On insomnia, Tsitsi Dangarembga, and AI nightmares.
Staying relevant by focusing on building competence and improving the experience.
Today I woke up at 3 a.m. and couldn’t fall back asleep. Maybe it was the matcha I had after 2 p.m. in a failed attempt to stay awake until nighttime to reset my jet lag, maybe it was the worry about the annoying cough that kept Caetano from sleeping, or maybe it was just the fact that in Japan, where I’d been until 48 hours earlier, it was still 6 p.m.
When that happens I reach for my Kindle because reading intrigues me just as much as it makes me drowsy. I read about 25% of Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga — a book that, at least up to the 25% mark, is about the price you pay to adapt to a system that wasn’t made for you. But at some point I gave in and did the worst thing an anxious insomniac can do: I picked up my phone.
The stories that stopped me were from a local Vancouver influencer who organizes dinners with incredible experiences for anyone who wants to join. She was musing about AI and the many conflicting feelings she had about it — as a tech enthusiast, she was fascinated by the possibilities and advances in technology; as a mother raising screen-free kids in a house full of screens, she was terrified about the future; and as an “experience designer,” she felt increasingly connected to the need to bring people together to create live experiences.
And there I was, at 3 a.m., realizing I carried a lot of conflicting feelings about it too, but as with any technological advance or shift in social organization, I needed to adapt to stay relevant without distancing myself from what makes sense to me.
Because we see more and more AI tools that seem to easily replace average professionals: photographers who will lose clients to images generated in less than 5 minutes; interior designers who might lose the lower-budget clients who just want a tip on how to improve their floor plan; nutritionists who must already be feeling the impact of ChatGPT breaking down the calories and macros of a meal in seconds from a photo of the plate. And so on.
And I say this understanding the magnitude of the impact it can have on many people, including close friends — but with the awareness of being someone who has already chosen not to hire professionals because an AI gave me answers at zero cost. Admit it, you’ve done it too.
This topic scares me when I think about the future of professions — including in my husband’s field, who not only deals with near-weekly big tech layoffs but also works in something with high potential to be reduced by AI. At the same time, it pushes me to think about what we can do differently to ensure relevance.
And for me the answer is: always be above average and always focus on the experience. Understand what your client wants, who they are, what problem you need to solve, the most efficient way to solve it, what emotion you want to evoke — and how you’re going to deliver all of that.
The photographer who welcomes the client who’s embarrassed to pose, who guides the entire creative process and delivers a shoot that will be remembered forever? That client comes back to live it again. The nutritionist who shows up on time, understands your psychological relationship with your body and with food, educates you, and offers a high-quality service? She won’t be replaced by ChatGPT that easily.
And it’s not just me saying this. Remember when everyone thought brick-and-mortar retail was going to die with the growth of e-commerce, especially post-pandemic? A McKinsey study from last year showed that more than half of consumers still prefer to shop in person. Another report found that 47% say supporting a local business is a deciding factor when making a purchase. The Business of Fashion published a piece today about retailers who ignore digital and invest everything in customer experience and product curation. Their goal isn’t to be everywhere — it’s to be indispensable somewhere.
Personally, if on the one hand I believe we need to adapt and ride the first waves to stay relevant — I’m a premium Claude subscriber —, on the other hand I tend to go increasingly analog every time the world pulls me harder toward the technological.
In photography, instead of investing in a Canon mirrorless that increases autofocus speed and image quality, I decided to add another 35mm camera to my repertoire. I want to soon migrate almost entirely to film and celebrate the experience of shooting with more presence in each click, which costs far more than clicks on digital cameras, and of waiting for the scans — instead of just focusing on the result.
In the corporate world, I’m gradually shifting my focus from brand commercial performance to designing their experience — which, of course, leads to commercial performance. But more than that, it humanizes the consumer relationship and creates a value that no technology will replace: the value of human experience.
As a consumer, for me nothing replaces the in-person experience — unless it’s a convenience purchase. Buying gadgets on Amazon that are sold in stores I have zero interest in visiting? Sure. But getting dressed up to stroll through stores and discover new brands through well-curated selections, then having a coffee made by a barista who already recognizes me and cares about the texture of the milk, in a space hipster enough to make me want to sit and people-watch, followed by a manicure at a salon that tends to all five senses at every step of the process? I will never stop preferring it that way.
Thank you for reading,
Mafe.