Human at the Helm

I just wrapped a successful local campaign.

Dozens of assets. Smooth client approvals. Strong viewership numbers.

Being a geek-o-phile, I kept looking for places to use AI tools. To automate. To optimize. To speed up the asset churn.

But here's what actually made the campaign work: Cultural nuance. Subtle humor. Creative decisions that emerge from human insight.

Researchers talk about "human in the loop" for AI systems. People validating outputs. Checking accuracy. Filtering results.

But creative work demands more.

AI tools helped automate parts of our campaign. But what drove success were the things that couldn't be automated. Specific, nuanced moments only human insight could catch. Subtleties that vector-based systems would miss.

The tools should surface unique human insight. In fresh and innovative ways. Amplify creative judgment. Not replace creative teams.

"Human in the loop" is too passive for creative work. We need "Human at the Helm." Humans steering the process. Humans driving the vision.

The tech can replace the navigation system. But not the navigator. Or the destination.