Over the past 10 days, the content production world has been turned on its collective head. Between vibe-coding tools such as Gemini 2.5 pro, and vibe-marketing tools like OpenAi's new image generator – the skills requirements for practitioners is dramatically changing. But what about the audience? Are they changing? How are consumers of content expected to react and respond to our new AI-enhanced production powers?
The debate over AI and its role in creative industries often centers on one question: Can AI ever be as creative as humans? While it’s tempting to philosophize about inspiration and ingenuity, this line of inquiry misses a crucial point for anyone tasked with making practical decisions about content creation: If the audience can’t tell the difference between AI-generated and human-generated content—or if they don’t care—then, for all practical purposes, there is no difference.
In advertising and marketing, content isn’t created to hang in a museum or win a Pulitzer. It’s created to achieve specific goals: attract attention, sell products, or raise awareness. This distinction—between “required” content and “inspired” content is where much of the confusion begins.. -
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named he covers tech and business for , is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular . He's a , and the creator of the popular, free online course, . Follow or visit .
