See AI as a creative enabler, not a job displacer, say industry leaders at WAVES 2025

“AI is not replacing creativity; it is amplifying it,” Adobe chairman and chief executive officer Shantanu Narayen said. Image for representation.
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Artificial Intelligence is not poised to displace jobs but is instead evolving as a powerful enabler of creativity and productivity, global industry leaders affirmed on Thursday. The remarks came during the opening day of WAVES 2025, a multi-session industry event exploring the convergence of design, media, and technology.

The keynote address, titled ‘Design, Media and Creativity in the Age of AI’, was delivered by Adobe Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen. He underscored India’s increasing influence in global content creation, citing a user base of over 500 million Indians consuming digital content. Notably, he pointed to the rapid rise in consumption across regional languages as a key driver of growth.

“AI is not replacing creativity; it is amplifying it,” Mr. Narayen asserted, adding that generative AI tools were enabling Indian creators to transcend traditional formats. These tools, he said, were expanding their reach across cinema, mobile storytelling, imaging, and design. He outlined a strategic four-point framework to harness AI’s potential: enhancing creativity and production, innovating business models, cultivating an AI-skilled workforce, and nurturing entrepreneurship.

In a subsequent session, Richard Kerris, Vice-President, NVIDIA, and Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, NVIDIA India, discussed the evolving relationship between AI, personal computing, and creative productivity. Mr. Kerris provided a historical perspective, highlighting the challenges of early 3D animation. “Today, generative AI dramatically shortens the time from concept to creation,” he said. However, he stressed the importance of foundational knowledge. “AI puts tools in your hands, but knowing the craft remains essential.”

Echoing this sentiment, Mr. Dhupar added that AI was not a replacement for human creativity but a facilitator. “Creative professionals live their work. AI does not replace that passion – it enables it,” he observed.

The final session of the day featured a masterclass by Anish Mukherjee, Solutions Architect at NVIDIA, titled ‘Bringing Stories to Life with Gen AI’. Demonstrating NVIDIA’s approach to generative media tools, Mr. Mukherjee showcased advanced capabilities including the conversion of static images to digital humans, multilingual voice-overs, and AI-generated character animation.

Utilising NVIDIA’s Fugato model, he demonstrated AI-generated music and realistic lip-syncing for dubbing workflows. He also introduced Cosmos, a suite of foundational models designed for video generation and simulation-based training via the Omniverse platform.

The discussions across all three sessions collectively pointed to a future where AI augments rather than undermines human creativity, positioning India as a key player in this evolving landscape.