AI is a creative enabler

Over the past couple of years, as AI has been woven into everyday life, I have noticed the conversation swing back and forth almost daily.

One day it is framed as a breakthrough. The next, it is a warning sign. I hear worries about what it might replace, and I also hear optimism about what it might unlock. The debate can feel like a needle flipping forward, then back again, as if we are trying to decide whether we should be excited or cautious.

From where I sit, after years of building software and seeing tools come and go, I find it most useful to hold a simpler view. AI is a tool that can help move things forward when they are stuck.

That does not mean it should be trusted blindly. It does not mean it has good judgment. It does not mean it carries responsibility. It is a tool, not the decision maker.

That distinction matters, especially when the work is personal. When you hit a wall, whether it is a blank page, a half formed concept, or a draft that will not click, the hardest part is often momentum. In those moments, using AI can feel less like outsourcing and more like creating a push. It offers prompts, alternatives, and starting points that can help you step out of the loop you are stuck in.

Of course, not everything it produces is useful. Sometimes it is generic. Sometimes it misunderstands what you are actually trying to do. Sometimes it offers ten ideas that are technically coherent but emotionally flat. That is exactly why human review is important. The value is not in accepting the output as finished. The value is in reacting to it, reshaping it, and making choices that align with your intent.

Used well, it can lead someone from a strong idea into a complete script. It can also help a photographer regain a sense of direction when the spark feels distant, by exploring different angles, themes, or constraints they might not have considered that day.

I do not see AI as the source of creativity. I see it as a catalyst. It can shorten the distance between an idea and a first draft. It can make iteration less exhausting. It can help people stay in motion long enough to find what they were trying to say in the first place.