Is AI Making Us Less Human? Why Presence and Creativity Still Matter

The New Generation Leader - Your Tools for Winning in the Digital World

In a world where AI is rapidly automating everything from emails to artwork, what does it mean to stay fully human? In this rich and timely conversation, Micah Voraritskul unpacks the themes of his new book Human is the New Vinyl.

From handwritten thank you notes to Blackwing pencils and vinyl records, this episode challenges leaders, creatives, and students to rethink their relationship with innovation, presence, and trust.

Micah shares stories of cooking 300 meals from scratch, writing exclusively in pencil for a year, and resisting the urge to automate our most meaningful work. You’ll hear why creativity needs constraints, how trust is the foundation of leadership, and how to build a future that includes - not replaces - our humanity.

Key Quotes

• “Presence is the price of connection.”
• “AI is a tool. But it cannot have a broken heart.”
• “We lead with trust or we live in suspicion. One builds flourishing. The other builds fear.”

Resources

• Human is the New Vinyl by Micah Voraritskul — Buy on Amazon
• VerifiedHuman.info — Micah’s creative integrity consortium
• Blackwing 602 Pencils on Amazon

Show Outline (Timestamps)

• 00:00 – Welcome + Word association: kitchen tables, pencils, vinyl
• 06:45 – Why Micah wrote Human is the New Vinyl
• 13:00 – What AI gets wrong about creativity
• 19:00 – How AI can be a tool without taking our soul
• 23:10 – Leadership trust and the ethics of creation
• 29:00 – The danger of drifting into dishonest creation
• 35:00 – Why trust should be our filter
• 42:00 – Micah’s dream for this book’s impact on students
• 46:00 – Where to find the book and connect with Micah