I'll admit it. I can't tell the difference between what's ai and what isn't.

A while ago, I was scrolling through the one and only dating app I use, HER. As the story goes, I came across a profile of a stunning woman with her bosom slightly peeking through her deep cut Henely shirt.

We matched.

I stared at the pictures on her profile for a moment longer than I probably should have. But in all honesty, I couldn’t figure it out. I mean, the pictures looked real and maybe they were, but something somewhere just looked…. off.

Maybe it was the way her eyes look slightly different in each, or the consistent angle of the pictures. Maybe it was the fact that she wore the same shirt in each picture, even in the ones she sent me privately. Maybe it was the overly robotic way she spoke. Or the unsolicited but not unwelcomed nude she sent me at 3am the day we met captioned “u up?”

Individually these actions mean little but when so many bits and pieces of uncertainty lie in bed together, who is to know what we end up telling ourselves is truth. Sure, I could've asked her but in the age of the internet, where we can be whoever we want to be behind the mini computers in our hands, why would I assume I'd get the truth?

Tiktok is even worse. I can’t tell you how many videos I've watched, only to open the comments and be told its Ai. The bunnies on the trampoline, the monkey flying in a hurricane, and so so so many more. It bothers me deeply, I mean, shouldn't I be able to tell? Shouldn't we all? At what point do I stop believing everything all together?

This is not coming from a place fear.

Okay maybe it is, but my fear is not necessarily the being lied to. Its the loss of access to being as kind as I want to be. Its the forced skepticism I have to portray to makes sure I do not seem as gullible and naive as I am.

I hate to perpetuate any gendered stereotypes but I truly, in my heart of hearts, wish I could go on with my merry life in a bubble of kindness and joy and happiness because I need not fear anything. See because in my imaginary world, what I see and hear is the truth.

The articles I read, photos, videos and art I see, its ALL real. Even if its a counterfeit, it was made by another human being that actually exists in the same ways that I do.

I suppose such an idea reeks of my ignorance doesn't it? You're probably telling yourself that this is not how the world works. I know that. I know that nothing I ever do will change the artificial intelligence takeover.

This is our new reality, so deal with it! I mean its not like people werent faking things long before it arrived, look at Mtv’s Catfish! Now that is a show full of fakes.

My matching with that ai bot left me wondering many things but I suppose the biggest question is: where we go from here? The lines between what's real and fake, who's lying and who isn't, and even who's who are so blurred. The human experience is so diluted in the sea of algorithms and filters, it seems fighting back is impossible. Who are mere commoners wuch as ourselves in the face of the billionaire baby brought to you by **[name your trashy ai company of choice] ** ?

Well, we're humans.

If there's one thing I've learned about humans and our nature, it's that we've always been good at punching right back. From oppressive regimes that seek to silence those it deems unworthy, to environmental activism, to solidarity in times of crisis. Our species nature is at its best form when fighting for what we truly believe.

This is my fight. This is my tiny, insignificant rebuttal at the growing rate at which we disregard the importance of raw human experience. From creativity and linguistic proficiency, to professionalism and entertainment, the ai integration continues to strip us of our authenticity. TO HELL WITH THAT.

This article, though probably riddled with grammatical errors I've missed, is a fully human body of work, expressing my human experience. I don't care for how good it is, or how palatable it is, its authenticity mine even if everyone in the world hates it.

That is our art. That is what we need to preserve, because without us making the art, what is the point?

If we are choosing to let ai speak for us, do for us and be us, what becomes of the human experience? Is art not at its core expression and release of that very existence? What could an ai model possibly need to express that a human could not?

Even if it's rendition is “better”, I refuse to live in a world where a flimsy copy can be considered good. Much less needed.