How Clever Humans Can Adapt in an AI World

Originality, taste and critical thinking are key

I grew up in the Philippines in the ’80s; my parents worked for the United Nations. We were taught the evacuation plan on day one. We knew what to do if there was an earthquake. We knew the emergency route if a volcano went off. We had a version of a plan if there was a coup, of which there were a few. It wasn’t dramatic. It was just… Tuesday.

This way of thinking sticks with you. You get used to looking at the world with one eye on what happens if things shift quickly. Not in a panic. Just with a quiet sense of, “Okay, where are the exits?” Which is probably why I’ve been thinking a lot about AI. Or rather, staring at my ceiling at 2 a.m., not in a “we’re all doomed” way, but also not in a “this is fine” way. Because it’s clearly not nothing. Things are going to change. Some slowly, some very fast. And if you work in the creative industries, you can already see it.

So for me, the only way to deal with this is to have a plan. And lately, I’ve been thinking about the pillars which can support a workable scheme. In other words, the things that actually separate us from AI.

Originality

There’s a lot of talk about how long original thinking will last. Elon Musk says we’ve got a few years, which is mildly terrifying, depending on your mood. Either way, original voices and real points of view are about to become currency. Not just output. It’s perspective. Because if everything starts to look and sound the same, the only thing that stands out is…you. No pressure.

Taste

Taste is one of those things people say you either have or you don’t. Yes, it’s subjective, but it’s also something you can develop. The more culture you consume, properly, not just passively scrolling, the better your point of reference becomes. So go wider, dream bigger and travel more. You actually have to live it.

Critical Thinking

There is a very real version of the future in which we all turn into the humans in Wall-E. Just floating around, being gently assisted by machines, not really using our brains. Production people are naturally critical thinkers. We are constantly solving problems, adjusting, figuring things out with incomplete information. It’s basically our personality at this point. This is a skill worth holding onto, because the second you outsource all your thinking, you become very easy to replace.

People Skills

This is the part no one really talks about enough. Communication. Presence. Knowing how to deliver good news and bad news without causing a small emotional crisis. Building trust. Selling an idea. Reading a room. AI can help you write an email. It cannot help you handle a difficult conversation in real time with a client who is panicking, nor can it get an AWOL director back for a PPM. As an EP, a lot of my job is helping directors and teams work on the things they are not naturally good at. The awkward bits. The gaps. The “chinks in the armor.” Turning those into strengths.

Self Awareness

Being generic is dangerous. Charles Saatchi had a Victoria Beckham quote hanging in his office: “I want to be more famous than Tide.” That level of clarity about your brand is key. The people with a distinct point of view and a recognizable identity hold value. They become a known quantity, rather than another faceless person in a sea of cuts. Your brand becomes part of your currency.

Adaptability and Diversification

This is the practical part. The people who will be fine are the ones who can move and adapt. Diversifying doesn’t mean doing random things, it means extending your core skills into different areas so you are not relying on one version of the industry. Directors move across formats. EPs apply production thinking in other sectors. Growing up in Asia, side-hustles were the norm. Everyone had something else going on. This mindset feels very current today.

For me, all of this comes back to one thing. AI can do a lot. It can probably do more than we’re comfortable admitting. But it cannot be human. The strategy isn’t to compete with it on speed, volume or slop. That’s a losing game. It’s to double down on the things that make us human. Originality. Taste. Judgment. Communication. Rapport. Hustle.

Basically, become a better human. Because if things do shift quickly, as they sometimes do, you don’t want to be figuring it out in the heat of the moment. You want to already have a game plan.