Totally agree with the idea that “whimsy-washing” sidesteps a deeper conversation, but I also think it taps into something primal. Humans have always reached for the surreal first. It’s escapism. It’s invention. It’s the same impulse behind mythology, surrealism, even early internet culture. So of course gen AI leaned dreamy before it leaned real.
That said, I’m most struck by AI content that edges toward realism (e.g. prompts that mimic 35mm 4k photgraphy) because, for some reason, it reality "hits". It's why that 14-hour, single-take BritBox ad blew my mind more than a thousand underwater cats with cake ever could.
I also wonder if a market leader can rise by owning the space between human and AI. If anything, we’re entering an “anything can be anything” era that’s bound to pop. And it always does. Think of early CGI in film or the influencer-filter wave on social—novelty gives way to fatigue, and what people crave next is authenticity, control, and truth.
In general, I neither like nor trust any generative AI tools and don’t use them at all in my personal life and very rarely (like 2 or 3 times this calendar year) at work. I’ve found their accuracy and usefulness vastly overrated. But if any of them actually led with integrity and actual ethical guard rails I’d definitely tell my boss to switch our subscription at work. The only reason I’ve used Claude for anything is because it has marginally better privacy protections.
Thanks for this insight! Great read.
Appreciate the shout and agree with this thinking!
Totally agree with the idea that “whimsy-washing” sidesteps a deeper conversation, but I also think it taps into something primal. Humans have always reached for the surreal first. It’s escapism. It’s invention. It’s the same impulse behind mythology, surrealism, even early internet culture. So of course gen AI leaned dreamy before it leaned real.
That said, I’m most struck by AI content that edges toward realism (e.g. prompts that mimic 35mm 4k photgraphy) because, for some reason, it reality "hits". It's why that 14-hour, single-take BritBox ad blew my mind more than a thousand underwater cats with cake ever could.
I also wonder if a market leader can rise by owning the space between human and AI. If anything, we’re entering an “anything can be anything” era that’s bound to pop. And it always does. Think of early CGI in film or the influencer-filter wave on social—novelty gives way to fatigue, and what people crave next is authenticity, control, and truth.
Would love to see who steps up to own that shift.
In general, I neither like nor trust any generative AI tools and don’t use them at all in my personal life and very rarely (like 2 or 3 times this calendar year) at work. I’ve found their accuracy and usefulness vastly overrated. But if any of them actually led with integrity and actual ethical guard rails I’d definitely tell my boss to switch our subscription at work. The only reason I’ve used Claude for anything is because it has marginally better privacy protections.