{"id":7013,"date":"2026-05-23T12:14:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T12:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=7013"},"modified":"2026-05-23T12:14:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T12:14:01","slug":"everyone-is-blaming-ai-for-the-death-of-craft-take-a-good-look-in-the-mirror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=7013","title":{"rendered":"Everyone is blaming AI for the death of ‘craft.’ Take a good look in the mirror"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Everyone is blaming AI for the death of craft. The music is generic. The clothes fall apart. The furniture is disposable. And somewhere in Silicon Valley, the algorithms did it. Except they didn\u2019t \u2014 not alone, anyway. Take a good look in the mirror.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We chose speed over quality. We rewarded the cheapest option. We clicked past the handmade listing to buy the one that arrived tomorrow. We optimized everything, including the soul out of our brands. AI didn\u2019t kill craft. We let it die \u2014 and then handed AI the shovel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As someone who is about to replace my \u201chigh-end\u201d dishwasher for the third time in ten years, this issue has never felt more personal. But as an agency leader, I also see it in modern brand-building \u2014 a quiet death of what used to be my industry\u2019s fundamental devotion to craft. And it\u2019s not just about materiality, lighting, camerawork, writing, design,\u00a0and other creative elements. What\u2019s dying \u2014 or maybe never nurtured by too many companies \u2014 is the crafted wrapper that brings the story behind a brand or product to life: the meaning it creates in a customer\u2019s life. That\u2019s as vital to brands as artistry is to the craft of handmade goods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s missing is the human element \u2014 the part that gives brands, products, services,\u00a0and even marketing a heart and soul. We can intuitively tell when things are created by people who care and, increasingly, when they\u2019re not. And while the lack of craft across sectors and industries is tragic, it\u2019s also an important opportunity for those brands willing to be held to a higher standard to bring better value to customers \u2014 offering them a real competitive advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Craft Killer\u00a0<\/p>\n

When it comes to this crisis of craft, there\u2019s plenty of\u00a0\u00a0blame to go around. Most of it is us. We\u2019re both told and shown from a very young age that success is only measurable by tangible standards,\u00a0like money earned or things accumulated. Before long, we default to shortcuts in order to optimize: A \u201cgood product\u201d is evaluated only by strong features and benefits. \u201cGood marketing\u201d is defined only by how well it drives purchases. What\u2019s less valued are the intangibles that are at the core of craft: service, human interactions, art and design, storytelling and entertainment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then things got worse when everything went digital. If you make anything digital, you make it measurable, which seems more trustworthy and valuable \u2014 especially in a business setting. But while craft is an intangible, immeasurable thing, it\u2019s also the love language of humanity, driving connection on a deeper level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And now, there\u2019s digital on steroids in the form of AI. The correlation between increasing automation and declining craft isn\u2019t hard to trace \u2014 because we drew it ourselves. I pay for a bag of chips at the airport via a screen. Same at the baseball park. I order at a restaurant via QR code and only signal the waiter if something has gone wrong. I don\u2019t need to go to the bank to cash a check. And I can even skip the critical thinking needed to do customer research. That means no serendipity, no delightfully unpredictable human interaction, no evidence of imperfection meeting ingenuity, and no surprising solutions that you couldn\u2019t predict. The result is not just cynically optimized, low-quality products and brand experiences, but countless \u201cblands.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

We built this. And we can unbuild it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Celebrating Craft\u00a0<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t have to be this way. Craft today can show up in everything from product design to an email or web experience or packaging. Studies show that people are hungry for it \u2014 with\u00a059% of customers\u00a0affirming that it drives brand loyalty and\u00a0other\u00a0data\u00a0suggesting that creative craft boosts marketing effectiveness. That means a 100-year-old brand like our client Radio Flyer\u00a0can\u00a0reclaim its heritage\u00a0by imbuing craft into their digital and physical spaces, just as they do their products, shining a light on the craft they embody every day. Krispy Kreme\u00a0can\u00a0replace its promotions and flavors-of-the-month marketing with craft-oriented storytelling that centers the mesmerizing delight of watching its signature donut roll off the conveyor belt. Fashion brands\u00a0can\u00a0invest in creativity instead of speed. Musicians\u00a0can\u00a0push beyond what AI can replicate. All it takes is a commitment to the principles that make craft more than an afterthought \u2014 or worse, no thought at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Serve a Need.\u00a0Always<\/p>\n

Brands, products and the content surrounding them can\u2019t simply exist for their own sake. Everything needs to be driven by a basic\u00a0need\u00a0\u2014 one that\u2019s felt by a brand\u2019s most beloved customer. Then, every time a customer interacts with a brand \u2014 whether in person or virtually, in a huge retail experience or in a short follow-up email \u2014 they must leave that interaction feeling like their problem is being solved. Making money for yourself or saving money for the customer can\u2019t be the only value you offer. And that \u201cneed\u201d you\u2019re fulfilling should be unique, not the same one that every other competitor in your category is offering.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Know Your Weaknesses\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t know what details to focus on if you don\u2019t know where your deficiencies lie. So be honest. Where have you been most lazy in your brand experience offering? Email? Checkout? Marketing? Store design? Customer service? Employee culture? All of the above? Answering honestly is what lets you apply craft in the places that need extra attention and where customers will appreciate it most.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Start Small\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quality is in the cracks and details, not just in the massive overtures. Often, it\u2019s the big brand moments that get prioritized, while small ones are overlooked,\u00a0despite the fact that they\u2019re where craft can make the biggest difference. For example, I follow an influencer who helps women like me dress better. Her suggestion: get dressed in your normal clothes, then add three unique items \u2014 a belt, fun earrings, and a statement shoe. Brands should do something similar, following this \u201crule of three\u201d across their major communications channels, customer journey touchpoints, products,\u00a0and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

None of this is anti-progress. We can still use measurement and digitization and AI as tools,\u00a0just not as the craft itself. True craft comes from heart and passion and takes real investment in time, energy, and money to get right. It\u2019s also essential,\u00a0so brands can\u2019t afford to abandon it in favor of efficiency. The brands that\u00a0 embrace craft will bring joy, love, awe,\u00a0and literal humanity to the world, building relationships as beloved and durable as their products.\u00a0<\/p>\n

AI didn\u2019t take craft from us. We gave it away. The question is whether we\u2019re ready to take it back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of\u00a0Fortune.<\/p>\n

#blaming #death #craft #good #mirror<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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