What It Means to Create When AI Can Do Everything

What does it mean to be a photographer in this new world we're seeing unfold before our eyes, with AI in the mix?

Every day, AI is getting better. Companies are releasing new tools that let you create almost anything you can imagine. Right now, I can type in the exact location of a mountain, describe the scene I want to see, and it will generate a photo that looks better than anything I could take or edit. So what does that mean for us? For the future of photography? For creatives in general?

And maybe even more importantly... what will it mean to be human? What will we still have to offer?

I made a reel about this on Instagram a while ago, talking about what AI could mean for creatives, especially photographers. I think it all starts with a simple question: Why do we create?

Why do we take photos? Why do we paint? Why do we write music, design things, build things, or share anything at all, when AI can already do it better?

This is a question I’ve been wrestling with.

Why do I take photos?

Is it just about the photos themselves? Or is it deeper? Is it for social media? Or for everyone else?

Here’s where I’ve landed so far.

I take photos, I hit the gym, I go on hikes, I travel, because of the journey it takes to get there. It’s about the experience of physically getting to those places. Waking up early. Walking the trail. Making the drive. Catching that first light of sunrise breaking over a mountain ridge.

In those quiet, powerful moments, it’s not about getting likes or building a following. It’s something much deeper. It touches a part of my soul that nothing else does.

God meets me there.

Even when life is falling apart, in those still moments, I feel reminded that things will be okay. That I’m still grounded. That I’m not lost.

Maybe that’s the real answer.

AI may create for us, but it cannot experience with us.

It cannot feel the cold air at 4am when you're standing on a ridge waiting for sunrise. It cannot know what it feels like to push through exhaustion at the gym or to stand on a mountaintop after a long, hard climb. It cannot hear God whisper to your spirit in the silence.

AI might become the better artist, but it will never replace the experience. It can’t replace the journey. It can’t replace the process.

It will never give you that deep sense of purpose you get when you’ve done something hard and meaningful.

This is where I think the real value of AI lies. Not in replacing our creativity, but in freeing us up to live more of it. Right now, I use AI as a tool. It helps me be more efficient, so I can spend more time outside, more time with people, more time creating the things I love.

I use it to research trips, plan hikes, build gym routines that fit my schedule, brainstorm blog ideas, and even check spelling. But I never let it replace the parts of the process that bring me joy.

I wrote this blog myself. I typed it out before I ever let AI near it. Because I enjoy this part. I love writing. Even if AI could do it better, I don’t want to give that up. Same with my photography. I don’t use AI to generate or edit my photos, because that process is part of who I am.

Where this all goes in the future? No one knows. I find it both exciting and a little terrifying. If you’ve ever seen I, Robot, you get it. But I’ll be here, watching, exploring, experimenting. And I’ll keep you updated.