On AI

Leanne Higgins on AI and human creativity: how Pink Seaweed Gallery uses new tools while championing Manx artists and the next generation of creatives.

I run a gallery full of work made by people, but I also use AI in my own working day. Both of those things matter to me, and they’ve made me think carefully about what I want these tools to do.

At Pink Seaweed, every piece has a person behind it. Someone has spent time learning their craft, following an idea, changing their mind halfway through and making the final decisions. When you take a piece home, you take a little of that story with you. That human connection is a big part of why the gallery exists, so I don’t use AI-generated artwork in the gallery or in my own art and design work.

At the same time, I’ve found AI enormously useful for the less visible parts of running a small business. I treat it a bit like a knowledgeable colleague. I can ask it to make sense of a complicated document, research something new, organise a project or check a detail I might have missed. When my head is full of ideas, it can turn the jumble into a few clear next steps. It has also made it possible for me to build digital tools and work on websites that I might once have put off indefinitely.

I still decide what feels right. The point, for me, is to have more time and energy for the work and the people I care about.

A question of choice

It’s tempting to talk about AI as though we all have to be either for it or against it. My experience is more complicated than that. I can see exciting possibilities for creative people, particularly those who don’t have a big team, a generous budget or endless time. A useful tool can make an idea feel possible.

I also think we should be able to ask where the material behind these systems came from. Artists deserve to know if their work is being used, and to have a meaningful say in that. Credit, consent and fair payment matter to me in the gallery, and they matter in the digital world too.

The environmental cost deserves an honest conversation as well. AI uses energy and resources. I don’t have a neat answer to that, but I do think about whether what I’m asking a tool to do is worth doing. The companies developing these systems need to be open about their impact so people can make informed choices.

Leaving space for people to learn

One of my biggest worries is what happens to people at the start of a creative career.

In my years working in communications and design, I learned so much from the smaller jobs: researching, trying a first draft, laying something out and seeing how a more experienced person made it better. None of it felt especially grand at the time. Looking back, that was where I began to develop judgement and confidence.

Some of those tasks can now be done quickly with AI. I understand why that appeals to a busy business. But if we hand over every beginner’s task, we also need to think about where beginners will practise. We’ll still need experienced writers, designers and artists in the future. They need somewhere to start.

I’d love to see creative businesses use these tools in ways that give people more chances to learn and experiment, rather than fewer.

Keeping the human part

Pink Seaweed has worked with more than 140 Manx artists and makers. Some have been creating for years. Others have shown their work for the first time here. I love seeing how differently they respond to the same place, the same landscape or even the same materials. No two people bring quite the same memories or point of view to what they make.

That doesn’t make me afraid of every new tool. I’m curious about what creative minds might do with AI when they use it with care, taste and purpose. I just want us to keep asking who benefits, who gets a chance to develop and what we might lose if we only measure what is quickest.

I’ll carry on using AI to make the day-to-day work of running a gallery more manageable. And I’ll carry on filling the gallery with art made by people.

For me, that’s creativity first and AI second.