Protect and Grow Your “Original” Side in the Age of AI

In today's digital world, where imitation is much easier than ever and artificial intelligence can generate essays, artwork, and even videos and voices in seconds, originality is becoming not just rare but more valuable.

In the last couple of days, I had a very confronting experience that I cannot shake out of my head. It all started with a LinkedIn post that I created a few days ago to share my deep, heartfelt reflection on my academic journey. In the post, I chose every word carefully to describe how I felt. And I was very moved that I received so many warm and encouraging responses. It was an amazing moment for me.

Then, I saw another LinkedIn post that was copied almost word for word by someone else, the structure, the tone, the message… all mirrored my original post, only a few details were changed, because those were too personal to copy.

And it was posted within 24 hours of my post.

I am not going to lie, I felt violated.

And the worst part of all this? This was just a LinkedIn post.

What if it had been something more? What if it were some materials that I spent months building? Or maybe a course that I designed from scratch? Or an idea that hadn’t even had time to grow yet?

I can’t even finish the sentence. But I also can't stop thinking.

That single moment made me realise just how fragile originality can feel in the wrong environment, and made me realise just how seriously we need to protect it.

But how? How do we protect our original side in a world that constantly pushes us toward shortcuts, templates, and AI?

From that point, I immediately started doing research for solutions, and found out that below are some ways that potentially not only can protect our originality, but may also have the ability to grow it into a creative edge that no others ( including AI) can replicate.

1. Check in with your "why" regularly

Everything starts from our "why". It is the root of everything, it is our purpose. Regardless of how things get difficult or easy, the purpose should be the inner driver that always motivates us towards the end goal.

We live in a world full of productivity hacks, best practices, and structured workflows. It’s very tempting to follow the blueprint of success laid out by others, as it is risk-free, it is easy, and it is clearly mapped out. But, what we often forget is that we are uniquely existing in this world, we have our own strength that no one else can compete with, so why should you follow others' footsteps? Your originality won't be found in someone else’s path. So stop following, start leading your own path.

How to do this in practice:

• Ask yourself often: Why am I doing this? Why does it matter to me?

  
  

When your path is created from your “why,” you start to be fueled with motivation and direction. You will naturally stop competing with AI, as you start building something that is deeply meaningful to you, from a place that no machine can replace.

2. Create before you consume

One of the most overlooked habits in creative growth is input management. With our phones filled with temptation, we normally wake up and start scrolling on social media, news, and emails. We've been information overloaded before 9 a.m. The information that we receive in less than half an hour is way more than people received in entire days a few decades ago.

But here’s the truth: if you overconsume, you eventually sound like everything you've been consuming. Think about if you heard a few seconds of a song, all you can think of (involuntarily) is the rest of the song in your head. And that leads to nothing else can be produced using your brain power.

To protect your originality, create before you consume.

How to do this in practice:

• You can start your day with a 15-minute “creative sprint”: where you can write, doodle, mind-mapping, or voice ideas aloud. This should be your mind's "me" time without anything else coming into your mind.

  
  

This small step can help you to train your brain to hear your own voice first, it gives you room to be authentic, to be real.

3. Keep a running list of your ideas, even the weird ones

Original ideas come in like lightning: big and bright for a moment, but gone in a flash.

That’s why it’s very important to keep a special space to capture them, no matter how strange or not making sense. Even the one that popped up in your dreams.

Most people dismiss ideas too quickly: “That’s silly,” “It’s been done,” “Who would care?”

But originality doesn’t come from something that you already know about. It comes from the unknown, the weird and even unreal ideas. You need to capture them and let them have a space to evolve.

How to do this in practice:

• Use your phone’s note app or have a small notebook with you all the time, so when the ideas come, you can easily jot them down on the go.

• Once a week or once a month, review your notes and think, "What can I do next?"

  
  

It might seem random now, but every time you write it down, it might become the foundation of your most original work later. The dots only connect after you collect them.

4. Stay curious about things outside your comfort zone

It’s easy to surround ourselves with content that we are comfortable with, from our industry, people with our background, and problems we’re already familiar with. But true originality often comes from unexpected intersections. Many great innovations happened when ideas jumped disciplines, crossed sectors in the least expected way. So be open-minded, and be curious like a 5-year-old at the zoo.

How to do this in practice:

• Read books or watch documentaries completely unrelated to your field.

• Attend workshops or events outside your niche.

• And my personal favourite: be a volunteer at any organisation. What I find interesting is that often people volunteering are from many different sectors with very different backgrounds, but they all come to one place that they care about, which is a perfect platform for the most open-minded conversation. I've volunteered in 3 different organisations in very different fields, and the experience was amazing and life-changing.

  
  

Diverse input leads to diverse output. You become a better thinker not by going deeper into one field but by connecting multiple fields in new ways.

5. Use AI to amplify, not to replace

Firstly, let me be clear: AI is not the enemy.

In fact, if we use AI well, AI can be an incredible partner. It can help us brainstorm, organise, refine, and explore ideas faster than ever before. But don't forget, you are still the creative director.

AI should be used as a tool to support your thinking, not substitute it. It is very dangerous when we are not using the tool to amplify our idea, but instead, we just offload our originality to it.

How to do this in practice:

• Use AI to help research, but come up with the conclusion yourself.

• Ask AI for multiple angles, then bring your own perspective to choose the best fit.

  
  

The Courage to Stay Original

Originality is not always comfortable.

It means doing things differently in a world that may not be ready to understand it.

But, just a reminder that the people who change industries, who shift conversations, who become unforgettable, are rarely the ones who follow others' footsteps to get their way there. They’re the ones who dared to trust their voice, even when it was a hard time, even when there was no audience.

So if you’ve ever worried about being replaced by AI, ask yourself first, "Am I being my original version? "

About the Author:

Emmolina May is a construction law educator, adjudicator, and founder of EM. She writes and speaks about creativity, career growth, and the future of work, especially in male-dominated industries. Each Friday, she shares real reflections from the field through her #EMFridays series.

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