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