Field Notes // 21 May / All Those Pesky Human
Klarna’s failed AI experiment underscores a crucial truth: AI isn’t a direct substitute for human workers.
Welcome to Field Notes, a weekly scan from Creative Machinas. Each edition curates ambient signals, overlooked movements, and cultural undercurrents across AI, creativity, and emergent interfaces. Every item offers context, precision, and an answer to the question: Why does this matter now?
FEATURED SIGNAL
Company Regrets Replacing All Those Pesky Human Workers With AI, Just Wants Its Humans Back
Klarna’s grand experiment in swapping staff for OpenAI chatbots has back-fired spectacularly: customers are furious, quality has crashed, and the once-smug fintech is now begging humans to return— even eyeing an Uber-style gig army to mend the damage. This punchy exposé reveals how chasing quick AI savings can torch a brand and why, in the end, people still matter most. (via Futurism.com)
» Why It Matters
Klarna’s failed AI experiment underscores a crucial truth: AI isn’t a direct substitute for human workers. Companies chasing quick savings by swapping people for bots overlook the complexity of human interaction—leading inevitably to quality drops and customer frustration. This reveals a critical reckoning ahead: identifying precisely where humans remain essential, and where AI genuinely adds value.» How It Affects You
This matters personally because it shows that wholesale human replacement by AI isn’t realistic. Your future work and daily interactions won't vanish into algorithms—instead, expect a blended reality. Businesses will increasingly recognize the irreplaceable value of human connection, even as AI tools become routine parts of our professional landscape.
SIGNAL STACK
Google DeepMind’s AI Agent Dreams Up Algorithms Beyond Human Expertise
Google DeepMind's AlphaEvolve isn’t just remixing old ideas—it's inventing algorithms beyond human capability, revolutionising data centre efficiency, chip design, and even the AI models themselves. This cutting-edge innovation proves AI can be genuinely creative, reshaping the frontier of tech and redefining our understanding of artificial intelligence's potential. (via Wired)
» Why It Matters
Google DeepMind’s AlphaEvolve shows AI stepping beyond human limits to produce genuinely novel, advanced algorithms. While exciting, it pushes society toward a critical threshold: a future shaped by sophisticated yet alien "black box" technologies that increasingly affect your daily life—yet remain opaque and incomprehensible. As entire societal functions rely on these advanced tools, your ability to question, control, or understand them diminishes, challenging fundamental human agency and requiring new ways to build trust and transparency.
Jamie Lee Curtis publicly shamed Mark Zuckerberg to remove a deepfaked ad
When actress Jamie Lee Curtis became the latest victim of AI-generated deepfake scams, she publicly shamed Mark Zuckerberg into action, spotlighting a dangerous new frontier in online fraud. Curtis’s bold stand not only forced Meta to respond, but also exposed how easily AI can hijack celebrity voices—threatening trust, truth, and personal integrity in our increasingly digital lives.
» Why it matters
Jamie Lee Curtis’s deepfake saga underscores a troubling truth: if a celebrity struggles to stop AI-generated exploitation, everyday people face nearly impossible odds. This story highlights how easily digital identities can be hijacked without accountability, leaving ordinary individuals vulnerable and unprotected. Without clear responsibility and action from online platforms, anyone’s likeness could be manipulated, misrepresented, or exploited, raising urgent concerns about trust, consent, and control in our increasingly AI-driven online world.
Could AI translate animal sounds into words? Tech experts hope so
Baidu has filed a patent for a system that could translate pet sounds and behaviours into human language using AI — by decoding emotion first, then mapping it to words. It’s still in the research phase, but it hints at a future where your dog’s bark or your cat’s meow could be understood, not just interpreted. Fascinating? Yes. Controversial? Definitely.Baidu has filed a patent for a system that could translate pet sounds and behaviours into human language using AI — by decoding emotion first, then mapping it to words. It’s still in the research phase, but it hints at a future where your dog’s bark or your cat’s meow could be understood, not just interpreted. Fascinating? Yes. Controversial? Definitely.
» Why it matters
Because if AI could offer even a glimmer of communicative power across species, it would be extraordinary — not just for pet owners, but for how we think about intelligence, empathy, and consciousness itself. That said, this is still speculative: no working outputs, no public demos — just a provocative patent and a lot of interest. For now, it’s less breakthrough, more watch-this-space.
How AI Is Changing Art for Creatives
Artists are facing a reckoning: Generative AI offers dazzling creative possibilities—instant worlds, infinite ideas—but at a cost that might erase their livelihoods altogether. This powerful video dives straight into the heart of the debate, confronting both the magic and danger of AI-driven creativity, and asking: can we truly afford a future without human artistry? (Via Bloomberg Originals)
There's machine learning, but there isn't really machine forgetting
—Rachel Metz, Bloomberg Reporter
» Why It Matters
Generative AI isn't pulling from a static database—it's synthesising genuinely new content, radically simplifying processes that once demanded years of creative friction, training, and mastery. Previously, the creative arts were a locked treasure chest accessible only to skilled artisans who dedicated countless hours honing their craft. Now, AI has duplicated those keys, handing one to anyone willing to turn it. This democratisation levels the creative playing field but also challenges the value artists have built through painstaking development of style and technique, forcing us to rethink creativity's meaning, ownership, and future.
SIGNAL SCRAPS
If you're looking to easily create polished diagrams from your written ideas, we've found Napkin.ai incredibly useful—it lets you highlight any text in your documents or presentations and instantly transforms it into professional-looking graphics, fully customisable in style, colour, and layout.
If creating clear, step-by-step instructional videos is important, Guidde is worth exploring—it captures screen recordings and uses AI to instantly transform them into polished videos, complete with automatic voiceovers, annotations, and fully editable steps.
If you’re keen to see AI creativity at its quirkiest, check out this McDonald’s Cat nekochan1988123—a delightful mash-up where fast food meets feline charm. As several commenters have said, “The cutest McDonald’s worker ever!”
FIELD READING
Only 27% of U.S. adults believe they interact with AI frequently, while 79% of AI experts say people engage with AI almost constantly
» Why It Matters
This striking difference between how often people think they use AI versus how frequently experts believe they do reveals an intriguing discrepancy—people may be significantly underreporting their AI interactions. It suggests many may feel uncomfortable or even ashamed to admit they're engaging with AI tools, possibly due to negative perceptions or criticism from certain sectors, notably creatives, who frame AI use as ethically dubious. Thus, the reality might be that AI is already deeply embedded in daily life, far more prevalent than most are willing to openly acknowledge—like masturbation, it's something everyone's doing, even if no one wants to admit it ;)
Source: Pew Research Center, April 2025
DRIFT THOUGHT
The more ubiquitous AI becomes, the less visible it might be—leading to an ironic future where pervasive AI is simultaneously undeniable yet undiscussed.
YOUR TURN
Which scares you more: AI replacing your job, or AI knowing you better than you know yourself?
That’s the kind of tension we circle every week — automation vs. agency, capability vs. intimacy. We’re curious where you sit with this. Hit reply, leave a comment, or just sit with the discomfort. We’ll be listening.