Commentary: Beyond the Hype – AI’s Visual Future and What it Means for Papua New Guinea

The Buzz

The buzz around Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can generate images and videos from simple text prompts is hard to ignore. What once seemed confined to futuristic movies is rapidly becoming a tangible tool, and its potential implications for us here in Papua New Guinea deserve a closer look, moving beyond the initial novelty to understand its practical impact.

For a nation as culturally rich and diverse as PNG, the ability to visually articulate our stories, traditions, and economic aspirations more easily is compelling. Consider the small to medium enterprises that form the backbone of our local economy. AI image and video generation could democratize marketing, allowing a bilum weaver in Goroka or a guest house owner in Kokopo to create professional-looking promotional content without the often-prohibitive costs of traditional production. This isn’t just about slick advertising; it’s about leveling the playing field and enabling our entrepreneurs to reach wider markets.

In education, the potential is equally transformative. Imagine students in a remote highland school generating visuals to explain complex scientific concepts or historical events, making learning more interactive and accessible. Furthermore, AI offers powerful new avenues for cultural preservation. The technology could be used to reconstruct historical settings, create dynamic visual archives of our singsings, or even generate new artistic interpretations of ancient folklore, ensuring these narratives resonate with younger, tech-savvy generations. Tourism, a sector with vast untapped potential in PNG, could also benefit immensely from easily producible, high-quality visual content that showcases our unique landscapes and experiences.

Current AI data

However, the conversation cannot solely be about opportunity. The global rise of AI-generated content is already significant. Current data from early 2025 indicates a massive uptake in AI application usage worldwide. Global AI adoption is projected to exceed 378 million users in 2025, a surge of 20% from the previous year, with tens of millions embracing AI tools for the first time. Specifically, in the content creation sphere, some reports suggest that AI-generated content could account for a substantial portion of all marketing material by this year, with over 80% of businesses already using AI writing tools. While PNG-specific AI app usage data is still emerging, these global trends signal an inevitable wave that will reach our shores, if it hasn’t already begun to do so. Popular apps like ChatGPT, which now often include image generation capabilities, boast hundreds of millions of active users globally, indicating a broad familiarization with AI tools. This existing and growing user base for general AI apps will likely smooth the path for more specialized AI image and video tools.

As this technology becomes more ingrained, we in PNG must proactively address the associated challenges. Ensuring equitable access to these tools, bridging the digital literacy gap, and developing ethical guidelines around copyright, authenticity, and the potential for misuse (such as deepfakes) will be paramount. We need robust discussions on how to integrate AI responsibly, ensuring it empowers rather than marginalizes.

The future of AI in visual content creation isn’t just a technological shift; it’s a societal one. For Papua New Guinea, it presents a chance to amplify our unique voice on the global stage, foster innovation at a grassroots level, and preserve our heritage in new and exciting ways. But to truly harness this potential, we need a strategic approach that embraces the innovation while thoughtfully navigating its complexities. The picture AI paints for PNG can be bright, but it requires us to be active artists in its composition.