The Revenge of the Arts

As first published on Low Code for Data Science

AI is getting better and better. It’s increasingly capable of doing parts of our jobs, forcing us to rethink how we work — and even how we think.

Back in March 2024, I wrote an article titled Is Data Science Dead?, reflecting on how AI was reshaping our field. At the time, the notion seemed radical. And yet, I was right: Data science is not dead, but it is certainly changing.

Now, I believe the change goes even further. AI is not just transforming our jobs — it’s reshaping our entire lifestyle. Tasks that once required years of training are now just a few prompts away. When something becomes that easy, how much value does it still hold?

If basic tasks — like writing emails, providing simple answers, explaining concepts, or writing a few lines of code — can be done instantly by AI, is it still worthwhile to learn them? Or should we instead aim to become highly specialized contributors to society?

This shift isn’t limited to our professional lives. It extends to everyday conversations, social gatherings, learning, and entertainment. What will we talk about in a social gathering that a quick interaction with AI cannot provide?

Today, I want to make a new prediction: now that AI is mastering what we do, how will that impact how we live? Not just our jobs, but our enjoyment, our appreciations, our wishes, and the future-proven skills.

My take is this: we’ll begin to take many basic skills for granted — especially those tied to scientific, technical, and logical reasoning. And as that happens, we’ll place new value on creativity, counterintuitive thinking, and the irreplaceable human touch.

For the past 50 years or more, scientific and logical reasoning has reigned supreme. It’s been the most sought-after skill, the gold standard in job interviews. “Problem-solving” topped skill lists. Rationality outweighed creativity. A well-structured, logical argument often ended all discussions. To be logical was to be winning.

I remember a tweet by Bhav Patel (Dodonerd), from before Twitter became X, lamenting how the corporate world seemed to overly revere employees with math-logical backgrounds — even by colleagues who were themselves intelligent and highly educated.

As someone who has benefited from scientific-logical thinking throughout my career, and led teams with diverse skill sets, I understood this point. There’s not just one kind of intelligence. Great ideas and successful execution often come from a fusion of different minds — those strong in logic, and those gifted in empathy, organization, or creativity.

I’ve seen people apologize for not being “technical,” while achieving remarkable results through interpersonal skills or creative insights. The higher salaries in technical roles may have distorted our perception, as if logic-based roles equated to higher intelligence. But we know that’s not necessarily the case.

Now, AI has begun to master that same logical, rational, tech-savvy skill set. It can write code, explain scientific concepts, offer tech support, generate documentation, draft execution plans, give career advice, and much more. In many ways, AI has become the ultimate “junior expert.”

Yesterday, while waiting for a ride, someone asked a trivia question about the origin of the words “minutes” and “seconds” as measures of time. The immediate response? “Isn’t that something ChatGPT could answer?” Of course it is. But the real value of that question wasn’t the answer — it was in the human exchange, in filling that moment with shared curiosity.

A few days earlier, I had a conversation with a colleague, Alessandro Romano, about the future of entertainment. How long until AI can conceive, script, direct, and produce entire films? For my generation, movies sparked endless discussions about meaning, symbolism, performance, cinematography, politics, and more. But when AI creates flawless, formulaic, high-quality — and ultimately boring — films, what will we talk about afterward?

The same goes for poetry. I’ve used AI to generate poems for events. Give it a prompt, a tone, a style, and it delivers something far better than I could write — in seconds. But then, what’s the emotional value of reading such a poem aloud at a wedding? If everyone can do it, where is the magic?

The point is clear: as AI takes over technical perfection, appreciation will shift toward something else.

In a world of machine-made perfection, imperfection becomes precious. We will admire the disruption in patterns, the creative twist that breaks the mold, the flaws that make something feel real. We will crave human conversation, not just correct answers.

Let’s return to the movie example. When films become perfect products of AI, how much more valuable will it feel to sit in a theater and watch real actors performing live? We may rediscover our love for human imperfection, for the thrill of watching someone do their best — not just something “perfect.”

The same goes for poetry. A flawless, AI-generated poem may impress, but a slightly flawed human composition may move us. Poetry might become the art of breaking the perfect pattern with human imperfection. Just like in kintsugi, the Japanese art of highlighting cracks in broken pottery with gold, it’s the imperfection that becomes the beauty.

AI’s ability to write, code, structure, and guide will shift the spotlight. After years of dominance by scientific and logical skills, we may see a grand return of the arts and of human-centered experiences.

We’ll move from valuing perfection to valuing authenticity. From technical efficiency to emotional resonance. From rationality to creativity.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s worth considering when choosing your next project.