When the steam shovel was invented, ditch diggers had a choice: become obsolete or evolve. If your job was simply to be “cheap and available,” the steam shovel wiped you out. But if you adapted—if you specialized, mastered excavation, or found work a machine couldn’t do—you thrived.
The same story is playing out today with AI.
If you’re a freelance illustrator, writer, designer, or marketer, the rise of tools like Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT isn’t an existential crisis. It’s a spotlight on the real issue: Are you doing work that’s indistinguishable from what a machine can generate?
If the answer is yes, AI isn’t your biggest problem. Being average is.
The Death of the “Pretty Good” Freelancer
Once upon a time, “pretty good” was good enough. A solid sci-fi book cover, a decent ad headline, a functional blog post—these things held value because businesses needed them, and human hands were the only option.
Not anymore.
If you’re a book cover designer cranking out generic sci-fi art, AI can produce 40 options in seconds, and the rights belong to the user. If you’re a copywriter churning out forgettable taglines, AI can generate a dozen variations before lunch.
Mediocre work is now free and instant. And the market values it accordingly.
How to Make AI Work For You, Not Against You
So what’s the move? The answer is the same as it was for the ditch diggers: specialize, differentiate, and build a moat around what makes you irreplaceable.
1. Be One of One
If AI can do it, the only reason someone will hire you is because you’re you. That means building a brand, a style, a perspective. Shepard Fairey, the renowned artist behind the iconic “Hope” poster for Barack Obama, isn’t worried about AI-generated art because his work is uniquely his.
Fairey’s distinct style—blending political commentary with street art—has earned him global recognition and a reputation that no machine can replicate. If you want to be irreplaceable, take a page from his playbook: find your voice and make it unmistakable.
2. Do What AI Can’t
AI lacks taste, strategy, and deep cultural awareness. It can remix and replicate, but it can’t originate. If you’re a writer, focus on voice, insight, and emotional depth—things AI struggles with. If you’re a designer, develop a signature style. If you’re a marketer, master storytelling and audience psychology.
Take Fairey again as an example. His art is more than visually compelling—it’s culturally resonant. From the Obey Giant campaign to pieces addressing climate change, his work taps into social and political movements in ways AI can’t replicate.
3. Use AI as a Force Multiplier
This isn’t about fighting AI—it’s about using it better than everyone else. The best copywriters aren’t scared of ChatGPT; they’re using it to ideate, refine, and test messaging faster. The best illustrators aren’t avoiding AI—they’re integrating it into their workflow to push their creativity further.
The Bottom Line
Average is what AI replaces. But excellence, originality, and insight? Those are more valuable than ever.
So ask yourself: Are you digging ditches, or are you mastering excavation?
