IS THIS AI? – Details, episodes & analysis

This week on IS THIS AI?, we’re talking creativity, why 90% of everything is cr*p, and whether AI is here to help or to quietly remove you from your studio.

We’re joined by Derek & Norts (The Peeps) who have been experimenting with machine learning and creativity since before AI tools got slick (and same-y).

This conversation gets into the uncomfortable, strategic, and sometimes joyful reality of creative work alongside AI: where it’s useful, where it isn’t, and what still makes human creativity distinct.

 Tune in for -

1. A more grounded take on the “AI is coming for your job” narrative.

We talk honestly about where the pressure on creative roles is really coming from (hint: not the models), and what agency leaders need to plan for.

2. Where to start with AI and how to avoid the slop

Practical ways to keep your work distinctive when the tools flatten taste and style. This is about creative judgement and filters—not prompts.

3. Where the real creative opportunity sits now.

Why the interesting future is small, strange, hands-on, and niche. And why you should be looking for the things AI enables that were impossible before.

Book tickets to the BIMA AI Roundtable with Be Kaler Pilgrim on AI & recruitment – 19 Nov, 10am UK: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bima-ai-peer-network-roundtable-tickets-1870338014349

This week, Olly and Lisa sit down with Be Kaler Pilgrim, a design and tech recruitment leader who has spent more than two decades helping creatives find their place in changing organisations. 

We get honest about where the jobs have gone, how to get seen when robots are the first reader of your CV, and what soft skills genuinely look like in an AI workplace. As always, it's personal, practical and grounded in what is actually happening right now.

Why listen?

1. Understand the real story behind the vanishing creative roles. 
2. Learn how to get past automated gatekeepers.
3. Make peace with soft skills being hard to show, and find your way.

Some things we took from our conversation with Be Kaler Pilgrim

• Most companies don't actually know what “AI skills” are yet. Curiosity and fluency can help us stand out. Ditch the empty claims.

• Hiring is slower, more stubborn and more competitive. We have to be resilient and ready to compete.

• Communities matter more than ever. Let's not struggle alone.

• Robots can filter keywords, but they cannot judge fit or values. Humans still hire humans, which is a relief to us.

Tune in

Whether you are hiring or you are trying to build a creative career in the UK, and want help to make sense of the changing rules.

Find us

Be Kaler Pilgrim: https://www.smithfieldsearch.com/#who

Olly Veysey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverveysey/

Lisa Talia Moretti: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisataliamoretti/

This week, our guest Nathan Roach introduces a framework to identify the gaps and understand AI's role across all marketing skills and levels. Developing from the T-shaped marketer framework, this discussion touches on the importance of focusing on tasks, the risks of becoming caterpillars, and how the skills we already have are still our most valuable assets. Which is a relief for most of us. 

Tune in for:

1. An explanation of how we can level up the T-shaped marketing framework.

2. Why we need to think about the relationship between tasks and skills, and also continue to protect and build on the fundamentals.

3. The dangers of "unearned knowledge" and why we should be cautious not to lose specialist expertise. 

As ever, we get practical, personal and interested in how we move forward with AI by our side.

Co-hosts Olly Veysey & Lisa Talia Moretti are joined by Marketing Director, Nathan Roach and Director of AI Strategy, Prateek Jain.

Links:

Leveling up the T-shaped Marketing Framework, Nathan S. Roach.

AI, Talent & Trust: A Landmark Report on the Future of Marketing Leadership, ADMA

Beyond Skills: Reengineering work, Reejig CEO Siobhan Savage

The hunt is on the Renaissance Man of computing, King's College Professor Emeritus, David Guest

Huge numbers of enterprise AI projects are failing. Allegedly. MIT recently published a report claiming that “despite $30–40 billion in enterprise investment into GenAI... 95% of organizations are getting zero return.”

Amid the shock, excitement, eye rolls, and told-you-so's, hosts Lisa Talia Moretti & Oliver Veysey take a clear eyed look at what’s really going on behind the MIT stats. They are joined by fellow AI Council member, Tom Good, and Luke Alexander - Chief Digital & AI Officer for Four Agency Worldwide.

20 minutes packed with insights and practical ideas on everything from addressing AI fluency, embracing friction, and bringing our attention back to the people who matter most.

When big tech and AI is claiming the land all around us, how can we thrive and determine our own future?

Is AI a new capitalism? Or a cult? We're kicking off this week with a heavy-hitting provocation. 

Regular hosts Olly Veysey and Lisa Talia Moretti are joined by AI Council member and chief AI Officer Dora Moldovan with special guest Joe McLewin - Managing Director of an AI consultancy - Braidr. 

They discuss how the rules of business, how we hire, upskill and create value as businesses and agencies are being rewritten. And why maintaining trust remains first priority while the big gap remains between reality vs expectation.

Crucially, they bring all their positive mistrust to question those waiting for the magic to happen. Looking instead for the real ways AI can help right now and in the future.

The BIMA AI Council want to invite your thoughts - either in the comments or directly with them. We’re all engaged in this debate, whether we want to be or not, so we all benefit from sharing perspectives.

If you have a topic for the show, or want to put yourself forward as a potential guest on the show, please connect with Oliver Veysey via LinkedIn.

AI tools can complete some tasks really fast. Much faster than a human can. But is what they’re producing good or are we just creating more stuff really fast? Is that a good thing? This episode aims to discuss how the qualities of ‘fast’ and ‘good’ are changing workflows and expectations.

In this episode, UX designer and accessible design leader, Emily Lawes shares her experience of Figma Sites and explores the opportunities and pitfalls vibe coding and the pitfalls of launching an AI-created asset. 

Focused on practical and real world use cases, we discuss how we work and what we need from these tools as they develop.

Co-hosts Olly Veysey and Lisa Talia Moretti are joined by Emily Lawes. Emily is a Lead UX Designer based in Bristol, dedicated to creating accessible and inclusive digital experiences. With a background in software engineering, she bridges the gap between design and development, ensuring accessibility is considered from the start.

Accessible design links and resources:

InnoSearch - Example of Agentic AI used for Visually Impaired users

WCAG in Plain English by AAArdvark

Siteimprove Accessibility Chrcker Chrome Extension

How People with Disabilities Use the Web from W3C

Include - Accessibility Annotation Plugin for Figma

WCAG 2.2 Card Deck For Figma

Contrast Community Plugin for Figma

Accessibility Testing Favlets

Episode one of a new regular podcast from the humans on the BIMA AI Council:  interrogating AI myths, providing practical advice, and sharing insights from practitioners making it happen with AI.

AI Council co-chair and content director Oliver Veysey hosts a lively 20 minute debate with co-chair and digital sociologist Lisa Talia Moretti, digital experience director Prateek Jain, and UX design leader Tom Good.

They explore the challenges and painful change amidst the great AI disruption and focus in the opportunities that AI presents, emphasising the need to adapt, upskill, and redefine value propositions. Two things on which they all agree:

1. Evolution isn’t easy but it’s best not to watch on as it happens anyway.
2. Relationships have never been more important.