Growing up in the Midwest, my family had an inside joke about the scenic overlooks scattering Interstate 94. After a few hours of stiff muscles in the backseat of my parents' minivan, my dad would spot a brown road sign during one of our frequent road trips: “Scenic Overlook 1 mile” and put his turn signal on.
My older sister and I would groan and my mom would shake her head in that way you do when you know there’s nothing you can say to stop someone once they’re dead set on an idea.
But one thing was undeniable–the rest of the drive home was always so much more fun after we stopped to smell the roses.
I was reminded of that while attending a session at this year’s SXSW Innovation Conference, when Marina Totino, a miniature artist and filmmaker, suggested that creatives opt to take the scenic route in their work, particularly as new technologies like AI continue to shape artistic spaces.
The contrast between AI and analog was unmistakable at SXSW. You could walk less than 20 paces from a session championing AI to another framing it as something to be wary of. I came to the conference curious about how all of these vastly different ideas about creativity and technology would converge under one (metaphorical) roof.
Marina’s words stuck with me, especially her points about how quickly new technology allows us to problem solve. When we encounter roadblocks, an arsenal of tools now exist to clear our path: asking AI for help, scouring the internet, or even phoning a friend on the other side of the world.
Of course, these innovations have helped us advance in many ways, but getting bored or stuck on a problem is part of the creative process.
Marina recalled childhood memories where she and her friends got bored and created whole new worlds with costumes, characters and voices. It’s no surprise that I also did this, and I’m guessing you probably have too. But between social media and AI, we have so many outlets to divert our boredom that we may be at risk of losing this crucial element of the creative process that forces us to try something off the beaten path.
Another panelist who worked in claymation talked about the imperfections in his work: the fingerprints, the cracks in the clay, the improbable shapes that make the medium so beautiful and creative. That’s because the final product is from a person, and across industries, audiences are showing interest in the personal, human touches behind the work.
The advertising industry is loaded with polished content–and with AI, some have said content is looking a bit too polished. Panelists agreed that the pendulum may already be swinging back toward content that shows, or even highlights, imperfections. There’s a growing appetite among audiences for content that looks like it was made by humans, rather than machines.
At another panel, artist Daniel Lismore said that art gives us a way to express our humanity, to engage different sides of ourselves. He also noted that AI may be contributing to current trends to “go analog”—like spending less time on our phones, putting a handwritten letter in the mail and waiting for a response, or prioritizing in-person conversations over chat.
It is that quality that reminds us what our competitive advantage of being human truly is.
As I head back to the office, back to the route I take to work everyday, I can’t help but fight the feeling of the Sunday scarries—the flood of emails and impending tasks I’ll need to zip through. Taking my own advice once I get back to the reality of deadlines and meetings won’t be easy.
But it’s just like those road trips we used to take, even when the faster route is more tempting, it pays to take the scenic route.