Authenticity in the age of AI
Using the power of emotional intelligence to guide integrated realities.
What does it mean to ‘be real’ anymore?
When there are so many ways to move in the world, what defines authenticity? Where do the lines of imagination end and reality begin? When a good portion of our lives are lived online, how do we distinguish this experience from the kind we can touch? If an experience moves you, does it matter where it came from or how it was created? Are there any original ideas left, or just new and original combinations?
The faster things speed up, the less solid answers there are. Everything is up for re-invention, transformation, fluidity, movement, change. When nothing is certain, when the ground beneath us is shifting in both philosophical and material ways—what is truth?
I think the only truth we can count on is the one sourced from patterns and systems found in nature. Nature is creation. Nature is responsible for the cosmos, life on Earth, every human (past, present, and future). Nature created the elements that make things like AI possible, while also rejecting any imbalance it may produce. Nature gives, and it takes away. But nature’s logic is wholesome, where death is part of the cycle. It doesn’t waste energy on unnecessary suffering, only humans do that. And as part of nature, it is almost certain we will be corrected before we either evolve or go extinct. Nature doesn’t make any guarantees, except that it’s always changing. It only has three goals: growth, expansion and balance, that’s how it works, lives, maintains.
Authenticity, then, is only ever a direct expression and experience of these qualities and nature itself, without pretense. It represents wholeness, a sacred state of existence where earth meets sky, head meets heart, and left meets right. Wholeness (authenticity) is created from integrity, when honesty is embraced as an expression of love, and truth is prioritized over comfort.
Authenticity is a skill that requires emotional intelligence. In an age where anything can be ‘faked’, the only compass we have is that which feels true in our heart of hearts. Emotions present a paradox. They can be both highly volatile, but also a highly sophisticated system that plug us into a universal set of feelings: joy, anger, sadness, surprise, fear, envy, alignment to name a few. When we are tuned into them and know how to read their signals, emotions are also our most reliable and trusted guides. Without exploring deeper layers of emotional awareness and depth, we can’t access the awesome, universal, intelligence that is right under our nose. It is literally built into our biology. Emotional intelligence = internal intelligence = natural intelligence. A direct line into the wisdom of the Universe.
This is different than artificial intelligence, which originates through pattern recognition of mathematical logic. It appears to have the ability to think critically or empathize, but does not actually posses the skills to contrast and blend both logic and emotion...or identify the most crucial pieces of knowledge/wisdom. Artificial intelligence is sourced from external (projected) realities, whereas emotional intelligence is sourced from a well of wisdom within our spiritual bodies. Two different qualities of information. Both will play a key role going forward, so it’s not about one being superior to the other, but rather how they can be balanced and synthesized to their fullest potential.
As a creative, I often wonder about the future of creative work—as an industry, vocation, and hobby. I don’t know if it will be possible to track intellectual property in a boundless world. My bigger question is, do we need to? This is a central question within the topic of authenticity in the age of AI. If we are all creating, sourcing from divine intelligence, re-mixing with artificial intelligence, and ultimately contributing to the cannon of collective intelligence, then maybe the ideas that come through us were never ours to hold with vigor or claim. As a writer, I actually want AI to have a greater well of depth and substance to draw from instead of recycling shallow scrapes of half-baked thinking. I think it’s better for humanity.
But in July 2025, I don’t know how you give up intellectual rights and still be able to participate in the economy. Being an artist has never been the profession of making money. But there are ways to combine creativity and financial wellbeing. Some of it is luck, but more and more, people are figuring out how to do it. So I wonder if it’s just that. Perhaps there are unforeseen possibilities to borrow and leverage from the collective brain, repurpose ideas, and exchange value in new ways? If that’s the case, where do we draw the lines of integrity and authenticity? How do we instill trust in the system?
The main theme I’m hearing from those at the edge of technological development in places like Silicon Valley is that we are rapidly moving toward a world where screens and technological integration get absorbed into the environment. Devices will become more discrete, while AI agents will do ‘interneting’ on our behalf through a direct relationship, where the cloud is suddenly everywhere. We will speak requests into the air and within a few minutes or days, a package arrives at the door. In some ways, we can already see how this type of interface is taking shape through home devices. This has huge implications for all disciplines of design, and how to make it machine ready, people friendly, while contributing to an overall net positive experience for humanity.
As a technology realist in service of technology optimism, part of me is drawn into this romantic vision of the future. To free ourselves from the screens, to learn as we move about the world, or perhaps protect our kids and peace of mind from online threats, to experience more places via virtual reality a la the Las Vegas Sphere, or simply delegate the most boring to-dos to an always on task-master, while we are freed to make art, picnic, and enjoy the outdoors—I’ll admit, part of me is intrigued. But for this kind of utopia to work requires deep trust in technology to act benevolently on our behalf.
There is the other part of me that knows some of the largest players in the tech industry have their own vision of utopia. One where, apparently, there are much fewer humans. A forced removal of those who have already been deliberately excluded from the system. I once went on a date with AI researcher. He said it himself, “not all people deserve to live.” Yikes. Check please. After working in and being around the tech industry, I’ve become more familiar with some of the dark ethos running large parts of our technological realities. My main takeaway? This is an industry that is very cut off from its emotional center in almost every way. Even if not to the extreme, for the last 50 years (three generations), the culture of tech has prioritized data and profit over almost every other metric, including social health and wellbeing. Do we think that has no meaningful impact? Certainly it does, and it has become more cut throat by the year. Do I trust tech? Not particularly. Because I know where decision-makers incentives lie—to serve shareholders through a controlled (sometimes outright manipulative) customer experience. There are very few executive teams who prioritize thinking through their impacts on people, planet, and society as a matter of business operations. Do I have a choice in how I engage with technology? To the degree that anyone does I suppose—somewhat yes, somewhat no.
It does seem that at this point in time, however, there is a competition growing for the soul of humanity in the tech industry and beyond. I don’t say that out of hyperbole, I say it because it’s obvious. One reality sees humanity as an annoyance to be placed in service of numbers, machines, and a global monarchy….while the other sees the beauty of humanity as our greatest untapped natural resource. And in between, there are many who are simply along for the ride, taking life as it comes. As a species, though, we’re getting to the place where we need to start making intentional choices about our collective future, and if we want to collaborate with nature or not. Nature will be fine, it’s us I wonder about. Without greater emotional intelligence, I fear, we will make that choice by default. To me, emotional intelligence represents the next frontier of humanity, not AI. Because in the long-run we won't be able to survive without it. By following the natural rhythms of heart intelligence we are all being invited into a larger experience of shared authenticity.
Not sure where to begin? Check out my free resource on creating balanced relationships.