As an Artisan, Crafter of handmade OOAK creations, and a Businesswoman, I have a true love/hate relationship regarding AI. From a business aspect, I can see it as a semi-useful tool, as long as you don’t depend on it 100%. From the Artisan aspect, I loathe it.

AI as a business assistance tool.

Depending on your business and how you use AI, it can be a beneficial business tool. Of course, you have to train it towards your specific brand and business first. Not to mention that you actually have to monitor the output. Without monitoring the output, you’ll end up with somewhere around a 60% accuracy and 100% confusion.

It can be useful for marketing a service where image accuracy is not the primary goal. It’s great for proofreading texts. If you need help with creating a time management plan or brainstorming a campaign, it comes in very handy. Prompt / one-click creation of graphics, video reels, and, for some people, even content posts. If the human touch is inconsequential to you and your product, you have a good tool.

I know plenty of people who have AI build their websites for them. There are a million and one uses for AI these days, and some of them certainly make the workflow easier. Saving time is the main goal, and while the research help from these tools is often celebrated, it has its limits.

AI is a blight for human-created artisan work!

When I say human-created artisan work, I mean actual handson creation, not prompt creation. Artificial Intelligence can do fun work with art, but it is copying it from somewhere. Since AI requires data to work, it uses the images it finds in its database and works with them.

I used a prompt-generated graphic as my feature image this time, and asked Gemini to create it for me. The prompt I gave it was:  I want you to create an image for me of a human and an AI both being at odds and confused.

This prompt came after a “discussion” about my frustration with AI marketing done by someone else, in which I was included, and the program claimed that I was selling Sherpa blankets and crochet blankets in my shop. There isn’t a single blanket in my shop (yet), and I don’t see that being added any time soon. Where it got Sherpa blankets from, which is very specific, is anyone’s guess. It simply hallucinated the idea that blankets would be available in my store.

For those among us who create handmade items of any kind, the AI-generated product images that so many want to use set false expectations. Considering most people can no longer distinguish between machine-generated and human-made, it makes earning a living even harder.

AI is driving prices down!

Writing is an art form as well. For an author who still sits down and writes their own content, scripts, and full-length stories for publication and sale, it is equally disheartening. An ever-increasing number of books are now being generated. This is driving prices down and making it almost impossible for someone to sell their books at a fair price point.

Many services once provided purely by human creativity have suffered along the way.

60% accuracy and 100% confusion!

Considering that so many people believe what they read on the internet without actually checking facts, that 60% inaccuracy rate can lead to 100% confusion.

Imagine building your brand or empire around faulty information! You are basically building your business on quicksand.

Your product information lacks soul and oftentimes is misleading. When used in a newsletter, a simple mistake like claiming I sell blankets in my store, while completely leaving out the products I actually do sell, draws the wrong traffic. Not something you want to happen.

Losing your skills because of too much ease!

Everyone always assumes that technology will be available forever. Artificial Intelligence is heralded as the way of the future, and very well might be. Though it is already starting to be outdated in some ways. What are you going to do when it crashes? Or if laws against certain aspects of its use are passed?

When you have depended solely on learning to produce something by giving a prompt and pushing a button alone, you have never learned the actual base skills required to do the actual production. Too much ease and instant gratification lead to the loss of foundational skills.

Here is my takeaway:

Use AI as a tool when necessary, but don’t use it as a replacement for your actual craft.

As a writer, I use Gemini from time to time as a proofreader for spelling and grammar. Even though I have spoken English exclusively for the last 30+ years now, it is not my native language. I still write with an accent at times. Since spellcheck is at best unreliable, using Gemini or even Chat GPT as a proofreading tool is beneficial for someone like me.

I won’t use it to write my content for me. It is important for me that you see the soul and, yes, even flaws in my writing. My opinions, my insights, shared with you. The human connection that a machine cannot replicate, since it doesn’t experience the complexity of human emotions.

I use it to help me with SEO in the Metafield of my listings so Google can pick it up and index it properly. It’s not my strong point – YET. Once I master it, I won’t need it for that particular aspect any longer.

I won’t use it for marketing or for photo editing. I use Ribbet as my photo editing tool. It won’t be perfect, but it will be as accurate as I can make it.

Basically, when it comes to my business, I prefer the human touch. The handmade soul. I use it as a tool in minor aspects, while keeping the reins firmly in my busy little hands.

What are your opinions on this topic?

I would love to hear from you in the comment section.

AS always, thanks for stopping by and spending some time with me on my blog! Don’t forget to sign up for my once-a-month mailing list!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Artisan Regina L