When Everything Is Artificial, Authenticity Becomes Power!!Chief AI Officer and Chief Authenticity Officer Coexist!

Dear Friends

Last week, I had an opportunity to moderate a session at the Andhra Pradesh Digital Technology Summit 2026 in Visakhapatnam. As part of the session, I was moderating three startup founders. This time, rather than talking more about numbers, I asked the founders to share emotional moments from their journeys—their personal lives, the support rendered by spouses, children, and parents, and the unseen sacrifices behind their success.

From the time I started the Inspire to Innovate (i2i) Storytelling Movement (i2iTM.blogspot.com) in December 2010—now successfully completing 15 years—I have fundamentally believed that real and truthful stories remain the driving force of the human race. We still hear the stories of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, or Jesus Christ and reflect on them to perfect our lives. No matter what AI does or how robotics assists our lives, the truth remains the same: real stories will continue to drive humanity, even in the future.

You might be wondering why I am repeating the phrase real stories multiple times. Recently, we attempted to submit a joint proposal (Swiss National Science Foundation & Indian Council of Social Science Research) with one of my Swiss friends. Later, we realized that we were not eligible. Interestingly, the proposal repeatedly mentioned that “Natural persons carrying out scientific research in Switzerland or with close links to Switzerland are eligible to submit an application.”

Earlier, I had not noticed such language so explicitly. As AI is progressing, we now need to clarify this. As many of you know, in October 2017, Sophia was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship, becoming the first robot to receive legal personhood in any country. Sophia is not a natural person

During my moderation, I also spoke about the following statistics:

• Stories help us retain ~60–70% of information, while pure statistics offer only ~5–10% (retention).
• Stories activate multiple parts of the brain—logic, emotion, and imagination (engagement).
• Close to 90% of our decisions are emotional and later justified by logic (decision-making).

This is also a reminder to all teachers, including myself:

• Teach cases, not just concepts.
• Share journeys, not just outcomes.
• Build narratives, not just frameworks.

As I mentioned earlier, stories and emotions build businesses. Recently, an incident caught my attention. A Chinese father quit his job and travelled 900 km to his daughter’s university after she complained about poor canteen food. He set up a food stall near the campus, cooking her favourite home meals every day. When the daughter shared this story online, it went viral—millions were touched by a father’s boundless love and sacrifice.

As we enter the AI world, many times we do not know whether a story is developed by AI or a human, whether an artwork is created by AI or a human, or whether a model is produced by a 3D printer or an artisan. We are entering such a blind spot.

The words “real” and “truthful” may become patentable terms in the future. 

Ravi Saripalle

Schooling Without Movement: A Silent Design Flaw

Dear Friends,

Recently, I was talking to a 6th-class student studying in a corporate school. The student wakes up at 6 AM and goes to school by 8 AM. They have regular classes till 4 PM, and special classes are conducted from 4 PM to 6:30 PM! The school does not have any playground or greenery. The school operates from Monday to Saturday. Sunday is mostly spent sleeping and watching movies!

We can clearly see a deficiency in terms of physical, emotional, and psychological development. I was recollecting our school days. Our classes used to start at 9 AM and end by 4 PM. The school consisted of 25–30 classrooms on the ground, and 2/3 of the school was covered by a playground. We used to go by bicycle, which was 4 km away from our home. From 5 to 7 PM, time was dedicated mostly to play! I heard the word “IIT” for the first time in my +2! During school days, dreams and goals were mostly limited to becoming a high school teacher or a banker due to limited exposure. I am not saying we studied in a perfect model either.

However, recently I read a post by Alexey Navolokin, GM at AMD. In many Chinese schools, students pause class for 1–3 minutes and move together (hands and body are shaken simultaneously) — inside the classroom. It is not a dance, not military, nor system design.

It’s called Radio Calisthenics. It has been practiced nationally for decades to reset posture, circulation, and attention.

The reasons are obvious. Prolonged sitting reduces cognitive performance after 30–40 minutes. Short movement breaks improve focus and working memory by 10–15%. Light physical activity increases blood flow to the brain by up to 20%, and even 2 minutes of movement measurably reduces mental fatigue.

As AI scales execution, human attention becomes the bottleneck. While there was a transition from legacy software to enterprise-level systems, similarly, early school education needs an overhaul with physical and emotional activities embedded into the learning process.

What is your experience?

Ravi Saripalle

Watching Reels Damages Brain Function 5 Times More Than Alcohol Consumption and Smoking? Is It That Serious?

Dear Friends,

Recently, I surveyed a few students on how much time they spend watching Reels or consuming short videos. A few spoke genuinely, and a few did not! It looks like some of them are spending more than 2 hours per day. It is not just students; this survey applies to housewives/husbands, working professionals, the elderly, children, and middle-aged people who have also succumbed to this change.

Let's assume one short video lasts 1 minute. If we watch continuously for 2 hours, we will scroll through 120+ videos. When you are reading a newspaper, it is not just reading alone; you are assimilating those ideas, storing them in the brain, and, if needed, partly analyzing them as well. However, during the actual watching process, you are not giving your brain a chance to participate. As a result, we are paralyzing it.

You might ask, “What is the problem?” as we are cooling the brain for some time. It may act as a regenerative state, similar to meditation. If you think so, we are in big soup! A major review in Psychological Bulletin summarized data from ~71 studies and nearly 100,000 people: heavy short-form video use was correlated with weaker attention and impulse control, and higher depression, anxiety, and stress!!(nbcnews.com/health/health-news/brain-rot-research-short-form-video-consumption-rcna245739)

It is not relaxation! It is actually stress!!

Recently, I asked my students how many clicked on my stories (text-based, story-driven, and long paragraphs!) that I send every Saturday. To my surprise, the click rate is 0%!! However, a recent, albeit controversial, topic on a trivial issue on social media has gone viral, centred on reel-based content. Slowly, we are losing the habit of reading paragraphs and enjoying text! What does it mean? The analytical capability is fading away!!

These survey studies show that higher short-video usage intensity and “addiction” predict decreased attention control and reduced self-control!!

Rather, approximately, we are buying this anxiety and stress!! How? Can you guess? Approximately, 1 hour → $10–$200 from Reels Play Bonus ($0.01–$0.15 per 1K views) or affiliates!!

What does it mean? You are generating revenue for somebody while decreasing your cognitive functioning!!

How much time do you spend on Reels?

Ravi Saripalle