Following a recent AI retreat, our Strategy Director, Lani Weston, has been reflecting on what AI means for the studio – not just in terms of awareness or capability, but in values, judgement and responsibility. Here, she shares the intentional middle ground and ongoing approach Of Note is choosing to define.
Last month, I spent four days at an immersive business strategy and AI retreat, experimenting with a range of tools. Not because I’m a committed AI enthusiast, but because I wanted to engage more deeply than I had to date to understand what was actually of value and where risks sat – particularly within the context of creative industries.
What I came away with was in part a set of new technical skills, but more so a clearer point of view – that access to tools is not the same as craft or insight.
As a studio, our values of integrity, authenticity and simplicity shape how we work, how we advise and how we make decisions. So while AI is evolving quickly, we want our response to it to be considered – informed by what we believe is worth protecting, where real value can be created, and the kind of work we want to be known for.
AI can generate options, accelerate exploration and make some forms of production faster and more accessible. But without strong direction, context, prompting, curation, rationale and quality control it often produces what is most likely, most familiar or most generic.
It can create volume very quickly – that doesn’t mean it creates value.
In this context, I think the proliferation of AI tools has actually increased the importance of taste, strategy and human judgement.
One of the clearest takeaways for me was that prompting and quality control are skills in their own right. There is a growing assumption that because a tool is accessible, the outcome is easy. But access is not the same as ability. Just because someone can use a platform doesn’t mean they know how to get a meaningful result from it, or how to judge whether that result is generic, ethically questionable, strategically weak or simply not very good.
There will absolutely be cases where AI can help create more value. A product shoot followed by AI-assisted expansion of views or formats is a good example. The original imagery, thinking and intellectual property remain grounded in something real and considered, while outputs become more flexible and expansive. Used well, that can create efficiency and additional value without compromising originality.
But that is very different from outsourcing judgement.
The important conversation is not whether AI is good or bad, but where it can genuinely strengthen an outcome, where it risks weakening the work, and where human-led thinking remains integral.
A large part of the value we offer sits in the work before the work – the thinking, listening, questioning and shaping that give a project depth and direction. It sits in co-creation, discernment and the ability to understand what a client is really trying to achieve. It sits in knowing that not every option is equal, not every shortcut is useful, and not every fast answer is the right one.
That’s the middle ground we’re exploring – not blanket rejection or blind adoption. But a thoughtful, values-led response that stays open to innovation while remaining clear about boundaries, responsibilities and standards.
For us, that means continuing to ask: What should always remain human-led? Where do we draw the line on originality and trust? How do we embrace new tools without eroding the craft and quality clients come to us for? How do we ensure speed does not come at the expense of depth?
It is also an opportunity for us to be a more useful advisor to our clients. Where can real value be created? Where should corners not be cut? If we are not well informed, how could we be trusted to provide that guidance.
Our response to AI is now embedded in our strategic plan. We’re making space for ongoing learning, to test and discuss what we are seeing, to develop a clear point of view, and to ensure our advice remains thoughtful, practical and unbiased.
AI will continue to evolve, so will expectations and creative practice. Our job is to stay informed, stay anchored in our values, and be the kind of studio our clients can trust to navigate this space with both openness and discernment.
