Finding Your Line: Introducing PACT (The Personal AI Comfort Test)

I recently returned from a whirlwind trip through Europe, speaking at the AI World Summit in Amsterdam and attending Content London. It was a validating few weeks (my film, The Heir, was a finalist for Best Use of AI in Narrative), but as I sat through panels and presentations, I realised the most important conversation wasn't happening on stage.

It was happening in the hallways. It was happening at the drinks mixers, in the hotel lobbies, and in quiet corners between sessions.

While the keynote speakers were discussing industry-wide trends and technological leaps, the creatives on the ground were discussing something much more intimate: Fear, excitement, and boundaries.

We often speak about AI in the creative industries as if we are looking for a definitive industry standard - a single, collective "line" that we all agree not to cross. We want an objective rulebook. But the reality I saw in Amsterdam and London is that there is no single narrative.

One creative’s "efficiency hack" is another’s "soul-crushing replacement." One filmmaker might be comfortable with AI generating a storyboard but horrified at the idea of AI writing a script. Another might use AI for dialogue but refuse to use it for visual effects.

The boundary isn't objective. It’s personal.

We are all navigating this new landscape without a map. So, I decided to build one.

Introducing PACT

PACT stands for the Personal AI Comfort Test.

I built this simple, visual web application to help creative professionals discover, articulate, and visualise their personal boundaries with AI. It moves beyond the binary of "Pro-AI" or "Anti-AI" and explores the nuances of how we actually work.

The app guides you through 20 questions designed to test your boundaries across six key themes:

1. Organisation: Using AI for the admin work that surrounds creativity (scheduling, file management).

2. Ideation: Using AI to spark the initial flame (mood boarding, brainstorming).

3. Augmentation: Using AI to enhance human work (editing, refining, upscaling).

4. Collaboration: Treating AI as a partner that contributes ideas alongside you.

5. Replacement: The controversial tier; allowing AI to make subjective decisions or create finished products.

6. Ethics: The moral implications regarding authorship, style mimicry, and transparency.

Why This Matters

The goal of PACT isn't to tell you the "right" answer. There is no right answer. The goal is to help you find your answer.

As we integrate these tools into our workflows, self-awareness is our best defense against losing our creative agency. By understanding exactly where you draw the line, you can communicate better with clients, collaborators, and your audience. You can decide where you want to automate, and where you need to remain stubbornly, wonderfully human.

A Note on How This Was Built

I want to add a small postscript for those who feel intimidated by the tech. I am not a developer.

I built and published PACT using Base44. The fact that I - a creative professional, not a coder - could build a functional, interactive web app to test these boundaries is, in itself, a testament to the shift we are witnessing. The barrier between "idea" and "execution" is thinner than it has ever been.

Find Your Profile

I invite you to take a minute to go through the experience. It’s tactile, quick, and might just reveal something about your creative process that you hadn't articulated before.

I’d love to see where your lines are drawn.

Access here —> https://pact.base44.app/