Never before have we been so surrounded by the artificial. AI-generated art, deepfake videos, automated conversations, it’s literally everywhere. And in the midst of this digital tsunami, a countermovement is emerging, a silent call for the real. We long for the tangibility of handmade products, the imperfection of analogue photography, the sincerity of human interaction. It seems as if, in the attempt to achieve perfection, we have lost the essence of being human. Now, more than ever, we realize the value of the real, the authentic, the human.

I almost dare not say it out loud anymore, because we are so overwhelmed by AI that we are craving real things instead of fakes. I understand the desire for authenticity, for the real, for craftsmanship. We want to go back to products with real value, products that have been worked hard for. Photos that we can trust and things that really matter. Texts with content and emotion, written from the heart. Videos that are real, pure, with a real play of light, made with emotion.

One post after another. Look what I can do with AI! Yes, nice, but I’m getting a bit tired of it. Of course, progress is nice, but I want to focus on what is real, human, sincere and pure.

And yet… therein lies the paradox. It is precisely through that abundance of artificial perfection, those manufactured emotions, that we become more acutely aware of what is real. We learn to recognize the subtle nuances, the imperfections that emphasize the beauty of being human. A handmade ceramic mug with a small imperfection, the wrinkles around the eyes of a loved one in an analog photo, the raw emotion in a live music performance, those are the moments that make us feel alive.

Maybe it is not so much a ‘return’ to the real, but rather a rediscovery. A revaluation of the simple things, the small gestures, the human connection. In a world that seems to be getting faster and more distant, it is precisely that human touch that we need so much. A smile, a listening ear, a handwritten letter, these are the anchors that hold us in the storm of fake news and algorithms.

And yet the artificial is also very beautiful. It changes who we are. We make people more complete and better. We grow older and wiser. We learn more and broaden our horizons. The possibilities are endless and we can no longer do without them.

Yet you should not want to change or improve everything, it is the imperfection that makes people beautiful, it is the shortcoming that makes people dependent and therefore connected. We need each other, that makes life beautiful.

And so we stand at a crossroads, driven by a deep desire for the real, while we become unmistakably intertwined with the artificial world. The call for authenticity, that loud cry against the near-perfection of AI, paradoxically sharpens our senses for what is human. We learn to recognize the nuances, to cherish the imperfections.

AI has helped us, and can help us, to amplify that authenticity. To cherish the moments that really matter, to find the beauty in the imperfection. And maybe, just maybe, in that balance between the real and the artificial, we will find the true essence of what it means to be human.