Explainer · by Frank Nanninga
What is an AI Creative Technologist?
In one sentenceAn AI Creative Technologist combines creative thinking with AI: someone who comes up with an idea and uses AI tools to turn it into something that works, such as an app, music, images, a podcast or an interactive experience.
It’s a job title you see more and more in vacancies, but what does it actually mean? It’s how I work, so I’ll explain it with the things I’ve made.
What does an AI Creative Technologist do?
- Come up with ideas that AI suddenly makes possible, and that used to be too expensive or too slow.
- Pick and combine the right AI tools: for text, images, voices, music, video, 3D and code.
- Direct AI like a creative team: brief, review, send back, repeat.
- Build prototypes fast and test them with real users.
- Finish the result into something people actually use.
- Guard what AI can’t do: taste, quality, the story and the responsibility.
How it differs from other roles
- Creative technologist
- Uses technology for creative work, such as installations, campaigns and prototypes. AI can be part of it, but doesn’t have to be.
- AI engineer
- Builds, trains and integrates AI systems. The work is mostly in the technology under the hood.
- Prompt engineer
- Writes and refines the instructions for AI models, often for a single application.
- AI Creative Technologist
- Uses AI as creative material and as a production team, from the first idea to the launch.
What skills do you need?
- Creativity and a clear concept: why would anyone use this?
- Knowing what AI tools can do, and above all what they can’t do yet.
- Taste: seeing and hearing what’s not quite right, and being able to explain why.
- Enough technical insight to build. You don’t have to be a programmer, but you do need to understand what’s going on.
- Experimenting fast, and throwing things away.
- Being able to tell the story of what you make.
How I work
- A problem that gets to meNot finding a sunny terrace. My grandfather’s unfinished manuscript. It always starts with something real.
- Concept and directionWhat are we making, for whom, and how should it feel?
- AI as a teamDifferent AI tools make text, images, voices, music, 3D or code, each for what it does well.
- Picking and steeringThe actual work. I judge everything by the result: is it right, does it work, is it good enough?
- Build and testGet something people can try, as soon as possible.
- Launch and listenWhat people do with it decides the next version.
Examples from my work
Coffee In The Sun
AI helped write the code for a shadow simulation with real building heights. I came up with the product and steered until it was right. First week: 50,000 visits.
Berend Botje
The music and vocals were made with AI. The concept, creative direction, prompts and selection are mine. The album was also released on vinyl.
De Revolutie van de Kabouters
AI as co-author for the middle part of my grandfather’s book, steered until it matched his voice.
Frankly.land
A whole 3D island, made with AI as modeller, developer and copywriter. I directed.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI Creative Technologist?
An AI Creative Technologist combines creative thinking with AI: someone who comes up with an idea and uses AI tools to turn it into something that works, such as an app, music, images, a podcast or an interactive experience.
How is it different from a creative technologist?
A creative technologist uses technology for creative work. An AI Creative Technologist does that with AI as the main material and production team: AI makes the text, images, sound or code, and the AI Creative Technologist comes up with it, directs it and guards the quality.
Do you need to be able to code?
Not necessarily. AI writes more and more of the code. You do need to explain clearly what you want, understand what’s happening and judge critically what comes back.
What tools does an AI Creative Technologist use?
A mix of AI models for text and code, images and video, voices and music, plus classic tools such as Blender for 3D and three.js for the web. The tools change every few months; the craft is knowing which one to use when.
How do you become an AI Creative Technologist?
Start making. Pick a problem you have yourself, build something for it with AI and let people use it. You’ll learn more from that than from any course. That’s how I started with Coffee In The Sun.
Who is Frank Nanninga?
Frank Nanninga is an AI Creative Technologist and the maker of the app Coffee In The Sun, AI artist Berend Botje, the AI podcast SexGPT and, together with his grandfather and aunt, the book De Revolutie van de Kabouters.