AI is not a threat to human creativity but a powerful ally, say tech leaders

Business Mayor

01-05-2025

Opening the day, Adobe Chairman and CEO Shantanu Narayen delivered a keynote on 'Design, Media and Creativity in the Age of AI'. He traced the evolution of the digital landscape—from the early days of the internet to the mobile revolution and now the AI era—emphasising India's increasing impact, with over 500 million people consuming online content and a growing appetite for regional language storytelling.
Narayen stressed that AI is augmenting, not replacing, human creativity. 'Generative AI is enabling Indian creators to transcend traditional mediums,' he said, noting its growing influence in imaging, video, and design. From blockbuster films to real-time storytelling on mobile devices, AI is expanding the canvas for creators.
He also outlined a four-part roadmap for India to assume global leadership: boosting creativity and production, evolving business models, building an AI-ready workforce, and fostering entrepreneurship.
In the fireside chat 'AI Beyond Work', NVIDIA's Richard Kerris, Vice President, and Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director of NVIDIA India, explored how AI is transforming the relationship between people and machines—particularly in creative domains.Dhupar reflected on the evolution of personal computing. 'PCs used to sleep after office hours. But humans don't,' he noted, referencing NVIDIA's long-standing vision of computers as creative collaborators—a vision now being realised through AI.Kerris provided a personal reflection, describing the challenges of early 3D animation. 'With generative AI, we can go from idea to creation much faster,' he said. He added a note of caution: 'Just because we all have a camera on our phone doesn't make us all great photographers.'
Dhupar reinforced this sentiment: 'Creative people live their work. AI doesn't replace that—it enables it.' Kerris added, 'AI puts tools in your hands—but knowing the craft, the basics, that's still essential.'
The final session, a masterclass titled 'Bringing Stories to Life with Gen AI', was led by Anish Mukherjee, Solutions Architect at NVIDIA. He demonstrated practical uses of generative AI—from converting static images into digital humans to creating multilingual voiceovers and AI-generated music using NVIDIA's Fugato model.
Mukherjee explained how the combination of large language models, AI animation, and DLSS technology is creating immersive storytelling experiences—particularly in gaming. 'AI-powered characters that respond intelligently to players are redefining narrative engagement,' he said.
He concluded with a call to leverage computational power, robust datasets, and sophisticated algorithms to unlock AI's full creative potential. Open-source tools like Nemostack, he noted, are empowering creators to innovate across sectors.