What was so fascinating was that since the sale in the 1990s the painting has not been seen, and it is thought to be housed in a warehouse, for want of a better word, along with many other famous and important art works. And there it is likely to remain.  

Personally, I find this outcome thoroughly tragic. Although it could have been worse as the private buyer is rumoured to have threatened to take it to the crematorium with him when he died - luckily he was joking. 

It got me thinking about what I would do if I owned an original Van Gogh. My only response would be to enjoy it, put it on the wall and look at it. Appreciate it as it was meant to be appreciated. 

But then I thought about insurance, and not having it near windows where people could potentially see it from the street, or preventing it from fading in the sun. 

Obviously, all these considerations are irrelevant as I don't have $82.5m (plus thirty years inflation) to buy one, but I was fascinated at why I would like to own an original. More than anything actually.  

It's not for the value (as that brings its own issues), but for having  a connection to the past, and a direct connection with Van Gogh, knowing he had painted every single stroke with his own hand. Of course I can get a print of every painting he ever made, but it really isn't the same. 

This idea of connection with a creator, having a direct link with them and their creativity is an important one, and one that we are potentially losing with our online world. 

AI and AI generated copy and artwork is moving us away from the creativity of humans and that connection to their experiences, emotions and way of thinking. 

In the same way that a print of a Van Gogh painting is nice, it pales to insignificance in the face of a real one. I feel the same about AI generated copy. 

Would I read a book written by AI? Probably not. Would I rather read a book which has experiences, pain, emotion and creativity behind it? Absolutely. 

An  AI generated text may be technically perfect, follow all the writing and grammar rules to the letter but it lacks soul, it lacks the humanity a life lived  presents when a writer creates. An AI generated novel (or art work) to me, almost negates the point of a novel or artwork. These are creative outputs for people who have these skills - they are not things that need to be churned out for the sake of it.

In business AI does have a value, but it should never replace the experience of a human creative. Of course an AI bot may be able to perfectly produce a manual for putting together some furniture without fault BUT can it do it in a way a 'user' will understand? 

Will the average user know the difference between a GN56 and GN76 screw? Probably not,  but a human writer will question these terms and ensure the text answers the questions every user of the manual has. If the content is for humans to ingest, then it makes sense for a human to be involved in its creation. 

AI is currently rocking the business world, saving money and time but at what cost? By removing the human element in your content creation how do you hope to actually connect with your human buyers? 

If you want to connect with algorithms and bots use AI but if you want to connect with real humans then contact me for your content.