The cinema was dark. Ronja sat beside me. On the screen ran the film "Glennkill". The story is wonderful. Irish sheep solve the murder of their shepherd.
Outside, a scorching hot day. We were looking for a cool indoor option. I just wanted to enjoy the film, but soon my thoughts started circling. I looked at the images on screen and thought: how much of this is actually real? Did an AI generate it?
Later we watched the making-of. Artificial intelligence was barely mentioned. Yet my quiet doubt remained. My perception has changed noticeably. More and more often I ask about what is "real". That thought led me back to the sheep. Are sheep actually stupid?
Ask the AI and they are smart and have feelings. When I see them in reality, I mostly notice the herd instinct. One runs, all run blindly behind. I doubt the AI's answer. My reference: an SRF documentary on the swarm intelligence of a sheep flock.
Sometimes I think we humans are doing exactly the same right now. AI is here and everyone charges forward. We are like a giant herd. Honestly: sometimes I run right in the middle of it too. Or is that swarm-intelligent, like the sheep? A book comes to mind: Prof. Dr. Gunter Dück — schwarmdumm (swarm-stupid).
I recently built two new websites: violetdragonfly.io and orangebutterfly.digital. AI was my tool. It went incredibly fast and the result is surprisingly good. AI is no longer separable from my daily work. Sure, a design professional will see plenty of room for improvement — feedback is very welcome.
But what does that do to me? Do I think less for myself now? What does it mean for web agencies? Are we getting dumb as a herd? Or is AI simply our new, real life?
I am looking for answers. Maybe Wolf Lotter's book "Echt" (Authentic) will help. What is still real today? How do we recognise authenticity? Maybe I will find my own answer in the book. Maybe I will find it outside. When my head is full of zeros, ones and digital prompts, I go into nature. I sit by the water. I watch a real dragonfly. I follow a real butterfly with my eyes. I raise the caterpillars of a swallowtail butterfly. That grounds me immediately.
AI helps me build my digital ideas quickly. But the real world shows me what truly matters. We are allowed to use the new tools. We just must not forget to close the laptop sometimes.
