"Tools evolve, the eye doesn’t" – why AI art still needs artists

The sweeping rise of AI and AI art and video in particular has left many artists reeling, struggling to square the circle of how to create art in a new era where, perhaps, an AI can do it all. It didn't help that AI got where it is off the backs of the work of creatives.

Freepik CEO Joaquin Cuenca Abela is candid about the industry’s missteps. "Honestly, part of the blame is on us, the AI industry," he says. "We trained models on everything under the sun. The outcome was unknown. But it worked. And now we have to rebuild trust."

That must include acknowledging the concerns of creators who’ve seen their work scraped, mimicked, or marginalised. Joaquin believes the way forward is through transparency, collaboration, and a focus on what only humans can do.

But we are where we are, and many artists are finding creatives uses of AI, but even Joaquin tempers expectations and offers some reassurance to artists who are finding where they fit in.

"AI can help you tell stories. But it won’t tell you what story to tell," he says. "That still comes from being aware of the world, understanding what matters to people, and putting that into your work."

And that, he believes, is where the future of creativity lies, not in mastering tools, but in mastering meaning, a sentiment OpenAI's Chad Nelson told me too.

"Tools evolve," reflects Joaquin. "The eye doesn’t."

For context, Joaquin tells me, during Freepick's Upscale Conference, the emergence of generative AI looked like a huge, terrifying wave threatening to sweep away the free stock image business he'd spent years creating. He's been on the other side of the equation, struggling to understand what AI means and how to survive.

"It looked like it was going to destroy us," he admits. "But we asked: how can we help our users use this tool to do something new?"

Rather than resist AI, Freepik leaned in. "We started, very naively, putting Stable Diffusion on our website," Joaquin says. "And then we iterated. And it has worked very well. We’re growing more than ever."

The company’s pivot wasn’t just technical, it was cultural. For Joaquin, the core question became how to empower creatives with tools that expand, not replace, their vision. That shift has broadened Freepik’s audience far beyond its traditional base of freelance graphic designers.

"Now we’re seeing filmmakers, photographers, even architects using the platform," Joaquin notes. "Three years ago, a photographer had no reason to come to Freepik, but now, with tools like Magnific AI for retouching, they do."

AI art is making creativity more open

Generative AI isn’t just making creative work faster, it’s changing what’s possible. Joaquin compares its impact to the advent of photography, which democratised the act of capturing reality.

"When the camera was invented, people said it would kill painting," he says. "But it didn’t. It just changed what people painted."

Similarly, AI allows creators to tell stories that were previously impossible, not just because of budget constraints, but because traditional tools demanded too much precision or effort for fleeting moments of impact.

"3D was supposed to be faster, but in many cases, it became slower and more expensive than just filming," Joaquin explains. "AI allows you to cheat, to create something visually compelling without modelling every detail. That’s liberating."

Perhaps the most transformative effect of AI is not on what creatives can do, but who can afford to do it.

Joaquin sees AI as the next phase in a long pattern of democratisation. "Stock images used to cost $500, only books and TV could afford them," he says. "Then Shutterstock brought it to $10, and we brought it even lower. That’s when people started using images for social media."

Now, with AI, entirely new use cases are emerging. "You can create a YouTube ad for just 300 people. That wouldn’t have made sense before," Joaquin says. "But now it does."

He sees applications from high-end production houses to small businesses. "My wife used to run a café. She spent an hour every night designing posts for social media. With a little context – it’s Mother's Day, it’s a family place, we offer discounts – AI could do all of that for her."

For Joaquin, one of the most exciting shifts is how users interact with design tools themselves. Traditionally, design has been trapped on the desktop, requiring time, the cost of hardware and complex software.

"Gen AI gives you a new UI," he says. "It’s like talking to a designer. You describe what you want, you iterate, and you get results."

That conversational approach doesn’t eliminate the need for expertise, especially in complex workflows, but it does free up creativity for quick, emotional storytelling.

"Great photography isn’t about knowing your camera," Joaquin says. "It’s about having the eye, knowing what matters and how to tell a story. That doesn’t change."

New uses, new tools

As AI image generation becomes commoditised, “you’ll go to Google or ChatGPT and get an image for free", Joaquin believes the future lies in building richer, more collaborative workflows.

"When you need to share with colleagues or iterate on ideas, that’s where our platform comes in," he explains. "We’re not designing for a billion casual users. We’re designing for tens of millions of professionals."

Freepik is already testing features that reflect this shift, from 3D asset creation to "infinite canvas" design spaces, to workflows built around collaboration and customisation.

"We launch features, see if people use them, and if they don’t, we kill them,” Joaquin says. "It’s always about the users."

Visit Freepik's website to see what tools are on offer. Or read our use of vibe coding to see what the latest AI trend is all about.