Prediction - AI Authenticity Backlash Coming
There have been a lot of doom and gloom predictions relating to AI lately. While I’m not convinced that machines will exterminate the human race anytime soon, I am seeing the signs of a different kind of major backlash against AI on the horizon.
A month ago, I wrote a post on Claude’s new practice of watermarking any content that it generates – no matter whether it does the whole job or just some light editing. Already, AI detectors are being used by savvy people to discern what’s real/human and what’s not. I expect this practice to accelerate in the weeks and months ahead, as surely more AI systems will implement watermarks and more detectors will enter the market.
There’s a simple reason for this: people place massive value on authenticity. It’s a fact of human nature. It’s the logical, legal and moral basis behind intellectual property and so many other things. It’s also the essence of the entire societal debate over AI; we innately care about what’s produced by humans and what’s outsourced to machines. Decades/generations/centuries of human experience and conditioning won’t get rewired or reversed over a few years of innovation or a corporate executive or two trying to improve their bottom line.
There’s no question that AI use has – and continues to – increase wildly. That’s not changing anytime soon. But as detectors and other tools like them become more common and mainstream in society, we’re all going to realize just how much communication and content in the world is being produced by machines. My guess is most people are going to be surprised at how high the percentages will be.
As society grapples with that eventuality, several questions will increase in prevalence:
Are we comfortable with most of our world being curated/produced by AI?
Who and what do we trust?
If “progress” means that uniquely human interaction and compassion are sidelined or deprioritized, will we go along with that? There are major health effects to be studied and considered.
I think these debates are already starting, but given the course we’re on they’re bound to intensify. I’m not sure exactly where we’ll land or what the answers will be to all the big questions. But based on history, I think people are going to always highly value authenticity as a core value – and that there will come a point when we’ll start to actively choose it over the alternatives. As those choices get made, people will naturally shy away from other people and companies that they know aren’t being as human or real with them. An AI backlash will take place.
It won’t happen this year, and it might not happen next year either. But I think it’s very possible that we’ll be reckoning with this within 5-10 years. And if it happens…
…The companies that act like they care on a human level for their stakeholders – and dare I say even use humans to produce their work – will win. Authenticity will resurface as an important, and maybe even the ultimate, competitive differentiator.
