Why the Best Prompt Is Still a Human One

There's a great piece in AdNews by Eaon Pritchard titled "The Only Prompt That Matters," and it hits right at the heart of the AI and creativity debate. His argument? The magic doesn't come from the tool—it comes from the human using it. And honestly, I couldn't agree more.

We're living in a time where you can throw a few words into ChatGPT or Midjourney and get back something halfway decent. Type in "Ghibli-style cat riding a bicycle through Tokyo at sunset" and boom—you've got a visual masterpiece in seconds. It's impressive, no doubt. But is it actually creative? That's where things get murky.

The Human Element Behind the Prompt

Pritchard brings up Joe Strummer's famous line: "No input, no output." And that perfectly sums it up. If you're not curious, if you're not observing, if you're not deeply connected to your own thoughts, emotions, and culture, then your prompts will always be shallow. AI will only reflect what you feed it—and if you feed it empty calories, you'll get processed junk in return.

The Professional Difference

He also points to a study comparing AI art prompted by professional artists versus novices. Unsurprisingly, the pros produced far more interesting and original results. Not because they used fancier words, but because their understanding of art, emotion, and nuance came through in their prompts. The AI didn't make them more creative—they used the AI as a tool to express their creativity more effectively.

And that's the key difference. AI isn't the answer. It's not even the question. It's a paintbrush, a keyboard, a camera. What you do with it still depends entirely on you.

The Cost of Content Without Connection

I think we're at a risk of forgetting that. In our rush to be "efficient" and automate everything, we've got people mistaking output for insight. Pumping out 50 pieces of content a week might look good on a report, but if none of it moves people, what's the point?

We're already seeing the consequences in marketing campaigns that feel strangely generic despite their technical polish, in corporate blogs that say all the right things but somehow lack any authentic voice. One agency director recently admitted that while their output had tripled using AI tools, engagement metrics had actually declined. "We're saying more," she noted, "but resonating less."

The irony is that as AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, truly human-crafted work becomes more valuable, not less. The distinctive perspective that comes from your unique set of experiences isn't something an AI can replicate—it can only help you express it more efficiently.

Cultivating Your Creative Core

So how do we maintain that human edge in our relationship with AI? Here are some practical ways to strengthen your "internal prompt engine":

1. Consume widely and deeply - Read books outside your comfort zone, experience different art forms, engage with diverse perspectives. The richness of your inputs directly affects the quality of your creative output.
2. Practice mindful observation - Take time to notice details in your surroundings, in conversations, in emotional responses. These observations become the raw materials for more nuanced creative work.
3. Embrace analog experiences - Balance screen time with real-world adventures that engage all your senses. These multi-dimensional experiences provide creative fuel that purely digital interaction can't match.
4. Collaborate across differences - The same prompt will yield dramatically different results depending on who's writing it. Cultural background, professional experience, and personal history all shape how we interact with creative tools.

Finding the Balance

That said, there's an interesting middle ground where AI can sometimes surprise us. AI tools occasionally make unexpected connections or suggest directions we wouldn't have considered—but recognizing which of those suggestions has value still requires human judgment and creative instinct. The tool might present a new path, but deciding whether that path is worth exploring remains a human choice.

This is particularly true across cultural contexts. Prompts written by someone from Tokyo versus New York versus Lagos will reveal different priorities, aesthetic preferences, and frames of reference—further evidence that human diversity remains essential even as we embrace AI assistance.

The Creative Future We Choose

The best prompts—the ones that lead to genuinely brilliant work—still come from people with something to say. People who've lived, explored, failed, observed, and reflected. You can't shortcut that experience with an algorithm.

So yes, use the tools. Experiment with AI. Embrace it, even. But don't forget that you are the real engine behind it all. And the only prompt that really matters is the one that comes from your own lived, human perspective.

I challenge you to consider: What unique human insights are you bringing to your creative process? How are you ensuring that your use of AI enhances rather than dilutes your distinctive voice? The most powerful creative work of the AI era won't come from those who most efficiently use the tools—it will come from those who most authentically infuse those tools with their humanity.

Creativity was never about the tools. It was always about the person holding them.