I don’t trust AI’s creative judgment, and yet I use it. Using AI makes sense for some parts of the creative process: 🟢 AI is good for refinement. 🔴 But not good enough to make a final touch. 🟢 AI can be great sparring partner during ideation. 🔴 But not good enough to make something that’s novel. I found these two mental models helpful when thinking about using AI for creativity: 1. McDonald’s theory When co-workers can’t decide where to go for a lunch, Jon Bell recommends McDonald’s. “It’s as if we’ve broken the ice with the worst possible idea, and now that the discussion has started, people suddenly get very creative. I call it the McDonald’s Theory: people are inspired to come up with good ideas to ward off bad ones.” 2. Creativity faucet Julian Shapiro takes notes from Ed Sheeran, and Neil Gaiman: “Visualize your creativity as a backed-up pipe of water. The first mile is packed with wastewater. This wastewater must be emptied before the clear water arrives. (...) Bad ideas, by the way, are often the clichés your brain has been overexposed to. Once bad ideas are emptied, a surprising thing happens: better ideas begin to arrive.” --- When it comes to creative work, I don’t think of AI as my replacement: AI surfaces the bad and the average. It empties all the wastewater from your system. So you can say: “This is nonsense! I have a better idea...” What is your perspective for using AI for design and writing? Are you comfortable with posting AI generated content under your name?