AI Vision 2025: What Sierra Learnt from Canva’s Event

manon363
2 days ago
3 min read

Yesterday, we spent the evening at AI Vision in Sydney, an event hosted by Canva that gathered some of the most influential voices shaping the future of artificial intelligence.

Speakers included Oliver Jay (OpenAI), Cameron Adams (Canva), Sherif Mansour (Atlassian), Tom Humphrey (Blackbird), and a long list of leaders actively defining how AI will reshape creativity, business, and work.

Throughout the sessions, one message was clear: AI is no longer a distant dream. It is here, gaining speed, and fundamentally human.

For marketing teams and business leaders in Australia, the opportunities are greater than most realise.

Below are the key takeaways our team brought back and what they mean for us.

1. AI is fundamentally human

AI is not just a technological breakthrough - it's a human practice.

Yes, the pace of innovation is staggering, and it can feel overwhelming. But the companies that excel at AI are the ones grounding it in values, culture, lived experience, and creativity, which shows how our personal experiences shape AI.

Human-centred AI means:

· Using AI to enhance capability, not replace expertise

· Embedding transparency to build trust

· Designing AI experiences that reflect your brand’s identity

· Keeping people in the loop, not removing us from it

This aligns directly with our approach to AI integration at Sierra. AI tools are only effective when they reflect the tone, ambition, and uniqueness of the brands they serve. This requires human judgement, context, and a high level of care.

2. Curiosity beats caution every time

The biggest wins come from people and companies willing to experiment boldly. Curiosity reduces fear, it eliminates guesswork, and it helps teams understand how to partner with AI instead of competing against it.

Speakers made one point clear: early adopters will learn faster, make better decisions, and avoid the widening gap between those participating in the AI trend and those waiting.

This reinforces why we test, play and tinker with new tools each week. It’s how we advise clients accurately, understand what’s possible and stay ahead.

💡 You don't need a perfect AI strategy to get started. Just take the first step. Empower your teams to experiment and see what they come up with! The companies embracing change today will be the ones outperforming tomorrow.

3. Invisible creativity is the next frontier

The future of creativity is invisible.

Meaning: AI will become so seamlessly integrated into creative workflows that people will stop noticing the technology. They will only see better output, faster execution and more time for high-value thinking. And it seems this future isn't too far off…

We saw real examples yesterday:

· Voice-powered creation in multiple languages

· Design workflows that automatically adapt to brand context

· AI that supports craftsmanship rather than replacing it

· Human and machine contributions blending into a single process

What this means for you

1. AI will continue widening the gap between early adopters and everyone else

Companies experimenting now will achieve greater operational speed, better decision-making, and enhanced customer experiences. Late adopters will quickly feel the gap widening.

2. Authenticity becomes even more crucial.

AI simplifies content creation, not creative thinking. Your brand identity, tone, values, and lived experience will matter more, not less.

3. Expertise remains essential

One of the strongest messages from the OpenAI and Atlassian speakers was this: AI is powerful, but it is only as good as the expertise guiding it.If you remove expertise from the process, the quality of outcomes drops.

4. Everyone should start experimenting now

Companies that succeed with AI create a culture of tinkering. Not chaos, but curiosity.Businesses waiting for a perfect plan will fall behind those learning as they go.