1. Introduction
Welcome back to another episode of Impact of AI Explored! Since February 2024, we’ve been diving deep into the intersection of artificial intelligence and humanity, and this conversation might be one of our most thought-provoking yet.
In this episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with Michaell Magrutsche, an Austrian-Californian multimedia artist, creativity-awareness educator, speaker, and author who brings a refreshingly human-centric perspective to the AI conversation. What started as a discussion about AI and art quickly evolved into a profound exploration of what makes us uniquely human—and why that matters more than ever in the age of artificial intelligence.
You can find the episode here:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeHSYV04nIw&t
Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2317233/episodes/17883049
Or your favorite streaming platform.
2. Meet the Guest
Michaell Magrutsche is not your typical guest. A self-taught multimedia artist who has published five books (with eight written in total), he’s made over 600 podcast appearances worldwide since March 2022, sharing his unique perspective on creativity, humanity, and our relationship with systems.
What makes Michaell’s story particularly compelling is his journey. Growing up with dyslexia and dysgraphia, he struggled in traditional educational systems—leaving school after the fifth grade because he couldn’t “regurgitate” information on command, even though he understood it perfectly. This challenge became his superpower: it forced him to develop an entirely human-centric way of seeing the world, free from the constraints of systematic thinking.
Before computers existed, Michaell painted approximately 3,000 paintings (for context, Picasso created 35,000 works in his lifetime). His art focuses on minimal pop art with powerful color combinations designed to create energy and resonance. Today, he’s the host of The Smart of Art podcast and author of books including The Smart of Art, which explores alternatives to how art works outside the economic system and champions human-centric living over system-relevant existence.
His work challenges us to question our relationship with technology, creativity, and what it truly means to be human in an increasingly automated world.
3. Setting the Stage
Why this conversation matters now more than ever:
We’re living in a moment where AI is being marketed as magical—capable of doing everything better than humans. From generating art to writing emails, AI tools promise efficiency and perfection. But at what cost?
Michaell raises a critical question that cuts through the hype: If AI can do everything better than us, what’s the point of being human?
This isn’t a conversation about being anti-technology. Both James and I use AI tools regularly, and Michaell isn’t opposed to AI either. Rather, this is about understanding the proper role of technology in our lives and recognizing the irreplaceable value of human creativity, individuality, and perspective.
What you can expect from this blog post:
- A challenge to how AI is being marketed and positioned in society
- Insights into why human creativity cannot be replicated by algorithms
- Practical perspectives on using AI as a tool without losing your unique voice
- A reminder of our limitless human potential and the danger of “boxing” ourselves in
- Real-world examples of where AI excels—and where it fundamentally falls short
This conversation will make you think differently about the role of technology in your creative and professional life. Let’s dive in.
4. Episode Highlights
“AI Cannot Have a Perspective”
One of the most striking moments came when Michaell explained why AI-generated content can never truly be art: “If you give a script to five different directors, they have a different opinion of the script. If you give it to AI, it will be the same kind of script.”
AI lacks the one thing that makes creativity meaningful—a unique, one-of-one human perspective. While it can copy styles (Van Gogh, Warhol, Beethoven), it cannot be those artists because it has no lived experience, no emotional depth, no individual viewpoint.
“We Are Eight Billion One-of-Ones”
Michaell passionately emphasized that every human being is completely unique—yet AI generalizes in patterns. “Every human is different. And that’s our big breakdown, I think, even with AI, because AI generalizes in patterns.” When we say “all men are this” or “all women are that,” we castrate our individual strengths. The same happens when we let AI homogenize our creative output.
“The Boxing of Creativity Leads to Destruction”
In a powerful analogy, Michaell described how modern systems “box” our creativity: “When you’re creative, when your spirit flows through you to create and be inspired, and you do that in a box, you can only get a certain way.” When humans are prevented from expressing their creativity freely, conflict inevitably follows—even among the wealthy and powerful who fight each other despite having everything.
“Use AI Like You Use a Hammer”
Michaell offered a practical framework: would you give a hammer the freedom to decide whether to hit a nail or hit your thumb? Of course not. “When you give technology, especially the freedom to decide for themselves, for humans, then you also put yourself down.” AI should serve human intention, not replace it.
5. Deep Dive: Human-Centric vs. System-Relevant Living
At the heart of Michaell’s philosophy is a critical distinction that shapes how we should think about AI and technology: human-centric living versus system-relevant living.
What is System-Relevant Living?
System-relevant living is when we define ourselves and our worth by our position within artificial structures: job titles, salaries, social status, educational credentials, and productivity metrics. In this worldview, we compete to be “the best”—the CEO, the highest earner, the most followed. The system tells us what’s valuable, and we chase those markers.
The problem? “Not everybody can [be the CEO] because we are eight billion humans that are one-to-one.” We’re all fundamentally different, yet the system demands we fit into predetermined boxes and hierarchies.
What is Human-Centric Living?
Human-centric living recognizes that each person is a unique “one-of-one”—irreplaceable and fundamentally different from everyone else. In Michaell’s words: “Garon and James are not the same, and your families are not the same either.” Even siblings in the same household like different music, have different perspectives, possess different strengths.
This approach asks: what do you uniquely bring to the world? What are your passions, strengths, and creative gifts? Rather than conforming to system expectations, human-centric living means the system should adapt to support human flourishing.
Why AI Pushes Us Toward System-Relevant Living
Here’s where AI becomes dangerous if misused: it inherently operates on patterns and generalizations. It cannot see or value your unique perspective because it has no concept of individual human experience. When we rely on AI to write our emails, create our content, or make our decisions, we risk becoming more uniform—more system-relevant and less human-centric.
Michaell shared a personal example: “I wrote an article and someone said, ‘you really need an edit done.’ I said, yeah, I could have run it through AI, but then it wouldn’t be me. It would wash my style off.”
The Paradox We Face
As Michaell pointed out, we already live in a world that has boxed in our creativity through rigid educational systems, corporate hierarchies, and social media algorithms that reward conformity. AI, marketed as magical and superior to humans, becomes “the perfect lead way to make us completely only watch Netflix, only consume stuff” rather than create.
But here’s the catch: “When you consume stuff, you need to have money. How can you get money when you only consume?” A society of pure consumers, with AI doing all the creative and productive work, is fundamentally unsustainable.
The Alternative Vision
Michaell advocates for using AI in ways that support human-centric living:
- Let AI help with market research for your unique creative vision
- Use it to manage traffic flow or complex logistics where pattern recognition excels
- Allow it to sort and organize information so humans can focus on interpretation and creation
But never let it replace the essential human elements: your unique voice, your creative perspective, your one-of-one contribution to the world.
As Michaell powerfully stated: “Know thyself. I’ve never seen AI that could find the one-on-oneness of each human.” And therein lies the irreplaceable value of being human.
6. Real-Life Stories & Examples
The Color Story: How Computers Changed Art (But Didn’t Replace the Artist)
Michaell shared a fascinating story from his artistic journey that perfectly illustrates the proper role of technology in creativity. Before computers, he had to create his minimal pop art entirely by hand—a painstaking process of testing color combinations to achieve the energetic resonance between hues that defines his work.
The challenge? Colors change appearance when scaled up. “A Coke bottle is a different red than the Coke truck.” To maintain consistency and achieve his vision, Michaell had to manually mix colors, test them at different sizes, measure precisely, and document everything meticulously. One piece could require weeks of preparation just to get the colors right.
When computers arrived, everything changed—but not in the way you might think. “I just put it in and I tweaked the two colors till they resonated. And then I had the guideline and it was way—not even 10% of the work that I had to do.”
The computer didn’t create the art. It didn’t decide which colors would resonate together. It didn’t have the vision. But it eliminated 90% of the tedious technical execution, freeing Michaell to focus on the creative decisions that only he could make. This is AI as a tool, not a replacement.
The Self-Driving Car Debate
James brought up one of his favorite topics—and pet peeves—self-driving cars, admitting he’s “very skeptical” while Gerjon is “semi-pro.” This became a perfect case study for Michaell’s philosophy.
Michaell immediately connected it back to human uniqueness: “You have five filmmakers and they would make five different films from the same script. Whoever drives the car has a different perspective. He likes to drive very slow, he likes to drive very fast, and then he doesn’t like a certain race or a certain woman driving.”
Every driver has biases, preferences, emotional states, and unique decision-making patterns. One person drives aggressively, another cautiously. How could an AI possibly account for eight billion different human driving personalities—and all the irrational, spontaneous decisions humans make on the road?
But then Michaell flipped the conversation: “Why can’t we use AI to do the traffic? Why to help the flow?” Instead of replacing human drivers, why not use AI for what it’s genuinely good at—managing traffic lights, optimizing flow patterns, reducing congestion? This is using AI to support human freedom of movement, not to control or replace the human.
The Podcast Name Search
James shared a practical example from their own experience: When creating their podcast, they had an idea for the name but needed to verify it wasn’t already in use. Rather than spending days manually searching, they used AI to quickly scan and confirm availability.
This is AI done right: using it for productivity gains in research and information gathering, while keeping the creative vision—the podcast concept, the name idea, the unique perspective—firmly in human hands.
The Business Plan That Misses the Point
Michaell described working with Netherlands entrepreneurs developing an “AI business plan” service. His question exposed the fundamental flaw: “What does the business plan—the business plan is connected to the context. So if you do sports shoes, right, is that really your passion? Is that what you want to do? Is that how you wanted them to look?”
AI can help determine if there’s a market for magnetic shoes or identify potential customers worldwide. It can assist with financial projections and competitive analysis. But it cannot tell you what you uniquely want to create or why your vision matters.
As Michaell noted: “If you both said we love shoes, your shoes will be different. You will be Puma and Adidas.” Two people with the same starting point will create entirely different products based on their individual perspectives, tastes, and creative visions. AI would make them similar; humanity makes them distinct.
The Nature of Encryption
In a fascinating technical aside, Michaell revealed something many don’t know: modern encryption relies on inherently random, non-linear processes—like lava lamps or photographing physical objects—because “if you give an algorithm to encryption, you can still with quantum computing right now solve it.”
Even in the most technical domains, true security comes from natural randomness that cannot be systematically replicated. “Nature’s non-linear movement of random things can never be copied to systems.” Even atomic clocks, designed for perfect linearity, need adjustment every decade because “nothing is linear in the world, life is not really linear.”
This serves as a profound metaphor: the very foundation of our digital security relies on the impossibility of reducing nature—including human nature—to predictable patterns.
7. Key Takeaways
✓ AI is a tool, not a replacement for human creativity
Just as you wouldn’t be jealous of a car because it runs faster than you, or a knife because it cuts better than your hands, AI’s capabilities in certain domains don’t diminish human value. The key is defining clearly what AI can do well—and what only humans can do.
✓ Every human is a “one-of-one” with irreplaceable perspective
There is only one Mozart, one Picasso, one Beethoven—and only one you. Your unique perspective, shaped by your experiences, emotions, and individuality, cannot be replicated by pattern-matching algorithms. Embrace what makes you different rather than letting AI homogenize your voice.
✓ Human-centric living must take priority over system-relevant living
Stop measuring your worth by job titles, salary, or productivity metrics. Instead, ask: What are my unique strengths? What do I passionately want to create? How can systems support my human flourishing rather than boxing me in?
✓ Creativity flows when we’re not boxed in by systems
Whether it’s rigid education, corporate hierarchies, or over-reliance on AI tools, anything that constrains creative expression ultimately leads to conflict and stagnation. True innovation requires the freedom to be fully, authentically human.
✓ Use AI for what it does best: pattern recognition, data processing, and logistics
Let AI sort information, identify market trends, optimize traffic flow, and handle tedious technical tasks. But never let it make creative decisions, define your voice, or determine what matters to you as a human being.
✓ The marketing of AI as “magic” is dangerous
When AI is portrayed as superior to humans in all ways, it disempowers humanity and makes us believe we have nothing unique to offer. Question the hype. AI cannot have opinions, perspectives, emotions, or true creativity—and that’s precisely what makes us human.
✓ Collaboration over competition is the human way
As Michaell noted about podcasting: “Nobody says, I need to get money… everybody does it because we have a pleasure to interact with each other.” Humans are naturally collaborative and creative. Systems that force pure competition or pure consumption go against our nature.
✓ Mistakes and imperfections are part of authenticity
When Gerjon said, “Embrace the failure. If there’s an error in it, that’s just me,” he captured something essential. Your quirks, your unique way of expressing ideas, even your mistakes—these are what make your work yours. AI’s “perfection” is actually uniformity in disguise.
✓ Know thyself—AI never will
Perhaps the most profound takeaway: AI has never been designed to help you discover who you are as a unique individual. It generalizes, categorizes, and patterns. The journey of self-discovery, understanding your one-of-one nature, remains entirely human territory.
8. Closing Thoughts
What a conversation.
When we started this episode, we thought we’d be discussing whether AI-generated images qualify as art. What we discovered instead was something far more profound: a framework for understanding our relationship with technology in a way that preserves—and celebrates—what makes us fundamentally human.
Michaell’s perspective reminds us that the real question isn’t “Can AI do this task?” but rather “What do we lose when we let AI do it for us?” Every time we hand over a creative decision, delegate our voice, or accept algorithmic homogenization, we surrender a piece of our unique human contribution to the world.
But this isn’t a call to reject technology. Far from it. As James pointed out during our conversation, we’ve been using AI tools to research, organize information, and boost productivity—and that’s exactly how it should work. The key is maintaining what Michaell calls “human in the loop”—never abdicating responsibility, never surrendering our creative vision, never forgetting that we are the directors and AI is the tool.
The path forward isn’t human versus machine. It’s human with machine, where technology serves our limitless human potential rather than replacing it.
We are, all eight billion of us, truly one-of-ones. And in a world increasingly optimized for patterns, averages, and systematic thinking, that uniqueness isn’t just valuable—it’s essential.
As Michaell so powerfully stated: “We are collaborative, creative species of nature.” Let’s use our tools to enhance that collaboration and creativity, not diminish it.
A Personal Reflection
Recording this podcast continues to be one of our favorite creative endeavors, not because it makes us money or builds our “system-relevant” status, but because we genuinely love the human interaction. Every conversation, including this one with Michaell, challenges us, teaches us, and reminds us why this work matters.
We could be watching Netflix right now. Instead, we chose to create, to connect, to explore ideas together—and to invite you along for the journey.
What’s Next?
Michaell mentioned he’s happy to return for a Part 2, and honestly, we barely scratched the surface of his fascinating perspective on art, humanity, and systems. We’d love to explore more about his “Humanity Unboxed” podcast with Michel Chin, dive deeper into his books (especially The Smart of Art), and hear more about how businesses and individuals can break free from system-relevant thinking.
9. Join the Conversation
We want to hear from you:
- How do you use AI while maintaining your unique voice?
- Where have you felt “boxed in” by systems in your creative or professional life?
- What makes you a one-of-one?
This podcast exists because of conversations like these—and your participation makes it even richer. Share your thoughts, challenge our ideas, and let’s keep exploring the impact of AI together.
Until next time, stay human, stay creative, and remember: you’re not here to be system-relevant. You’re here to be authentically, irreplaceably you.
Impact of AI Explored
Want to learn more about Michaell Magrutsche? Visit his website at michaellm.com or check out his podcast “The Smart of Art.” You can also find his books on art, creativity, and human-centric living wherever books are sold.
Don’t forget to subscribe to Impact of AI Explored for more thought-provoking conversations at the intersection of technology and humanity.
