AI is quickly finding its way into the creative industries.
From image generation and video tools to virtual production, automated workflows and new approaches to content creation, the technology is opening up exciting possibilities. But there is a gap between having access to AI and knowing how to use it effectively.
That is one of the key messages from recent research by one of IST’s key partners, Creative UK, which looks at how AI and emerging technologies are being adopted across the cultural and creative industries. The research found that adoption is underway across the sector, but that significant barriers remain, particularly around organisational capacity, skills and governance. For creative professionals, that raises an important question: Who makes all of this technology actually work?
AI needs more than a creative idea
It is easy to think of AI adoption as simply choosing a tool and learning how to use it. In practice, integrating AI into a creative workflow can be much more complicated. Someone needs to understand how the technology fits into existing production systems. Someone needs to consider data, intellectual property, security and workflow integration. And someone needs to make sure that the technology supports the creative team rather than creating another layer of complexity.
That is where creative technologists and technical professionals increasingly come into their own. They sit between the creative and technical worlds, helping organisations turn emerging technology into something practical, reliable and useful.
The human skills still matter
AI may be able to generate an image, produce text or assist with a production workflow, but it doesn’t remove the need for professional judgement. In fact, it can make that judgement more important.
Creative teams need people who can ask:
- Is this technology appropriate for the project?
- Can we trust the output?
- How should copyright and data be handled?
- What happens if the system produces something inaccurate?
- How can we integrate AI without losing creative control?
- Are our workflows transparent and accountable?
These aren’t simply questions for senior management. They increasingly belong within the technical teams actually implementing the technology.
From technology adoption to professional capability
Creative UK’s research highlights the need to address the structural barriers preventing technology from being adopted effectively across the sector. That makes the development of technical skills particularly important.
The creative industries don’t necessarily need everyone to become an AI specialist. They do need professionals who understand enough about emerging technologies to evaluate them, implement them responsibly and connect them to real-world creative workflows.
This is where the role of the creative technologist becomes increasingly important. The future may belong less to people who simply know how to use the latest AI tool and more to those who understand why, when and how it should be used.
Recognising the people behind the technology
As these roles become more important, professional recognition matters too.
The Creative Registration Framework, developed by the IST and endorsed by Creative UK, provides a professional registration pathway specifically for technical professionals working across the creative industries and technologies. It recognises competence, professional practice, responsibility and progression through three levels: Registered Technician (RTCIT), Registered Practitioner (RPCIT) and Advanced Practitioner (APCIT).
For a sector undergoing rapid technological change, that recognition is about more than a post-nominal. It provides a way to demonstrate that the people behind creative technology have the skills, professional judgement, accountability and commitment to development needed to work confidently in an increasingly complex environment.
AI may be changing how creative work gets done.
But the people who understand how to make technology work responsibly will remain at the heart of the creative process.
Source & further reading
Primary source: Creative UK, AI & Emerging Technology Adoption in the Cultural and Creative Industries.
Creative UK: AI & Emerging Technology Adoption in the Cultural and Creative Industries
Creative UK — responsible AI adoption: Creative UK’s research and recommendations
Professional registration: IST Creative Professional Registers
Framework developed by IST and endorsed by Creative UK: New Creative Industry Professional Registers — IST & Creative UK