The AI Revolution: 2025 Revisited
Over a year ago I wrote in my column about the AI revolution. In it I discussed the impact of AI on the creative industry, particularly illustration and focused on AI image generators like Dall-E 2 and Adobe Firefly and AI potentially replacing us human creatives. I concluded that AI, at the time, was more of an imitation than a revolution but was hopeful that there will always be a need for human creativity.
A year or so on, AI hasn’t gone away and it is very much here to stay. Even writing this now on Google Docs there’s a new fangled AI chatbot, called Gemini, to the right of my screen. Admittedly, I have used ChatGPT for this and that over the last few months. I never use these chatbots to write my column or blog posts for me, but only for advice and occasionally for research purposes. However, for a bit of fun for this article, I will ask / interview ChatGPT and delve into the current state of what’s happening in the UK with AI in relation to visual creatives and also what does the future hold for illustrators. Let’s begin.
Question One
What are the government's plans for AI in relation to the UK becoming a world AI hub and how might this affect visual creatives such as illustrators?
“The UK government is actively pursuing initiatives to establish the nation as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI). The AI Opportunities Action Plan outlines strategies to harness AI’s benefits across various sectors, emphasizing innovation and economic growth. However, proposed changes to copyright laws have raised concerns among visual creatives, such as illustrators. Notably, Sir Paul McCartney has expressed apprehension that these changes could allow AI companies to use artists’ works without proper compensation, potentially undermining creators’ rights and impacting the UK’s creative industries. The government is consulting on these changes and aims to ensure clarity and control for creators while also facilitating access to data for AI innovation.”
—
Personally, I haven’t read all of The AI Opportunities Action Plan and I have heard bits on the news and seen comments about the plans on social media. The plan was announced in January 2025, and for me the worry is definitely around copyright. I do understand the need to not be left behind in a world of AI, but at what to cost to our creative sector? Sir Paul McCartney comments about undermining the rights of creators is a great and inspiring point. Thank you, Sir Paul! I have worked hard to develop my unique illustrative and imaginative style and to think that an AI image maker could learn from my works and replicate it is very unnerving. Furthermore, McCartney discusses how visual creatives should be compensated somehow. For me currently though, I don’t necessarily want compensation. Just please don’t harvest and steal my work and potentially my livelihood.
There is light at the end of the tunnel though from the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, who said last year: “This government firmly believes that our musicians, writers, artists and other creatives should have the ability to know and control how their content is used by AI firms and be able to seek licensing deals and fair payment. Achieving this, and ensuring legal certainty, will help our creative and AI sectors grow and innovate together in partnership.” [Source]
It’s my hope that the culture secretary’s comments are taken into consideration and actioned, though at times, what politicians say and do are two very different things. Politics aside, it’s still up in the air what will happen with the UK government’s plan. So I guess we’ll have to sit tight and wait for things to pan out.
Question Two
In the world of AI image generators, what might the future hold for traditional and digital illustrators? Good and bad.
“The rise of AI image generators presents both opportunities and challenges for traditional and digital illustrators. On the positive side, AI can serve as a collaborative tool, speeding up workflows, generating creative ideas, and offering new ways to experiment with styles. However, it also raises concerns about job displacement, the devaluation of artistic skills, and ethical issues around copyright infringement as AI often trains on existing works. Illustrators may need to adapt by focusing on their unique artistic voice, developing skills that complement AI tools, and advocating for fair regulations to protect creative rights.
—
Here I like the sound of opportunities to speed up work flow and become more efficient in my day to day work. As mentioned, I have used ChatGPT before for client research to in turn feed my visual output and generate creative ideas. I like the idea of AI being a tool to help. I will never use it as a tool to create marks and visuals though, I simply like sketching and doodling too much and rely heavily on happy accidents and play when putting pencil to paper.
Job displacement is a massive worry for me. I am a one-man-band creative studio and I do like to think I’m great at what I do, not only with my visual aesthetic but also with the ideas I intertwine within my work. This job is how I feed my kids and keep a roof over my head. All in all, it makes me fear of a sink or swim situation for us illustrators. The digital wave is coming whether we like it or not. So do we grab our swimming gear or do we stay on the shore? In any case there needs to be a fair balance of AI growth and protecting illustrators and the creative industry as a whole. According to a quick search, Google’s Gemini showed me that the creative sector in the UK is valued at approximately £124.6 billion. This figure represents the Gross Value Added (GVA) contributed by the creative industries in 2022. [Source]. Is this likely to grow or fall with the government's new plans? Only time will tell, but in any case what creatives already bring to the table financially is massive and needs to be preserved, surely?
Question Three
The AI digital wave is coming whether we like it or not. In that respect how can illustrators grow and prosper with AI and not lose their livelihood and future commissions in the years to come?
“To thrive alongside the AI revolution, illustrators can embrace AI as a creative ally rather than a competitor. By mastering AI tools, they can enhance their workflows, offer faster turnarounds, and explore innovative styles and techniques. Illustrators should focus on cultivating their unique artistic identity—something AI cannot replicate—and on offering bespoke, emotionally resonant work that stands out in a saturated market. Networking, upskilling in areas like storytelling, branding, or animation, and advocating for ethical AI practices will help them remain indispensable in the evolving creative landscape.”
—
Some positives to take away and move forward with here. Maybe ChatGPT is biased, but I do like the sound of a creative ally rather than a competitor. I guess with the term “competitor” it will come down to a client doing the work or working with an AI artist for a smaller commission and producing something similar in style. However, cultivating my artistic identity, offering bespoke, emotionally resonant work and storytelling is something I already offer and clearly there in every illustrative picture I make. This unique attribution to my craft that I have only exists in me and in my emotional and thoughtful response to a brief. No one can replicate me in that respect. Furthermore, animation and motion are two fields I am definitely doing more of and wish to grow into as I grow my business. I always believe that all illustrators should learn to animate to add extra strings to their creative bows.
The times they are a changing
In conclusion, the future of the AI landscape for illustrators in this country and indeed the world, for the most part, is still unwritten. I believe we are on the cusp of something both exciting and terrifying as a creative entrepreneur. The transition is coming folks whether we like it or not.
In one sense, I almost feel like a crop picker in a field a hundred years ago, seeing a tractor for the first time at the start of an industrial revolution and looking at my replacement. However, I also see an optimistic future view. I am an optimistic person for the most part and will pivot and grow in whatever means necessary to keep doing what I do and build on my livelihood. I have that drive. Call AI a tool, a thief, a creative ally or whatever you want, if it is coming, I’m going to try to utilise it in my own way that won’t diminish my love of pen to paper and to use it to enhance my unreplicable voice and artistic identity. I am cautious though in my statement and want illustrators and creatives to read this with an open mind and that the prospect of the future can be bright in an AI world.
To the UK government, I hope they do the right thing and protect the creative sector, illustrative copyright and the professionals that make the UK creative industry amazing. As I have written, a lot of things are up in the air at the moment. For me though I will look to a creative AI future with cautious optimism. It’s the only way I think which will work. As Bob Dylan sang way back when… “the times they are a changing”. For this illustrator at least, I want to roll with those times and embrace some of what the future has to offer.
—
Thanks for reading
