AI, VR, GPT… Artificial intelligence and virtual simulation are becoming commonplace. As someone who has taken the past year to seriously dedicate myself to health, and is trying to journey back to a more holistic and realistic way of living… I find myself getting lost in the ever-increasing artificiality of the world around me.

Read more: Navigating an Artificial World: Finding Authenticity

It’s everywhere

From the little voices in our phones, to the ingredients in our food… The artificiality* of this ‘new age’ cannot be escaped. It seems like AI has suddenly, seemingly overnight, become commonplace. From the workplace, to classrooms, for household use, to powering some of the most visited websites on the planet – AI is everywhere.

I’m sure you’ve read the articles about the problems that AI has caused. But in case, Dear Reader, you have been living under a rock (as I try to, most of the time) let me refresh your recollection.

1. People are having issues with their faces and voices being stolen and then stitched onto photos of other people’s bodies. (This poses quite the issue in everything from commercials stealing celebrities’ faces for false advertising to the *cough* *cough* adult spaces of the internet.)

2. AI-generated videos are being created and then spread as news — resulting in the misinformation of thousands of people.

3. Resources like ChatGPT run rampant within schools and Universities. When resources like these are being used by both students and professors alike — academic integrity is now at stake.

4. AI is extremely taxing on the environment — demanding huge amounts of energy (often from fossil fuels), water, and precious and finite raw materials.

Alas, I digress. These issues truly only scratch the surface of the Pandora’s Box that AI has seemed to open. As we move forward as a society… I can only hope that we are mindful of the gravity that many of these issues hold, as well as the impact of the ways we choose to act moving forward.

As for me, Dear Reader, I try to remain open-minded, yet skeptical of AI. I believe deeply that it should never replace my own knowledge, art, work, or capabilities.

I hope you feel the same.

Social Media is Fake

I feel like this could be a blog post in and of itself (hint, hint). I will try, however, to keep my thoughts brief and succinct on the matter.

Social Media – largely Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Snapchat

These are now simultaneously the world’s largest stage and open market. What originally started off as friend groups posting pictures of their weekend get-togethers or what they ate for dinner has morphed. Now it seems like I cannot scroll without seeing an ad, a performance, a staged ‘DITL’ or ‘behind the scenes’ moment, or someone trying to influence me in one way or another. All with convenient links to some product they want me to purchase for a small commission.

The funny thing about it is, Dear Reader, that it feels artificial now too. So crisp, so edited, so well shot, so “aesthetic”… It no longer feels like we are speaking with our friends. Instead, it feels more like I’m walking through a mall. When speaking with my friends, colleagues, and even the general consensus online is that we can all feel it.

“Don’t believe what you see online,”
“All influencers are lying,”
“Everything on the internet is fake.”

Perhaps something we can all benefit from is putting the phone down. Stopping ourselves mid-doom scroll, and simply… unplugging… putting the phone down… stepping outside.

Even our food is artificial

I have recently embarked on a journey to become a Certified Nutritionist. It’s been an absolutely fascinating venture. I’ve learned more about my food and my body in the past month than I have over the last decade of trying to sift through the mountains of information on the internet.

One of the pillars of nutrition is that whole foods are undisputably better for your body and brain than any artificially and mass-produced product ever will be.

So, as one naturally does, I’ve begun to study the foods that I consume on a daily basis. I’ve been tracking what I eat, reading the nutrition labels, researching the ingredients I can’t pronounce.

My discoveries have been equal parts grim and astounding.

60% of the foods in the USA have artificial additives. This is 10% increase since 2001. Foods and brands that my family has trusted and used for generations now include synthetic additives. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of seed oils, genetically modified organics, hormone and antibiotic usage… (I will reserve those topics for a blog post of their own).

I felt so frustrated and disheartened. My normal 30-minute grocery run had turned into a 1-hour and 30-minute-long scavenger hunt. How could it be this difficult to just buy natural, normal food?

I write this, Dear Reader, as a warning.

Do not fall asleep at the wheel of your own life. Do not allow the long list of ingredients to thrust you into a state of permanent dissociation (it’s so tempting… I know). Do not allow the years to pass by as the agendas and pockets of those who benefit from our illnesses and maladies grow stronger.

In a world that is fake, authenticity is PRICELESS.

It is the law of supply and demand. Simple economics, really. As authenticity becomes rarer, its value increases.

This is true, Dear Reader, in all aspects of life. Whether in school, the workplace, social media, art, food, or health. Whatever facet of life… the original is king.

So be fearless in the pursuit of the real thing. Value and honor yourself in your authentic, original state. Share it. Embody it. Protect it fiercely.

Be unapologetic in the demand for whole, unadulterated, unedited versions of what you consume.

Never settle for the plastic replicas of what used to be pure.

It is in this, Dear Reader, that we can silence some of the noise that is constantly surrounding us… And perhaps reclaim a little bit of peace.

Best,

Deia

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