Dragan Babic enables design.

Ecce homo and the new creativity

While writing Superawesome's monthly newsletter I drew an interesting parallel between Nietzsche's Ecce Homo (which is essentially his autobiography and talks about going over one's potential, and reinventing oneself) and the transformation AI is causing in creatives. Since it's been a long time since I read the book, I used DeepSeek to look into some specifics, and here it is.

Nietzsche’s Ecce Homo and his philosophy of self-creation offer a striking parallel to the evolving role of creative workers in the age of AI, where the automation of asset production shifts human value toward problem-solving, strategic innovation, and higher-order creativity.

Here’s how these ideas intersect.

1. From Asset Production to Self-Creation

Nietzsche’s Ecce Homo champions the idea of “becoming who you are”—a process of self-invention through struggle and defiance of societal norms. Similarly, AI’s trivialization of repetitive tasks (e.g., generating images, text, or code) forces creative workers to redefine their purpose beyond mere production.

Nietzschean parallel

Just as Nietzsche’s Übermensch rejects external moral codes to forge their own values, creative workers must now transcend the role of “asset creator” and focus on curating meaning, strategic vision, and ethical oversight—tasks requiring uniquely human judgment.

AI’s role

Tools like ChatGPT and DALL·E handle 40–50% of routine creative tasks, freeing humans to engage in “self-creation” through complex problem-solving and innovation.

2. Amor Fati and Embracing AI as a Tool

Nietzsche’s concept of amor fati (love of fate) urges individuals to embrace life’s challenges as fuel for growth. For creative workers, AI’s rise is not a threat but an opportunity to amplify their potential:

Case in point

Teams using AI report 40% higher productivity and 30% faster project completion, allowing them to focus on storytelling, emotional resonance, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Nietzschean lens

Like Nietzsche’s ideal of transforming adversity into strength (“what does not kill me makes me stronger”), creatives can leverage AI’s efficiency to tackle grander challenges—climate narratives, ethical AI governance, or immersive experiential design.

3. The Übermensch as Creative Strategist

Nietzsche’s Übermensch embodies sovereignty over one’s destiny, creating value through sheer will and creativity. In the AI era, this translates to roles where humans command technology rather than compete with it:

New creative domains

  • AI Whisperers: Managing AI tools to align outputs with human intent (e.g., refining AI-generated concepts into culturally resonant campaigns).
  • Ethical Architects: Ensuring AI-generated content adheres to societal values and avoids bias.
  • Meta-Creators: Designing systems and frameworks that guide AI’s creative potential (e.g., generative AI workflows for collaborative world-building).

Nietzsche’s insight

“Man is something to be overcome”—creative workers now overcome technical limitations by directing AI toward unprecedented innovation.

4. Eternal Recurrence and the Affirmation of AI

Nietzsche’s “eternal recurrence” asks: Would you relive your life the same way? For creatives, embracing AI means affirming its role as a collaborator:

Symbiotic creativity

AI’s rapid ideation (e.g., 10x faster brainstorming) allows humans to iterate boldly, while human intuition filters outputs for relevance and depth.

Data point

72% of creatives using AI report increased engagement, as they shift from execution to visioneering.

5. Risks and Nietzschean Vigilance

Nietzsche warned against passive conformity to external systems. Similarly, over-reliance on AI risks creative atrophy:

Challenge

AI homogenizes outputs by drawing from existing data, potentially stifling originality.

Solution

Creative workers must act as boundary-pushers, using AI to explore uncharted aesthetic or conceptual territories (e.g., AI-augmented bio-art or quantum storytelling).

Conclusion

Nietzsche’s Ecce Homo and the AI-driven creative revolution both demand a radical reimagining of human potential. Just as Nietzsche’s self-creator rejects dogma to forge their destiny, creative workers must now transcend asset production and embrace roles as curators of meaning, architects of ethics, and pioneers of uncharted creative frontiers. By treating AI as a collaborator—not a replacement—they fulfill Nietzsche’s call to “become who you are” in a world where creativity is no longer about making things, but about remaking what it means to be human.

As Nietzsche wrote: “Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Übermensch.” In the AI age, creative workers walk that rope, balancing machine efficiency with the irreducible spark of human ingenuity.

This is a verbatim copy of DeepSeek's response. 

2025-02-03

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Dragan Babic is a design consultant enabling creatively challenged organizations to nurture design, and work with design professionals in productive ways.

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