In a World of AI, Authenticity Has Never Been More Valuable

Lately, I’ve been thinking about something that feels more important than ever: people want to work with real people.

Not perfect people.

Not polished people.

Not AI-generated versions of ourselves.

Real people who smile, laugh, make mistakes, misspell a word now and then, spill coffee on their shirt and have genuine conversations.

Ironically, as artificial intelligence becomes more capable, authenticity has become more valuable.

I see this challenge every day in business. Employers are receiving resumes and job applications written entirely by AI. Cover letters sound eloquent, polished, and impressive—but when the candidate walks into the interview, they often struggle to communicate the same thoughts or answer basic questions without assistance.

The application doesn’t reflect the person.

And that’s a problem.

Businesses aren’t hiring a perfectly written document. They’re hiring a human being.

The same is true for entrepreneurs. Customers don’t just buy products or services—they buy trust. They buy relationships. They buy confidence in the person behind the business.

People want to know who you are.

I also think we’ve created a culture that encourages us to hide behind what we think are flaws.

Every wrinkle has a treatment.

Every gray hair has a color.

Every pore has a filter.

Every photo can be edited until it barely resembles reality.

Even our conversations are becoming curated by technology.

But what are we hiding?

I remember being sixteen years old with blue eye shadow, enough hairspray to survive a tornado, and makeup thick enough to hide…well, I’m not even sure what I thought I was hiding. Looking back, I probably had better skin without all of it.

Maybe we’ve always wanted to fit in.

Maybe we’ve always worried about being judged.

But somewhere along the way, we’ve started believing that the edited version of ourselves is more valuable than the real one.

I don’t think that’s true.

The more we hide ourselves, the harder it becomes for others to truly know us.

The people I remember most aren’t the ones who looked perfect.

As AI continues to improve, I believe one thing will become increasingly rare—and therefore increasingly valuable: genuine human connection. Because in a world that’s becoming increasingly artificial, being real may become your greatest competitive advantage.