, showing up. And the idea that a machine could step in and generate something similar in seconds? Completely unsettling.

But Ai isn’t creating the way we (as amazing humans) do.

It predicts, reorganizes, and pulls from patterns. It can suggest, refine, and structure ideas. But the human element—the taste, aesthetic, intuition, lived experience—that can’t be automated.

And yet… I use AI every single day.

Not in a way that shouts tech revolution or leans into the futuristic, hyper-branded Ai aesthetic (you won’t catch me using glowing circuit board graphics —ever).

My brand, my voice, my aesthetic? Those come first. Always.

But to be a creative in business online and not utilize these tools? That would be, well… a little silly of me.
And the truth is— Ai has powered so many of our go-to tools for years. Photoshop, Lightroom —(remember Adobe Ssensei!?) even my camera’s smart features. It’s just that now, we’re seeing it in a more direct, hands-on way.

I still remember my first word-processing typewriter in high school—tiny screen at the top of the keyboard, only a few words visible at a time. It felt futuristic then, like a glimpse of what was coming. I’d tap away, watching the screen carefully, and when the words finally hit the page? Magic.

Now? I can’t imagine writing without the tools I have today. (White-out? I can’t.)

Every shift in technology feels jarring at first. But in the end, artists adapt—finding ways to make new tools work for them.

So the question isn’t whether Ai will replace creativity. It won’t.

But what if being a creative is the clearest kind of future-proofing—our superpower in a world where automation can sort, structure, and simulate—but never see, never sense, never spark the way we do.

---

Analog & AI—A Creative’s Dilemma (or Maybe, Not)

Analog will always have my heart.

I’m fascinated by tech. Ai has been so helpful in my business. The mind-blowing tools we have at our fingertips? Wow, just wow.

But at the same time? Paper, printing, notebooks, and—oh my word, have you seen this capless fountain pen?

Analog will always have space in my life. Always.

And yet… Ai is saving me so much time—time I can pour back into creating, into adding value, into the work that actually matters.

Take Descript—it’s saving me so much time editing my screencasts, podcast and so on. If I’d had this tool years ago, I’m pretty sure I’d have gained back a year or two of my life.

These things—the old and the new—don’t have to be in opposition. The tactile and the digital can complement each other, each adding something the other can’t. We get to blend them in a way that feels right for us.

The real question is—how can we use it to expand what’s possible?

---

How I Use Ai (Without Losing Me)

For me, Ai is a thinking partner, not a replacement.

It helps me break past creative blocks. It’s a second set of eyes (available 24/7) when I’m refining an idea. It’s a way to explore new directions without overcommitting.

Ai surfaces ideas that are already in me. It summarizes concepts that are already in me. It offers angles I might not have considered—but the choices?
The choices are always mine.

Ai surfaces ideas that are already in me, summarizes concepts, and offers angles I might not have considered—but it’s still me making the choices.

The real work? The part that makes something truly yours?
That happens in the sparks, the as-if-from-above ideas. The refining. The choices. The instinct to bend a phrase a certain way. The gut feeling that says this—not that. Ai can’t do that part.

Some Ways to Start

+Use Ai for idea generation, not final output. Let it give you a starting point, but shape and refine the work yourself.

+Ask better questions. Ai mirrors what you put in—clear, thoughtful prompts lead to stronger results.

+Keep your voice at the center. Ai can assist, but your unique perspective is what sets the work apart.

+Stay curious. Instead of resisting change, explore where Ai can help—and where human creativity is irreplaceable.

---

A Quick Experiment

Open ChatGPT (or Claude, Google Gemini) and try one of these simple prompts:

+Turn hesitation into momentum. Describe something you’re creatively stuck on and ask Ai for five fresh directions—one of them might surprise you.

+Shift from vague to clarity. Drop in a rough idea and ask for three ways to make it more specific, clear, or compelling. I love this technique.

+Borrow brilliance. Ask how a filmmaker, a poet, or content creator might approach your problem—it can spark something you wouldn’t have seen on your own. (For example: What would Steven Pressfield say about this resistance I’m feeling?)

+Creative Thought Experiment. Ask Ai to play the role of a ‘skeptical creative.’
If you were hesitant to use Ai, what concerns would you have? And if you were cautiously open to it, what first steps would you take?

+Make complexity simple. Take a concept you struggle to explain and ask Ai to distill it into a single, powerful sentence.

Pick one. Try it. See what happens. You might be quite amazed. And when you do—let me know what your Ai had to say.

xx

Kim

p.s.

Ask Ai this:

If I had to grow my creative business without using social media, what would be the most interesting and unexpected ways to do it?

The answers? They might be worth paying attention to.

---

You Might Also Enjoy