Does AI make us love handcrafted things?
Or, more generally, the "old" ones?
The Intelligent Friend - The newsletter that explores how AI changes the way we think and behave, only through scientific papers.
Introduction
Eric: Hello again, readers of
. Over the summer, and I wrote a piece about how to have a better relationship with AI. I’m thrilled that Riccardo has invited me back here for another guest appearance. For those of you who don’t know me, I have a Substack called New Things and it’s all about exploring the onslaught of new things in our lives — new technology, products, trends, content, and more.
Among the topics I’ve covered recently: something called the cobra effect, pivoting to thoughtfulness at work, and the benefits of making a don’t do list. Much of what you’ll find there is drawn from research and reporting for a book I’m currently writing about the human relationship with newness. With today’s edition, we’d like to bring you an unexpected plot twist in the story of AI — maybe all of these new capabilities around artificial intelligence will also push us to appreciate real experiences in the world. Our inspiration for this idea comes from a recent New York Times piece about a photography renaissance brought on by the increase of AI-generated images.
Riccardo: I am as always excited to collaborate with
. This is only the second issue together, but I hope it is only part of a long series. I also had the pleasure of meeting Eric in person in Brooklyn (being in Rome, you should know that for me it is a bit far!). After writing some advice derived from personal experiences and suggestions on how to approach Generative AI, in this issue, always starting from different readings, we try to hypothesize and explore the possibility of some AI effects. As said, of course, there is no actual evidence, but it is a reflection that, supported by some lateral results and phenomena that are being observed, could be of interest to you.Like the previous collaboration, we want this issue to be a thought-provoking snack that gets straight to the point. You will see concise sections packed with examples and suggestions that we hope you will appreciate and find stimulating.
I hope you are as curious as I was excited to work on this piece!
The real world becomes intriguing next to artificial ones.
Eric: I’m currently reading a book with my son called The Wild Robot, which was recently adapted into a movie. It’s about a robot that powers up for the first time on a remote island and must learn how to operate in the rugged outdoors. Adventure ensues. Though it may seem backward, I found that the robot character, named Roz, was actually pretty relatable. Many of us are constantly connected to computers, checking our devices as soon as we wake up, in idle moments, all day at work, and even when something amazing is happening in front of us.
We are cyborgs, not all that different from Roz. So when we take a moment or two to explore the real world, it can elicit intrigue. The most interesting parts of The Wild Robot are not the technical abilities of the robot, but the extraordinary world around it — the wildlife, the weather, the landscape. Roz even covers herself with mud and grass to blend in with nature. As AI rises, I expect we’ll all experience a parallel rise in our intrigue for the outdoors. Like Roz, we’ll find our senses drawn to the genuinely amazing world around us.
Online pushes us to crave offline.
Eric: There’s something paradoxical about the explosion of new things over the past couple of decades. The movement to make our lives more connected seems to have given rise to a movement to do just the opposite. Yes, we’ve been connected to a range of new tools to socialize, communicate, and work. But at the same time, how many tips have you read about how to disconnect? How many studies have you read about the benefits of a walk in nature and mindfulness? How much have you learned about the perils of task switching? This push and pull is a good thing. Clearly, our ever-online lives are pushing us (at least some of us) to crave the offline life. As we move further online with AI-powered tech and wearables, I expect a parallel movement to continue growing in the other direction.
Automation creates an appreciation for the craft.
Eric: I’ve written before about the benefits and costs of AI chatbots that remove effort from creation. My piece from a few weeks ago explored how a well-known study found that we tend to overvalue our own creations, even when they’re not as good as others. The researchers called it the IKEA effect.
I offered two ways to use the IKEA effect as you weigh the use of automation. One, identify tasks that may not merit the value you give them.
On the one hand, are there things you currently do that you overvalue, thanks to the IKEA effect? Are you in love with a cumbersome spreadsheet that eats up hours of work each week because you put so much time and effort into it? Kind of like that MALM six-drawer dresser you spent that Saturday afternoon laboring over? Maybe those inherently problematic parts of work and life (the ones that you’re being tricked into thinking are better than they actually are) are more worthy for automation.
Two, find the things you really do love to do. The craft that brings you joy and fulfillment. Those are the things that you should avoid shortcutting.
On the other hand, perhaps there are things you create that you really do value. Because they bring you value in the form of joy and a feeling of accomplishment. Maybe the process of struggling through a creative act is good for your brain.
Riccardo: Studies on craftsmanship and the contrast with technology certainly give several ideas on the theme of how AI could make us appreciate even more material things, things made by hand, artisanal things. A clue to this is provided in a paper that really fascinated me.
The focus of the researchers (De Bellis et al., 2023) was to study the aversion to autonomous products. By autonomous products we mean, quite simply, even your very convenient dust collector that cleans for you. Their research provides empirical evidence that the resistance to autonomous products is not solely about skepticism toward technology but is deeply tied to the psychological significance of manual labor.
In simpler words, for individuals who derive meaning from completing tasks with their own effort, automation is perceived as eroding an important source of fulfillment, even for mundane activities like cleaning or cooking.
This idea is contained in the concept, introduced by the authors, of "Meaning of Manual Labor" (MML): consumers high in MML tend to evaluate autonomous products less favorably and adopt them less often. However, the study also highlights a path forward. By reframing the narrative around automation, companies can alleviate these concerns. One effective intervention involved emphasizing how the time saved through autonomous technologies could be redirected toward meaningful activities.
As you can imagine, these results are very interesting in relation to what Eric just said: while the IKEA effect highlights how effort invested in creation can inflate perceived value, MML underscores how manual labor can itself be a source of intrinsic value.
Old things can be surprisingly novel.
Eric: In case you haven’t heard, analog — vinyl records, print books, film cameras etc. — are in vogue. These manual experiences that take more time and thought to operate are becoming more popular. In a surprising plot twist, the old things you may have assumed were history are back, and I’d argue it’s because of their novelty. We’ve become so used to the digital life that an analog one feels foreign. That’s especially true for younger generations that never knew what it was like to listen to music on a Walkman or browse a Blockbuster.
This dynamic was touched on in the Times piece I mentioned earlier:
The rise of A.I. image generators makes physical prints feel all the more outmoded, and therefore all the more like fine art objects — rare specimens that ought to be valued for their craftsmanship, luminosity and composition. “New tech has made even digital photography seem somewhat romantic and nostalgic,” Sawyer said.
Riccardo: There are several studies on the relationship of consumers with physical goods vs. material goods. One of those that you will find enlightening, as conclusion of this issue, is the paper by Atasoy & Morewedge (2018), which is connected to what Eric just reported from the piece written in the New York Times.
Differently from what you could have imagined, a preference for physical goods over digital ones, is not only a matter of practicality or nostalgia. It stems from a deeper psychological phenomenon: the ability of physical objects to foster a sense of psychological ownership. How the authors show, consumers indeed consistently value physical goods more highly than their digital equivalents because the materiality of physical items creates a stronger connection to the self.
One of the most fascinating insights from the study is also that value consumers place on physical goods increases when these goods are tied to their identity. When an object resonates with a consumer’s sense of self, such as a cherished book or a favorite movie, its physical form becomes a powerful symbol of personal meaning. This process is less pronounced with digital goods, which, despite their convenience and accessibility, struggle to replicate the emotional and symbolic richness of physical items.
A final note
Thank you for reading this issue.
As I said at the beginning, these reflections are the result of observations, connections and ideas that we gather by reading and exploring and that we hope can stimulate thought, research or simply discussion.
In addition to thanking you sincerely for reading, I would like to thank
once again, a wonderful writing partner and great professional. Are you not subscribed to New Things yet? What are you waiting for?!For some reason, we all love or hate the new things we buy, wear, look at. In his newsletter full of insights, Eric tries to make us understand the relationship with novelty and how much this also affects us.
See you in the next issue!
Riccardo
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