Inside the Conversation That Challenged AI’s Place in Creativity

The conversation around Artificial Intelligence has shifted from whether it will change the world to how deeply it already has. Today, every industry from banking to branding, is learning to coexist with algorithms. Yet, amid this digital transformation, one question continues to challenge creative minds: can AI truly imagine?
This question resonated throughout the auditorium at IBS Mumbai during M Talks 2025, a panel discussion hosted by Marketing360. The event went beyond discussing AI’s impact on marketing. It questioned the future of human relevance in a machine-led world.
When Aditya Tripathi, Executive Creative Director at MullenLowe Lintas, took the stage, he did not sound threatened by AI. He sounded inspired and challenged by it. “AI can visualize faster,” he explained, “but it still needs the human mind to imagine what it is visualizing.” He illustrated this with Cadbury’s hyper-local campaign, where Shah Rukh Khan’s voice and lips were synced in multiple languages to promote small stores. The example captured the power and the paradox of AI in advertising. Technology can amplify reach, but it cannot create authenticity.
Each panelist addressed the tension between efficiency and emotion. Pulak Banerjee of BARC noted that data is both a blessing and a burden. “The challenge is not access,” he said, “it is discernment, separating the signal from the noise.” AI can analyze trends, but it cannot decide what is meaningful. That is a distinctly human skill and one that is becoming increasingly rare in a world driven by metrics.
From the banking perspective, Sujeet Sinha highlighted a sobering reality. “Trust used to be built on faces,” he said. “Now it is built on systems.” Technology may make business faster, but it is also quietly reshaping the emotional foundations that support relationships and brands.
Even as the discussion turned to investment and entrepreneurship, Adhiraj Banerjee, Managing Partner at Arghya Ventures, emphasized that great ideas always begin with human conviction. “Investors do not just buy ideas. They buy the intent behind them,” he said. The speaker reminded everyone that the market rewards clarity of vision more than technological complexity.
Mamta Kathuria a Digital business professional brought the conversation back to its human core. “Your end consumer is still human,” she said. Algorithms may predict behavior, but they cannot feel what customers feel. Her insight resonated strongly with the audience because it distilled the entire debate into one fundamental truth. AI may help us understand humans better, but only if we remember to remain human ourselves.
Dr. Vibhor Mishra concluded the discussion with a perspective that blended academic rigor and practical wisdom. “Be crazy for learning,” he said. “AI will evolve, but deep knowledge lasts forever.” His words reframed the future not as a battle between humans and machines but as a collaboration in which the curious will thrive.
As the session ended, it became clear that M Talks 2025 was more than an event. It was a reflection of a generation striving to balance logic, emotion, precision, purpose, speed and soul.
AI has already demonstrated that it can replicate intelligence. What remains uniquely human are empathy, imagination, and intuition. These are not relics to be defended but skills to be nurtured and refined. The future of marketing, creativity, and leadership will belong to those who can combine both data that listens and ideas that feel.
M Talks 2025 left one thing undeniable: AI can mimic intelligence, but it cannot spark wonder. The future belongs to those who dare to imagine, to feel, and to create beyond the algorithm. Machines may calculate, but only humans can surprise, inspire, and move the world.
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