AI Resistance
I must confess: I'm an AI nerd.
I use artificial intelligence daily, for writing, brainstorming, researching, and sometimes even for structuring my thoughts. I also preach its brilliance at work; you can ask anyone at Drama Queen.
And the same continues at home. When I enthusiastically present a new AI idea or a Drama Queen’s project to my 18-year-old daughter, the usual response is “Again with this AI crap.” or “Why didn’t you just film this for real?”
That made me think. My daughter isn’t talking about technology. She’s talking about emotion.
AI fatigue is emotional, not technical
Resistance to AI rarely stems from a lack of understanding.
People understand it – perhaps too well.
They’re just tired. AI hype is everywhere. Every app, meeting, and news item seems to start with the same two letters. At the same time, people crave authenticity more than ever – the sense that a real person was behind something. That someone cared enough to make it. That there’s a fingerprint, not just computational power, in the story.
So this isn’t about technology, it’s a human reaction.
The marketing world’s double standard
We see the same thing in our client work.
On one hand we get comments like “Could you do something fresh and impressive with AI?”, on the other hand “AI tools shall not be used for content or imagery.”
It’s the paradox of our time. AI is wanted, but not really. Feared, but also needed. And it’s ironic, because almost every tool we use – Adobe, Meta, Google, Canva, you name it – already includes AI under the hood. So banning AI is often a symbolic gesture, a ritual of reassurance.
When AI joy turned into a brand burden
This isn’t just theory. We’ve lived it.
An AI-driven concept we created for a client started off strong, bold, distinctive, and proudly made with artificial intelligence. It was received with enthusiasm. But soon, the discussion shifted. Comments shifted from discussing the idea itself to questioning its authenticity.
The brand’s credibility was questioned. Eventually, the concept was dropped.
It wasn’t a failure; it was a reflection of the times. The audience reacted emotionally, not logically. And emotion is always true.
A new era of authenticity
Now, legislation and platforms are following the same path: AI-generated content must be labelled, automatically or manually. The goal, transparency, is good. But the effect isn’t always.
“May contain AI” has become the new nutritional label. And when it’s there, people often stop tasting the content and focus on the label instead.
Perhaps this is just an intermediate stage
AI resistance makes sense. It’s a culture’s way of defending itself from too much change, too fast.
But it’s also temporary. Like electricity, photography, or cars once were, AI will eventually fade into normality, used without a label, without fuss, and without fear.
Maybe one day, when I show a new AI idea at home, I’ll finally hear “That’s actually pretty good!”
The structure of this text was created using AI. Its idea and core message, however, were created by a human.
Matias Mero
The writer is Drama Queen’s CEO and an avid user of AI.
