"Remember that we will always be human" (Vikki Ross bonus episode)

Summary

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Daring Creativity. Daring Forever.

Episode Title: "Remember that we will always be human" (Vikki Ross bonus episode)
Host: Radim Malinic
Guest: Vikki Ross
Date: October 30, 2025

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Episode Overview

This bonus episode of Daring Creativity revisits key insights from a recent deep-dive with Vikki Ross, a global tone of voice specialist renowned for her clarity on human creativity in the age of AI. Together, Radim and Vikki explore AI’s impact on creative industries, the essential value of human connection in brand communication, and why creators must remember their unique worth in the noise of technological disruption.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Humanity vs. AI in Communication

• Vikki’s Core Message: AI may be “good enough”—but it can never be truly human.

  "We've just got to remember that we will always be human and AI will never be human, and so it will never be able to talk to another human in a way that will be truly meaningful to someone." – Vikki Ross [00:47]

• AI lacks lived human experience, empathy born from real struggles, and the emotional intelligence crucial for genuine, resonant communication.
• Brands risk reducing relationships with customers to mere transactions if they optimize for “good enough” rather than emotionally rich, human-driven storytelling.

2. The AI Panic and Media's Role

• Vikki highlights the damaging “noise” of panic-driven headlines about AI replacing creatives.

  “I find it irresponsible and insane that the industry publications run headlines like AI is going to wipe out creativity because who is that help? It's not helping anybody and it's unfounded.” – Vikki Ross [03:06]

• Radim shares a staggering statistic: 95% of AI implementations have failed to bring real value, underlining that the fear of replacement is often overblown. [04:36]
• Sensational headlines stoke anxiety, misinform clients, and can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, harming both creative professionals’ mental health and business decision-making.

3. The Power (and Ignorance) of Social Listening

• Vikki advocates using organic, unsolicited audience feedback from social channels as a “free focus group at your fingertips.”

  “You can see what your audience is, as I say, thinking and feeling at any point. So to ignore them when they're expressing themselves without you asking them to is foolish.” – Vikki Ross [06:51]

• Brands often waste resources on formal research while neglecting these real-time, authentic insights, which are essential to meaningful brand voices.
• The most effective copy comes from reflecting, not imposing—a brand must speak in a voice that resonates with lived audience experience.

4. Reframing the AI ‘Threat’ to Creativity

• Revisiting her 2019 conference talk, “The Robots Aren’t Coming,” Vikki reiterates that AI still can’t create impactful adverts or copy like real people—and likely never will.

  “Six years in AI years is like 5,000 lifetime. We're not there yet. I just don't. I just can't see that it's going to completely take over. It's just not good enough.” – Vikki Ross [08:50]

• Clients currently choosing AI over humans tend to be those who already undervalued creative craft, treating copy as a commodity—even before AI became widespread.
• The AI era has simply made the market’s divide clearer: those who value authenticity and excellence, and those satisfied with "good enough."

5. A Mindset Shift for Creatives

• Creative professionals shouldn’t fear AI displacing them but rather focus on serving clients who appreciate quality, empathy, and human insight.
• Radim and Vikki agree: Knowing your worth and concentrating on what only humans can offer is a necessity—now more than ever.

  “Know your worth. When you're excellent at what you do, serve clients who appreciate the excellence. You're not competing with good enough. You're operating with different category entirely.” – Radim Malinic [09:56]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Limits of AI:
  “AI can only do that at a surface level. So yeah, I think everyone needs to calm down on whether AI is good or not. It is good. It's fine, it's good enough. But who wants good enough?”
  – Vikki Ross [00:47]

• On Responsibility in Media:
  “Industry publications have a responsibility to inform rather than sensationalize. When they prioritize engagement over accuracy, they contribute to mental health crisis among creatives, distort market perceptions, and undermine the very industry they claim to serve.”
  – Radim Malinic [04:36]

• On Market Clarity:
  “Clients that do think it's good enough, they were writing their own copy or didn't value copy or didn't know what good copy looked like before the whole AI noise came about. So we didn't want to work for them or we weren't working for them anyway.”
  – Vikki Ross [08:50]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [00:47] – Vikki Ross on why AI will never replicate genuine human communication.
• [03:06] – Critique of AI panic and media-generated fear among creatives.
• [04:36] – Discussion of failed AI implementations and the harmful consequences of media sensationalism.
• [06:51] – The importance of listening to what audiences are already saying online.
• [08:50] – Reflection on the AI narrative: how clients who undervalue creativity are not a new problem.
• [09:56] – Radim summarizes the key shift: focusing on excellence and human value in the face of automation.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode is a powerful, reassuring exploration of creativity’s undefinable human edge. In a world rattled by AI hype, Vikki Ross and Radim Malinic champion empathy, emotional intelligence, and listening as irreplaceable creative tools. Their message to listeners: Don’t let fear distract you from your worth. The future belongs to creators who dare to show up—imperfectly, but unmistakably human.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, welcome to the bonus episode of the Daring Creativity Podcast. This is the BONUS Episode number 20. I'm here to unpack some of the gems from this week's conversation, pulling out those moments that deserve a second look and digging deeper into what matters and what makes them special. This week. I welcome back Vicky Ross and it was a great way to catch up on the latest views of the brand world in the times of AI, automation and the latest technological advancements. The episode that I published a few days ago was titled Dare to Question the Noise and the whole conversation is packed of her observations of being a global tone of voice specialist working today. If you haven't checked out a full interview yet, let me start with these four standout moments from our conversation.

[B]

I think we've just got to remember that we will always be human and AI will never be human, and so it will never be able to talk to another human in a way that will be truly meaningful to someone. Yes, it can tell them something interesting, although that's debatable because you have to fact check what it comes out with. But if we want to make a difference in people's lives, then we have to respect what goes on in people's lives and talk to the truth of that. And AI can only do that at a surface level. So yeah, I think everyone needs to calm down on whether AI is good or not. It is good. It's fine, it's good enough. But who wants good enough?

[A]

One of the reasons why I wanted to get Vicky back on the show was the fact that she has a great views on human creativity and how AI will never write some of the copy headlines that we see in advertising today. Because her quote cuts through the AI panic with profound clarity about what makes communication effective, Vicky isn't dismissing AI's capabilities per se. She acknowledges that it can be good enough, but she's identifying the fundamental limitations that no amount of training can actually overcome. The absence of lived human experience. Meaningful comms requires empathy born from shared human struggles, cultural understanding developed through real world interaction, and emotional intelligence that come from having a heart. When a brand connects with someone on a deep level, it's because a human copywriter understood loneliness, joy, frustration or aspiration from personal experience. AI can pattern match these emotions from text, but it cannot feel them or genuinely understand their nuanced impact on decision making and brand loyalty. And the reason why it matters more is than ever before is because brands are being tempted to replace human creativity with efficiency. Viki's reminder serves both as reassurance for creative Professionals and warning for brands. If you optimize for good enough, you'll create transactional relationships with customers rather than emotional connections that drive long term value.

[B]

I think social media has a lot to answer for in all sorts of ways, in everything. But with AI in particular, I think the vibe is the economy is shit. Companies don't have any money, they're not paying for creatives because they can use AI. And so that makes the creatives think, oh shit, I'm going to be out of a job or because they don't have a job, they can blame that on AI. And it makes clients think, oh, everyone's using AI so I should use AI. But hardly anyone knows what to do with it. So I'm really enjoying the posts on social media that I see and that I've been seeing for the last six months talking about copywriting, specifically where a marketer has said, I tried using AI for a campaign and it just didn't deliver. So I've hired a copywriter or copywriters saying I lost a client to AI but they didn't like what happened so they got me back. And that noise is not as loud as the noise that is screaming. AI is taking our jobs and the industry publications are not helping. I find it irresponsible and insane that the industry publications run headlines like AI is going to wipe out creativity because who is that help? It's not helping anybody and it's unfounded.

[A]

This was amazing revelation because yes, I think there is a ton of noise about AI and we have to question it. I've only just learned the other day that 95% of AI implementation has failed or totally failed to actually bring any value to organizations and that is 95%. So when you think about Vicky's quote, it calls out dangerous pattern of fear mongering that's inflicting real psychological harm on creative professionals while benefiting no one. Vicky identifies the media's role in amplifying anxiety beyond what the actual reality of AI warrants. She's not mincing her words. She calls it irresponsible and insane. And I really appreciated those words because when you think about it, it is irresponsible and fucking insane. The damage of these sensationalist headlines is threefold. They terrorize creators who are already navigating uncertainty. They give clients false impressions that AI is more capable than it actually is, leading to poor business decisions most often. And they create a self fulfilling prophecy where the noise about AI replacing humans becomes louder than the evidence of AI actually succeeding at creative work. What made Vicky's perspective particularly credible is that she presented her talk the robots aren't coming back in 2019, six years ago, in AI development time, if AI were truly on the verge of replacing human creativity, we would see far more evidence by now. Instead, we are seeing brands trying AI, being mostly disappointed, and returning to human copywriters. But these stories don't generate clicks the way apocalyptic headlines do. And this matters because industry publications have a responsibility to inform rather than sensationalize. When they prioritize engagement over accuracy, they contribute to mental health crisis among creatives, distort market perceptions, and undermine the very industry they claim to serve.

[B]

I do have a good look around because as much as it's important for me to know what a brand is up to, it's equally as important to know how a consumer or a fan is thinking and feeling about the brand or the product. Because if I'm trying to find a voice for the brand to talk to them in, it's got to be in one that's going to mean something to them. So yeah, I do a lot of that. And then when I do talks and workshops, I do always say to whoever I'm talking to, you have a free focus group at your fingertips 24 7. You can see what your audience is, as I say, thinking and feeling at any point. So to ignore them when they're expressing themselves without you asking them to is foolish.

[A]

This moment reveals a blind spot in modern marketing strategy. Brands spend thousands on formal research while ignoring the constant stream of authentic feedback happening organically on social platforms, review sites and forums. Viki reframes social listening not as optional market research, but as continuously available resource that brands are foolish to neglect. What makes this particularly powerful is the phrase without asking. This is unsolicited, unfiltered truth. When people discuss brands in their own spaces, they reveal what actually matters to them, not what they think researchers want to hear. They use their own language, expose their own real frustration, and demonstrate what genuinely excites them. For copywriters and brand strategists, this quote emphasizes that finding an authentic voice isn't about creative intention in isolation. It's about listening deeply to how your audience already thinks and speaks. The most effective brand voice don't talk at people. They reflect people's own thoughts and feelings back to them in ways that feel validating and understood. Ignoring these real time intelligence means creating brand communications in vacuum, disconnected from the very people you're trying to reach.

[B]

And the last moment in 2019, I did a talk at a really big conference and for some reason, because it was wasn't in my wheelhouse at all at the time, I decided to call the talk the Robots Aren't Coming in which I presented the case that AI cannot create adverts and write copy like real people do. That was six years ago. That's six years in AI years is like 5,000 lifetime. We're not there yet. I just don't. I just can't see that it's going to completely take over. It's just not good enough. And you know what? The clients that do think it's good enough, they were writing their own copy or didn't value copy or didn't know what good copy looked like before the whole AI noise came about. So we didn't want to work for them or we weren't working for them anyway. So I don't feel like we've lost much other than the effect on people's mental health has got worse.

[A]

It was really great to hear how Vicky reframed the AI as a threat narrative with remarkable clarity. Vicky wasn't denying. And I think Vicky's observation about how some clients are choosing AI over human copywriters was always revealing that this represents a clarification of the market rather than a distraction of it. The insight here is that the quality focused creatives have always struggled with clients who don't understand or value craft. These clients can see copywriting as a commodity. Words on a page that just need to be good enough. They were already writing their own copy. They were already writing their inadequate copy. Hiring the cheapest freelancers or treating copywriting as an afterthought. AI hasn't created this problem. It's simply given these clients a new tool that matches their existing low standards. And this matters because it liberates creative professionals from competing on wrong battlefield. Instead of panicking about losing clients to AI, skilled copywriters can focus on serving clients who understand that effective communications requires human insight, cultural fluency and emotional intelligence. The separation of the market, those who value craft versus who don't, is actually healthy for the industry. The quote also contains a subtle confidence that's essential for creative professionals navigating technological changes. Know your worth when you're excellent at what you do. Serve clients who appreciate the excellence. You're not competing with good enough. You're operating with different category entirely. This mindset shift from defensive fear to confident focus is perhaps the most important lesson for any creative facing disruption. Thank you for joining me on this bonus episode. I hope that you also check out the full episode and full interview with Vicky Rose. It's always so great to chat to Vicky about what she does and how she sees the world, and we definitely need more people like her to stand on the right side of the equation right now. Thanks for being here and I'll see you on the next one. Thank you. If you enjoyed this episode and would like more accessible resources to help you discover your daring creativity, you can pick up one of my books on themes of mindful creativity, creative business, branding and graphic design. Every physical book purchase comes with a free digital bundle, including an ebook and audiobook to make the content accessible wherever you are and whatever you do. To get 10% off your order, visit novemberuniverse.co.uk and use the Code podcast. Have a look around and start living daringly.