How to be a true original

Picture this: you travel all the way to The Big Apple.

Your mission?  To see Van Gogh’s iconic painting ‘The Starry Night’ at the Museum of Modern Art.

After a long journey you find yourself just moments away from seeing it with your own eyes.

The gaggle of tourists finally clears and – oh! – you catch your breath.

It’s every bit as beautiful as you’d hoped.

Swirls of vibrant colour dance into view.

You sit happily in the moment.

But then you see a small sign underneath the painting:

‘Original artwork temporarily removed for cleaning.

In the meantime, please enjoy this AI-generated replica.’

How do you feel?

• Non-plussed – it looks identical after all?

• Angry – how dare they pass off a copy as the real thing?!

• Embarrassed – I can’t believe I didn’t spot the fake!

In this scenario, I’d probably feel pretty cross. For me, the original carries with it a powerful emotional connection – Van Gogh’s history, his state of mind, his very brushstrokes. A replica can’t come close, however precise it may be.

Dr. Matt Johnson, professor at Holt International Business School in Harvard University, recently shared fresh research into human-made vs. AI-made art.

I was surprised to learn we typically prefer AI-generated music and art to human made equivalents.

But – and here’s the BIG caveat – only when we don’t know it’s AI-made.

The moment we discover it’s AI-generated, our opinion of it plummets.

And the same findings apply to emails.

In anonymous testing, we tend to prefer AI-written emails (they’re often clearer and sharper than human ones).

However, the moment we know an email is AI-generated, we think it’s rubbish.

When given the choice, we’d rather have a longer, wafflier human email than a more concise AI-generated one.

As Johnson says: ‘AI creates superior products, but it has an inferior brand.’

So what does this mean for your emails?

Well, they need to sound 100% human with zero whiff of ‘Eau de ChatGPT’, even if you’re using AI to help behind the scenes.

They have to sound like you and feel like you if you want to build trust and connection.

Now is the time to fiercely protect your unique tone of voice, your personal brand, your personality and your difference. Lock ‘em down before you forget what you stand for and what you sound like.

So don’t be a cheap knock-off of yourself: be a true original.