As AI reshapes the way businesses operate, one thing is becoming clear: technology alone isn’t enough.
Success depends on the people who can connect strategy, creativity, and technical know-how to make AI actually work.
Enter the Creative Technologist: part innovator, part problem solver, and part translator between ambition and execution.
Businesses that recognise and invest in this skillset will be the ones that move beyond pilots and hype to real impact.
Now Is the Time of the Creative Technologist
For years, the Creative Technologist has been a peripheral figure, the hybrid who links creativity and tech, often brought in for niche projects to “make it work.”
But as AI moves from hype to hard reality, that role is starting to look a lot more central.
The companies that will truly win with AI aren’t the ones spending big on new tools or building endless pilots. They’re the ones adapting their people, thinking, and structures to include the skills of a Creative Technologist.
That means a mix of:
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Business acumen, connecting AI directly to commercial goals.
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Entrepreneurial mindset, testing, learning, and iterating at pace.
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Solution design, building things people actually use.
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Creativity, thinking differently, not just digitally.
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Technical fluency, knowing how the stuff works and when it doesn’t.
It’s this combination that bridges the gap between what leaders want AI to do and what it can actually deliver.
So maybe the better question isn’t Is now the time of the Creative Technologist?
It’s How quickly can you get them into your business?
The Acceleration Problem and the Pilot Graveyard
The pace of AI development is staggering. New tools arrive every week, each one claiming to be the next big thing.
For most organisations, that’s both exciting and exhausting.
The potential is huge, but the reality is messy. Many are moving fast but not forward.
You’ve probably heard it before:
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“We’ve spent millions on AI and it’s not delivering.”
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“Our tools aren’t being adopted.”
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“Nothing integrates properly.”
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“It’s all pilots and no progress.”
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“Everything’s out of date by the time it launches.”
These aren’t technology problems, they’re translation problems. AI isn’t something you install. It’s something you embed across workflows, teams, and culture.
But too many businesses are still using traditional IT playbooks, focused on control and compliance rather than creativity and connection.
The result is a lot of noise and very little progress.
The Skills and Strategy Gap
Most leadership teams understand why AI matters.
The challenge is how to make it deliver.
It’s not about capability at the top, it’s about the mix of people tasked with delivery.
Traditional IT departments are brilliant at control and reliability. AI, though, demands speed, creativity, and experimentation.
That’s a completely different mindset.
Leaders need people who can bridge strategy and technology. People who understand both the business challenge and the creative opportunity. People who can turn ambition into action.
In short, they need Creative Technologists.
The Skills Businesses Need to Deliver AI
To make AI stick, you need people who can blend:
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Commercial thinking with creative problem solving.
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Curiosity with technical understanding.
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Strategy with the ability to just get on and build things.
These are the hallmarks of a Creative Technologist, someone who makes ideas real and scalable.
They understand ambition, but they also know how to deliver. They’re translators, connectors, and doers, the people who make progress happen.
Every business that’s serious about AI should be investing in Creative Technologists, not just hiring them but helping existing teams think and work in the same way.
Because success with AI isn’t about finding the perfect platform. It’s about creating the right environment.
That means building a culture where people think like Creative Technologists:
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Be curious, not cautious.
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Try things, don’t overthink them.
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Work together, not in silos.
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Focus on impact, not process.
AI doesn’t transform businesses. People do. And the people who can bridge creativity and technology are the ones leading the way.
What You Can Do Right Now
Start looking for people in your organisation who already show the attributes of a Creative Technologist.
They might not have that title, and they might not even work in digital. You’ll find them in product, operations, marketing, or design. People who are curious, creative, and capable of making things happen.
Champion them. Give them space to lead experiments, test ideas, and shape how AI is used across the business.