The uncanny valley - A short read on AI replacing designers

A quick Google search of the term "uncanny valley" describes a feeling of unease or disgust that people experience when something is almost human but not quite. I think this definition will soon be updated to include all the content created by AI. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I’d venture a guess that you’ve often scrolled through your feed, stopped at a photo, and thought, something’s not right. Or read a piece of copy twice because it seemed eerily hollow.

That missing thing was the human touch.

I am convinced that we are entering an era of authenticity and the imperfect perfection of everyday life in marketing. The one thing AI will never have (even when trained by human designers—yes, I’m looking at you, Fiverr) is the context of human experience, gut instinct, and intuition. That intrinsic understanding of the wavelength we humans communicate on, without uttering a single syllable. If we employ all those traits, we make a brand feel alive, our lived experience makes messaging resonate, and cultural context ensures a campaign lands the right way at the right time.

Since the LLM busted into our lives, it almost felt like we would have to attach an essay to each proposal justifying our existence, even though we can not churn out a logo in 30 seconds based on three inputs. The good news is that the table is turning. We are starting to see the cracks - content feels hollow, visuals lack soul, and logos look like a glorified clipart.

In the long run, relying on AI for creative work will be a hallmark of both a lack of understanding of how businesses connect with people and sheer laziness. I’m not saying stop using it completely—I’m saying use it responsibly, like any other software or tool. But never let it replace humans.

AI has made me see content in a very different light. First of all, it can make the superficial look 100 times better than any influencer on IG telling us to ground ourselves while sipping from a coconut on a tropical beach. But that is good because this means we can stop overthinking, over-curating, over-editing and grinning. We can relax our collective jaw, take a deep breath, and start appreciating what we have because, in the end, humanity is the most valuable thing we possess, even when it comes to running a business.

Call it what you want, but for me, this is a pivotal moment to embrace our human condition and use it to our advantage. This is the time to allow a toast to dance on the plate.