We’ve spent three episodes talking about AI tools.
Episode 4 asks the harder question: what about the thinking behind them?
This week’s guest is Aasif Akbar @absolutelyasif creative director with 20+ years at agencies like MullenLowe. His thesis cuts straight to the point: AI doesn’t make average thinking good. It just scales it.
His take:
Teams using AI without sharpening their creative judgment aren’t accelerating - they’re amplifying mediocrity at speed. The Hollow Content Trap isn’t a tool problem. It’s a thinking problem.
But here’s the part that intrigued me. In Aasif’s own words:
“AI doesn’t make bad ideas good. It just makes them faster.”
The teams winning aren’t producing 10x more. They’re producing 10x sharper.
The mistake isn’t the tool. It’s expecting the tool to do work your thinking should be doing.
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The 90-Second Take
One tactical question. One counterintuitive insight. 90 seconds.
New episode every week. Coming soon to Spotify and other platforms.
#The90SecondTake #UnfilteredArchita #CreativeLeadership #AIStrategy #CreativeDirection AIThinking AdvertisingIndustry
@upendnow
The 90-Second Take: One tactical question. One counterintuitive insight. 90 seconds.
Every creative team I talk to is chasing the same illusion right now:
“This new AI tool will fix our workflow.”
Then they buy it. Install it. Watch it fail. And blame AI.
Episode 3 of The 90-Second Take tackles this head-on with Danny Ratcliff—a creative technologist who builds AI production pipelines for agencies, studios, and Fortune 500 brands.
His take:
Teams are treating workflow automation like a product purchase when it’s actually a design problem. They’re using AI transactionally—prompt in, output out—while their smartest competitors are designing agentic systems where AI makes decisions, triggers actions, and hands off autonomously.
But here’s the part that intrigued me. In Danny’s own words:
“Even the best agentic workflows get you 90% there. That last 10%—taste, quality control, creative judgment—still needs a human. The mistake is designing that layer out.”
The future isn’t automation replacing humans. It’s architects designing where humans belong.
As Danny puts it: “The fix isn’t a better tool. It’s a better architect.”
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New episode every week. Coming soon to Spotify and other platforms.
#The90SecondTake #UnfilteredArchita #AIWorkflows #CreativeLeadership #WorkflowArchitecture AIProduction CreativeTech @upendnow
Last Monday I launched The 90-Second Take.
Thank you for the response.
For those just joining: I sit down with creative technologists, filmmakers, and production leaders using AI in real work. I ask them one question: What does everyone get wrong?
One tactical question. One counterintuitive insight. 90 seconds.
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Here is Episode 2.
Eugenio Fierro / AI Filmmaker, Buenos Aires
“Everyone wants the flashy demo. Filmmakers need shot planning, repeatability, locked continuity.”
Eugenio builds AI workflows for film production. His message: True production control isn’t in the prompt—it’s in shot planning and repeatability.
Timeline control. Locked character continuity. Stable versioning. Production-ready AI.
“Consistency is still the real problem. Netflix and Amazon are already using AI—they’ll use it massively for cost savings and to realize previously unrealizable projects.”
Not just prompts. Production control.
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New episode every week. Coming to Spotify soon.
#The90SecondTake @upendnow
Remember that thing I told you about in the car?
Here it is.
I’ve spent the last couple months sitting down with creative technologists, filmmakers, and production leaders who are actually using AI in their work. Not for the hype. For real production.
I asked each of them one question: What’s the thing everyone gets wrong?
The answers were too good to bury in long interviews. So I built something different.
One tactical question. One counterintuitive insight. 90 seconds.
This is The 90-Second Take. It launches today.
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Episode 1: Cale Frombach / Frombach Studios
Award-winning creative technologist who builds AI pipelines for major studios and agencies.
His message: “Don’t let AI replace your taste. Brands treating AI like a content factory are joining the carnival of slop. Use AI to skip the boring parts—not the thinking.”
If you’re using AI to avoid having a point of view, everyone can tell.
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New episode every week. Coming to Spotify soon.
#The90SecondTake #UnfilteredArchita #CreativeTech #AIProduction @upendnow
@ominousthefilm keeps traveling.
A nomination at the 4th Dimension International Film Festival in Bali, Indonesia. An Official Selection at ConCarolinas Film Festival — one of the longest-running genre conventions in the country, built for sci-fi, horror, and thriller.
More exciting news coming soon. All the way from Cannes!
Grateful for the team and everyone behind this film.
🎬 #Ominous #IndieFilm #FilmFestival #OfficialSelection #ConCarolinas 4thDimensionFilmFestival SciFi Horror Thriller Bali IndieFilmmaker GenreFilm
On- how it’s going!? March is the most joyful time in this house with two back to back birthdays!! One gets a year older and edgier and the other is in last year of her teens! #birthday
