The Trend of Artificiality

If you’ve been paying attention then you’ll have noticed that the worlds becoming more artificial. Social interaction has been reduced to Instagram comments and dishonest expressions of friendship. High street stores are being replaced by monolithic organisations such as Amazon. Your favourite cashier has been replaced by a self-serving robot that refuses to accept your crumpled £5 notes.

It only makes sense, in our capitalistic society robots equal efficiency and profits. They streamline interactions, reduce the possibility of human error and cost far less in the long run. Furthermore, they don’t require a: lunch break, smoke break, maternity leave, pat on the head for a job well done or time off when they’re feeling blue.

While it’s too early to determine the net impact, we can say one thing for certain — the world’s becoming more artificial. The social, technological and economic landscapes are shifting beneath our very feet.

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While this is all very big picture, i’d like to focus on how i think this will change our approach to understanding consumers. Starting with the changes we already encounter, here’s how the future looks in my head.

Lack of Diversity

Robots play by the rules. They follow instructions, deal with binary code, and output desired results. They follow a very rigid philosophy. This being true, they’re predictable.

If i click add to basket on Amazon, i’ll have an item in my basket. If i ask Siri to play my favourite artist, Tom Misch plays. No awkward conversation with the cashier about the weather (Yes, i’m from the UK). No human interaction. No variability.

While predictability could be misconstrued as a positive, i believe it’s rather the opposite. We’re creating a world where everything’s so fucking habitual. So much of our life is now automated, and will continue to be so, that we lose out on the intrinsically chaotic nature of humans.

Give me a conversation with my shopping. Let the overworked barista fuck up my order of black coffee. Let me communicate with my mouth rather than my thumbs

PC Robots

To be honest, the thing that worries me most is just how standardised and artificial everything’s going to be. We’re slowly slipping in to a chasm of technology.

This chasm is comprised of perfect robots that never make mistakes, swear, fuck up or cause problems. They’re too perfect; the digital Joneses. Conversely, I love the innately imperfect nature of human beings. We do the wrong thing sometimes. Our words get us in trouble occasionally. We fuck up, and that’s exactly what i love about being human.

I want more robots to tell me that i’m a cunt. I want more CEO’s to embrace their shitty past and post their rave pictures from the 90s. I want more honesty, transparency, and authenticity.

While technology creates standardised perfectitutde, let’s create unbridled authenticity. Fuck, shit, wank, cunt, big ole bag of dicks. Bet you Alexa wouldn’t say that on a whim.

What To Focus On

A counter movement is coming. A revolution of sorts. Humans sick of the artificial reality they’re subjected to, desperate for real connection. We’ll crave the beautiful imperfectness of humanity. An army of like-minded individuals that dream of the good old days. That’s me. That might be you. It’s certainly bound to be some.

Just think about it, as the world continues to embrace technology and thus our screen time, mental health will plummet. We’ve already seen this in Japan where extensive screen time and technology adoption has lead to an epidemic of loneliness.

And it’s just going to get more inescapable. Tech companies are only going to get better at capturing your attention.

While the tone of this article thus far could have you believing that i’m a paranoid technophobe, i’d argue that it’s more nuanced than that. While i strive for a life with minimal tech, i do believe it can be useful when viewed as a tool. It’s about using your tech rather than letting it use you.

I’m absolutely here for the multitude of benefits that tech provides. I invest in crypto, play music from Spotify and spunk inordinate amounts of money on drunken nights out with contactless. Cue the Sunday morning fear.

So what can you offer as a creator/writer/entrepreneur? You can offer your humanity. You can be honest, transparent, authentic, real. You can admit your dodgy past. You can provide opinion. You can make mistakes. You can say fuck in the sense that your robotic counterpart can’t say fuck.

This is what consumers are looking for. Companies with Elon Musk-like figureheads. Creators that embrace their humanity. Individuals that exude realness.

Closing Thoughts

This article’s a perfect example of what i’m talking about. It’s sloppily written, full of grammatical errors, rambly, nonsensical and in all honesty, not that good. But i’d be willing to bet my life savings that readers relate to this more than another article about the 874 Ways To Shave Your Dogs Balls.

The future unfortunately belongs to perfect, faultless, flawless robots. They wont make mistakes or say the word ‘fuck’ in dialogue. They wont require a lunch break or complain about long working hours. They wont put a foot wrong — but ultimately, they wont be human.

And that’s where our advantage lies, in our imperfectness. So embrace it, create content that people can relate to, remain transparent about your past, be honest in your convictions. Authenticity is a valuable commodity and it’s time to invest.

If you naturally talk with fuck in your vocabulary, then make that fucking known. Fuck this, fuck that, fuck you. The point i’m trying to make goes beyond the inclusion of naughty words, but i’m not intellectually inclined enough to fully explain it. Perhaps someone with a dexterous grasp on the English language and a big ole brain can explain it better than i can.

What i’m trying to say is, if Robots Can’t Say Fuck, then say fuck as much as you can.

As Always,

Yours Honestly,

Liam Lawson.

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