Tay Guan Hin at the AI Executive Creative Summit in New York: Fast Prompts, Real Talk, Human Taste

By Tay Guan Hin, APAC Regional Director, The One Club for Creativity.

When was the last time you truly hit the creative reset button? For me, it happened over two intense, inspiring days in New York at the AI Executive Creative Summit, part of The One Club for Creativity’s Creative Week.

Now, I’ve attended countless summits in my career…but this? This was special. The first AI-focused event of its kind. And unlike other tech-flavored talkfests, it didn’t just preach theory. It focused on practical steps to integrate AI into your agency workflow, a meaningful, actionable how-to guide. Speakers didn’t have all the answers: none of us do. They shared the wild, messy, courageous experiments they’re already running. And that vulnerability? That’s where real learning starts.

Kevin Swanepoel CEO of The One Club for Creativity.

Welcome to “Wonderpanic™

Lars Bastholm (above: Bastholm Creative Consulting, Topic: A Short History of Wonderpanic™) gave us a word we’ll never forget: Wonderpanic™. That rush of awe and dread when you see just how far AI can take us. He reminded us that it’s not the tech that speeds things up. It’s emotion. Fear. Curiosity. Excitement.

His advice? Don’t build a ladder. Build a rocket. Ditch billable hours. Embrace the weird. Because human weirdness? That’s our secret sauce.

His parting words? “Be the pink Batman.” Honestly, I might get that on a T-shirt.

Kill the Tasks, Free the Minds

Taryn Crouthers (above: ATTN Agency, Topic: 100 Tasks That Suck) kept it real. No fluff. No theory dumps. Just get-your-hands-dirty kind of AI work. Her team listed out 100+ tasks that suck. Status decks. The usual soul-killers. Then they built tiny Slack-native micro AI agents to kill them off…one by one.

Result? 40 hours saved every week. Employee morale? Everyone is happier than ever. And the best part? No new tools. No extra logins. It all ran inside what they already used. ROI was clear. More creative time. Less admin pain.

Human Taste is our differentiator.

In a world where AI can generate awesome work in seconds, what becomes premium? Taste. That “je ne sais quoi” only humans can spot.

Lauren Indovina (above: House of Indovina, Topic: Art Is Dead. Long Live the Artist) shared a mic-drop moment: “Art is dead—long live the artist.” Everyone laughed. Then nodded. Because she had a point. In this AI world, craft isn’t scarce anymore: you can generate a thousand decent images in seconds. But what’s rare? The eye to curate. The guts to edit. And the courage to bring the weird. That’s the new creative currency. Taste is the new talent.

Multi-Modal is the New Magic

Nicolas Neubert from Runway (above: Topic: A New Creative Process) hit the nail on the head. AI isn’t just about pressing a magic button and hoping for the best. It’s about building smarter, hybrid workflows. Mixing images, words, concepts…fast. Less about prompts. More about play. He’s all in on using AI to supercharge human imagination. Not replace it. For brands and agencies, this means quicker ideas and smoother storytelling.

Tim Rodgers (below: RehabAI, Topic: Build Small to Drive Massive Change) dropped a gem…his team trained style prompts so even junior designers could remix the agency’s archives in minutes.

But here’s the kicker: final picks still needed the seasoned creative directors to go, “Hmm… that’s not quite us.” Because AI’s quick, but it doesn’t have our taste. And when it comes to brand voice cloning, sure, the first drafts fly—but approvals? Those still need a solid taste-check.

Doing Right: Governance, Ethics, IP & Brand Safety

Sherina Florence (above: IABM!, Topic: A Golden Age of Creativity) flipped the script. AI isn’t about replacement. It’s about responsibility. She called for “creative consciousness.” We’re not just users—we’re shaping the future with our values baked in.

She called creatives “code writers of reality.” Powerful, right? It’s not about just knowing the tools. It’s about using them with intent, culture, and meaning. Why now? Because one wrong prompt can blow up brand trust in seconds.The tension? Lawsuits. Fines. Reputation damage. The opportunity? Build governance into the process. Make it part of the workflow. Do it right, and trust goes up.

And Then Came the Chaos: The AI Creative Challenge
The summit didn’t end with applause. It ended with a showdown. Picture this: DJ Supes Base spinning beats. Cocktails clinking. A full house of creative minds buzzing. And on stage? The first-ever AI Creative Challenge.

Pictured: AI Creative Challenge on stage.

Think Iron Chef meets Mad Max—but with Midjourney, ChatGPT, Runway, Firefly, and some of the boldest imaginations in the industry. Each contestant spun a wheel to get a surprise brief.

Fast prompts. No prep. No mercy. Just a ticking clock, their tools, and a room full of anticipation. Ideas were sparked, prototypes built, and presentations delivered—live, in real-time, in front of everyone. Some ideas fizzled, some flew, and some were downright hilarious.

Iain Tait (above) walked away with an actual axe—yes, a trophy, not a weapon (I think). Judges Lars Bastholm, Lauren Indovina, Sherina Florence, PJ Pereira, JC Oliver, and Kevin Swanepoel held nothing back.

It was chaotic. Inspiring. Gut-busting funny. And weirdly emotional. And it proved this: AI doesn’t kill instinct. It amplifies it. What you feed it matters. And even the most random prompt can spark the unexpected in the hands of a brave, creative soul.

The Response?
Honestly, I’m still soaking it all in. People stayed back. They leaned in. They felt something. We talked. We laughed. We learned. And the buzz? It’s still going.
But this is just the beginning.

We are opening the doors to all creatives for another AI Executive Creative Summit in Barcelona, November 20–21, 2025, during ADC*E Creative Week. If any part of this sparked your curiosity, don’t overthink it. Just go. You won’t regret it. To be the first to know when tickets are on sale drop your name and email here. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later.

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See what took place in NY:

But if there’s one thing I took away, it’s this: We’re no longer asking what AI can do. We’re asking what we can do with it.

Taste is the new strategy. Curiosity is your superpower. And creative courage? That’s non-negotiable.

So here’s my advice: keep experimenting. Keep failing. Keep creating anyway. Because creativity isn’t dying—it’s mutating. And I, for one, can’t wait to see what we become.

Above: Tay Guan Hin, Kentaro Kimura, Speaker: Matthew Carey, Google Creative Lab, Topic: Confessions of a Professional Hallucinator.

Above: Jennifer Skidgel, Global Director of Creative Development at The One Club for Creativity, the driving force behind this incredible event.