We Need to Think Differently in the AI Era

It’s Sunday evening, and it’s been a dreary weekend — rain since Thursday, no sign of stopping until Monday night. But it’s also been productive.

We have a local bar that’s perfect in summer (shaded terrace), spring and autumn (warm sun with a breeze), and quieter in winter (just regulars inside, mean cappuccino). I hate shopping, and after supermarket traumas, we cycle there for coffee — especially now, while my husband rehabilitates his knee.

The new owner is young, enthusiastic, and smiles even when things are tough (and I suspect they’re tougher than he lets on).

So today, we built him a website. I’m really proud of it — it looks good.

He wears a green t-shirt (new staff uniform), so I matched the hex colour for the theme.

The bar is believed to be the oldest in town, so history matters. We found an old photo of the street, animated it with Grok — then had a toucan bird walk in as the awning changed from the old red (from a 1974 Jean Eustache film that featured the bar) to the new green, with the new name appearing. These aren’t major discoveries. They’re just little things we’ve noticed over the years — interesting, human details. If we found them charming, others might too. It’s also a way of rebranding the building in green while connecting to its iconic red past.

I’m not charging him — not because I’m especially nice, but because in an AI-driven world, we need to distinguish human from machine.

The website could have been 100% AI-generated (and yes, I had help). But the human part was knowing what felt interesting: the film reference, the age of the bar, the four-fountain myth (there’s only one!), the owner’s smile that might hide nerves about the quiet season.

AI can’t sense community tension. It can’t feel the weight of a to-do list when the bar’s empty.

Humans are the interface.

What I’m trying to say in this rather rambling post is that sharing with humans has just shot up the priority list.

Only people can truly form community. We must not let AI divide — between those who find it easy and those who feel overwhelmed or don’t have time to learn.

Harping back to my Elon Musk fascination again: his vision of abundance can only truly exist if we’re prepared to share, to make AI the great equaliser that builds each other up — not a tool to prove we’re better than others.

So maybe this year, we give a little more to the humans around us — a website, a coffee, a conversation.

Because in the end, that’s what keeps the world warm, even when the rain won’t stop.

With love from a rainy corner of France,

Mirrie ✨