Since the advent of AI there have been, in my perception at least, two competing ideologies surrounding it.

1. AI will never replace humans.
2. AI will replace ME.

Now i realize that this is a very reductive view of what is a largely complex and nuanced discussion, but let me cook for a minute.

As a designer in the digital world, i have held both of these opinions at various times. And if im honest, there are days where i hold both interchangably.

On one hand i see the value of using AI in my every day workflow. And yes, you heard that right. I use it nearly every day for some task or another.

What do i use it for?

Great question, im glad you asked.

The use cases i try to limit my usage to involve the following:
1. Any menial task that i dont have the desire to do. (organizing data sets, alphabetizing lists, checking for importan information in my email inbox that i might have missed, or even searching the web for updated job listings that might fall within my scope of elegibility.)
2. Reframing and working with art provided by clients that is already generated with AI. (Specificaly scale, orientation, and resolution.)
- in my opinion, no one should have an issue with me using generative AI to altar artwork that has been created by the same means. Especially considering that is what they have decided they're ok with, and now it is my job to make sure that "art" is usable at the scale they need it.
3. Generating mockups using work i have personally made.

...Among a few other use cases.

Now to the big question: Do i use AI to generate the art that i sell?

Definitively, NO.

It is my conviction that if someone is paying me to make them a design, they deserve MY WORK. Not whatever concoction i get from an iterative "discussion" with a robot.

Now, does that mean i can't use AI as a tool to help ideate some concept? No.

I have used it to do general layout concepts of a brochure, for example. But in the end, i do not hand the customer an AI generated file, even though i could and they likely wouldn't know or care.

I always feel the need to recreate in perpetuity what has been generated no matter how long that process may take.

Anyone whose ever worked in a creative field will know, having tools like this to help overcome creative blocks is a God send. Often times clients will give the vaguest impression of what they want (i.e. i want it to look professional.) That prompt is rarely sufficient for a complete design process, and thusly i spend hours searching the internet for "professional" concepts to then build from.

However, with AI, i can put their prompt, and their logo in and ask it to give me a few ideas of what would meet that prompt. Then once i have found one i feel fits the bill i can design based on that idea.

So, yes. As a designer, i use AI. Just, maybe, not in the same way you would assume.

But how does that inform my feelings and opinions about AI replacing me?

Well, to answer that question you would need to understand the world of design that i work in.

On one hand, i have clients whose budgets allow for essentially unrestricted spending to get the marketing/design collateral they want.

For those clients, i doubt AI will fully replace me. In fact, because of the nature of the flaws it makes, it may actually increase my workload.

However, for those clients whose budget has always been insufficient for actual design work i have already been replaced. I do a good bit of pro-bono work in the private sector as it is. And i do my best to turn work around with quality and efficiency where i am able. But if I'm honest, my bills need to be paid with more than good will. And that being the case, my output is lower for non paying jobs. It's just the facts of life. I cannot prioritize something that doesn't pay my bills over something that does.

When that lands in the lap of my clients, their default is to get the best work they can at the cheapest possible price. And because of the versatility of AI spanning far beyond simply graphic design work, the investment into that system makes more sense than a graphic design budget as a stand alone line item.

So, in the end, will it replace me? Yes, to some clients. But not to all.

For a long time i have wrestled with this and felt uncertain about my career path. Wondering constantly whether it is too late for me to go back to school and get another degree in something else.

But then I have the wandering thought, will automation eventually take over all jobs?

I watched a video recently that gave me a bit of peace of mind with regards to this.

The video posited the reality that the only job in the history of working humanity that has truly and completely been made obsolete and thusly disappeared is that of the Elevator Operator.

The video ended in this thought: Will AI replace you? No. But other people who leverage it as a tool will.

Ultimately it's not about whether it will replace you, its about whether you will learn to utilize it to do your job better WITH it.