Authenticity in the Age of Generative AI

Back in first year of college at Pasadena City College, I had the chance to learn about the human ontology through the lens of existentialism beyond the the catholic-creationism that I grew up with from a young age. I would argue the biggest divergence of the two philosophy is the way they approach the notion of authenticity. There might be many definitions to what authenticity true means, so let me briefly discuss whatI mean by that first.

Authenticity builds on the notion of the “self” or “I”. We say an art work is authentic if it is something a person actually create. But it’s more than that: it also requires the person to act in good faith, that is, a part of the person is represented through this medium, this work that the person has created. So if I mimic someone else’s signature, while I did write it, it’s not authentic whatsoever. Hence, authenticity is authorship in good faith.

Then, by virtue of this definition, it’s not unrealistic to claim that there’s authenticity is getting more challenging to find, or perhaps verify, in today’s world of Generative AI. High school teachers have a hard time making sure students actually write their own essays or get the answers without consulting an LLM and copying it. So how do we move forward? Is society doomed to AI generated content?

Now I can babble on for why authenticity, in my opinion, is important for the soul and personhood, finding meaning in life, etc. But my goal here is provide my answer to: how to be authentic in the age of Generative AI?

What I’m about to say might sound cyclic, but I believe the answer is to be honest. If I’m a student and I don’t know how to do an math problem, sure I can generate an answer with an LLM, but I need to be honest with myself. I should learn the solution, ensure my understand and intuition is gained, and test myself on a few new problems or make sure I’m able to explain it. If I am working on an essay, and needed ideas for it, sure I can ask an LLM and brainstorm, but I should also process it and truly believe in it. In other words, generative AI might have made it easy to say something, but say it like you mean it, is what provides meaning to oneself. It’s the “good faith” part of authenticity that makes the difference