Knowing when to stop

Yeah, this is the real me on the left, wrinkles, bags and all. I'm 63. What do you expect? To the right: the robot-chicken version of what AI did to my photo. I look like a polished weatherman with a haircut courtesy of Lawnmower Barbers.

The Germans have a beautiful single word that describes this: Schadenbesserung (literally: damage-causing improvement). It's that next enhancement that actually makes things worse.

Shout-out to Natalie Loi who had to ask strangers to stop prettifying her event portrait pictures with AI without her consent and who is kickstarting the pushback.

Give reality a chance. Know when to step away. Dare to be real.