AI as a Force Multiplier: Unleashing Creativity in the Hands of the (Young and) Talented

This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone, particularly young people with creativity.

Artificial intelligence isn’t here to replace us—it’s here to amplify our talent. The real magic happens when AI falls into the hands of people with intelligence, creativity, and something meaningful to say. It’s a tool, nothing more and nothing less, and like any tool, its value depends entirely on who’s wielding it. Think of a scientific calculator. Most of us have no idea what half those buttons do, but in the hands of a skilled mathematician, that calculator becomes a powerhouse, enabling faster, deeper exploration of complex problems. AI works the same way. It doesn’t generate brilliance on its own— it can’t - but it can boost the brilliance of those who already possess it.

This idea struck me recently while listening to two of my favorite writers discuss AI’s role in creative work.

One of them, Chuck Dixon—the guy who co-created Bane, one of Batman’s most formidable villains—mentioned to Vox Day that AI is a force multiplier for creators. That phrase stuck with me because it perfectly captures what AI is at its best: a tool that allows talented people to do more, faster, and better. If you’re a writer with compelling ideas, AI can help you refine them, structure them, or even push them further than you could alone. If you’re an artist, it can assist in helping visualize or render concepts, experimenting with styles, or speeding up tedious technical work. But none of that matters if the core idea isn’t strong to begin with. It is the person with a soul who starts the process. No machine can replace the person.

This is where the real opportunity lies, especially for young people. There’s a lot of fear right now about AI enabling cheating—students using it to write essays, artists relying on it to generate soulless imitations, musicians churning out algorithmically assembled tracks. And sure, that’s going to happen. But let’s be honest: cheaters and hacks have always existed. There were kids in my class who copied homework, musicians who lip-synced, writers who plagiarized. The difference now is that AI doesn’t just enable mediocrity—it also exposes it. If all you can do is parrot back what the machine generates, you’re not going to stand out. But if you have real talent, real ideas, AI becomes your accelerator.

I’ve held the concept that there will be a premium on live content. Music, art, poetry, dancing - they will all swell in popularity because its genuine in person energy is priceless. This is an amazing opportunity and high school students with drive, energy and ideas can capitalize.

I keep thinking about Charles Johnson, the former MLB catcher who was trained as a kid by his father to catch pitches from a machine firing 90 to 100 mph fastballs from just 40 feet away. That machine didn’t teach him how to love the game or how to think like a catcher—his father and his own dedication did that. But what the machine did do was force him to adapt at a level most kids never experience. By the time he faced real pitchers, he was already comfortable with speeds and movements that would intimidate others. That’s what AI can do for a young writer, artist, or thinker. It doesn’t replace the need for skill—it demands more of it.

The same principle applies to education. Yes, a student can use AI to spit out a paper. But just like the kid who relies on a graphing calculator without understanding the math behind it, they’ll hit a wall when real challenges arise. Meanwhile, the student who uses AI as a tool—to refine their arguments, check their logic, or explore concepts they might not have considered—will pull ahead. Photomath exists. You can point your phone at an equation, and it will not only solve it but show you the steps. Yet nobody’s out there screaming that math is ruined. Why? Because the tool isn’t the point—the understanding is.

This is where the car analogy comes in. When automobiles were first introduced, there were people who hated them. They believed cars would destroy the fabric of communities by making it too easy for people to leave. And in some ways, they were right—cars did change how we live. But nobody today would argue we’d be better off without them. AI is the same. It’s going to disrupt things. It’s already making certain jobs obsolete—particularly the kind of rote, repetitive work that never required much creativity to begin with. The people who got paid to churn out generic press releases, formulaic novels, or cookie-cutter marketing copy? They’re in trouble. I’m happy that the Corporate Press is taking a hit, because now no one will pay, or care, to hear The Narrative that they’ve been peddling for 50 years. AI is exposing these frauds, and now that they’re defunded, it looks like the Politicos of the world will thankfully disappear.

But the real people with real vision? They’re about to have the most powerful toolkit ever invented.

Take my own work. I use AI to edit these podcasts. I don’t have it write them—every word comes from me. But once I’ve recorded, I can feed the transcript into an AI tool and say, “Clean this up. Keep my voice, my tone, but smooth out the rough edges.” It saves me hours. That’s the kind of thing that used to require a human editor, and if I could afford one, maybe I’d still hire one. But I can’t, so AI bridges the gap. It’s not replacing creativity—it’s enabling it by removing barriers. Do what I do. Learn from my experience.

And that’s the key. AI isn’t going to make hacks into geniuses. But it is going to make geniuses more productive. The writers, artists, and thinkers who already have something to say will be able to say it louder, clearer, and faster. The James Pattersons of the world—those authors who’ve built empires on ghostwritten novels—might find their model collapsing. Why pay a team of writers when AI can generate passable prose in seconds? But the real storytellers, the ones with unique voices and original ideas? They’ll thrive, because AI will help them do more of what they already do well.

This is why I’m so excited for young people right now. If you’re in high school or college, you’re growing up in a world where the barriers to creation are lower than ever. You don’t need a publishing deal to write a novel. You don’t need a studio to make music. You don’t need a production company to start a podcast. And now, with AI, you don’t even need to wait until you’ve mastered every technical skill to produce work at a high level. The tools are there. The question is: What will you build with them?

I’ve got a few hundred subscribers across my platforms. Not exactly a massive audience, but it’s mine. Every piece of content I put out is my voice, my ideas—just polished a little faster thanks to AI. And that’s the model anyone can follow now. Start a Substack. Launch a YouTube channel. Write that novel. The gatekeepers are losing power by the day. The only thing stopping you is the willingness to begin.

So here’s the takeaway: AI is a force multiplier. It doesn’t replace talent—it amplifies it. The kids who will succeed aren’t the ones using it to cheat their way through school; they’re the ones using it to push their skills further than they could alone. The writers who will thrive aren’t the ones prompting AI to generate generic stories; they’re the ones using it to refine their own. The artists who will break through aren’t the ones typing “make me a painting”—they’re the ones using AI to experiment, iterate, and expand their vision.

The best time to start was yesterday. The second-best time is today. If you’ve got something to say, now’s the moment. AI isn’t the future—it’s the present. And it’s waiting for you to put it to work. My old track coach used to day “if not you, who? If not now, when?” He was right.

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