This book examines AI’s transformative impact on creativity, blending insights from economics, media studies, and technology to analyze its role in the arts and the broader creative industries. AI challenges the way we relate and use technology, as well as expand how we think of technological progress overall. Structured in three parts, the book first rethinks creativity as an inclusive, collaborative process through theories like Actor-Network-Theory, arguing AI is a new form of agency within creative networks. It explores the economic drivers of AI adoption, citing industry forecasts, long term trends and the rise of what sociologist Richard Florida calls the “Creative Class”. Through critical analysis of the gaps between the rhetoric and realities of AI, the text advocates for “Augmented Creativity”, as the right approach to balance human-AI collaboration. Lastly, the book studies pragmatic scenarios for 2035, focusing on job shifts, AI-generated content, and artistic experimentation—avoiding speculative AI hype. By grounding debates in real-world impacts, the book urges a critical, yet nuanced view of AI that ensures it remains a potential agent for collaboration rather than a replacement of human skill and imagination.
