Dave JacksonOver the past few weeks, I’ve had the misfortune of sitting through a couple of AI-generated podcasts and watching Jakob Nielsen post some pretty dire videos fronted by fake AI presenters rattling off his thoughts. It felt lazy, and honestly, I lost a bit of respect for him. He should know better.
Authenticity has always been one of my values, and I don’t think I’m alone. Sure, I use AI throughout the day in terms of productivity. I’ve used AI to help me plan, research, and structure this blog post, but the writing is all me. AI would have a hard time nailing the many imperfections of my shoddy writing style!
IRL is key to Gen Z
Gen Z are redefining generational norms. In terms of values, they are almost the opposite of the “greed is good” mantra used by the boomers in the 1980s.
In a recent Gen Z study commissioned by EY, you may be surprised to hear that authenticity was found to be their most important value, even beyond success and wealth. They crave in real life (IRL) experiences – 86% prioritise it and 92% want in‑person authenticity. This audience needs to be taken seriously when it comes to marketing.
Platforms push back on AI slop
Some of the biggest advocates of AI also understand that ‘human’ has value. Both YouTube and Meta have recently declared they’re demoting “mass‑produced, repetitious or inauthentic” content with a preference for human-led output.
This is a welcome move to counter the wave of lazy, vanilla AI content that’s already here, and only going to grow. To be clear, this isn’t a crusade against AI, it’s a push against its misuse.
Engagement vs Novelty
What’s interesting is that I’ve seen a lot of engagement with poor content that is clearly AI-generated, countering my points above. Is this a viral gimmick? People are impressed by polished videos that were created in 10 minutes, but will AI’s lustre fade? It’s difficult to know.
AI influencer – Mia Zelu has been getting a lot of attention; the recent shot that was published of her at Wimbledon went viral. I would take a guess that the attention Mia gets isn’t based on much beyond the fact that she is one of the first AI influencers, a novelty – will we have 20,000 AI influencers in the future, maybe – but I hope not!
AI Quality vs. Human Warmth
The quality of AI video is getting better. Remember those 6 fingered monsters that we all had a giggle at only last year? AI is convincing to a point, but it can lack the imperfections that give authentic content its warmth. Because, fundamentally, to be human is to be imperfect. It’s these unintentional and accidental imperfections that create its warmth – a podcaster clearing their throat, a tiny broken capillarity on the face of a model or a typo in a pefsonal blog. 😉
It’s a bit like playing music on vinyl: slightly rough around the edges, but real, tangible and soulful – difficult to fake.
Being Real in the Age of AI
We’re at the cusp of an explosion of AI-generated media – some of it useful, most of it filler. To stand out, creators will have to decide where they add value. My wager is that authenticity – being real is the ultimate differentiator. Sure, use AI as a tool, but lead with your human voice or vision.
Be real – be imperfect – be human.
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Gavin Duff