Authenticity is key to creating memorable experiences
“I totally agree that authenticity is key to creating memorable experiences, especially in the hospitality industry where it can…” I received two comments on LinkedIn in response to a comment I had made about an associate’s post. Both started with these words, and both came from people employed in the same organisation (one is the CEO). The company is very well established as a leader in AI. So it’s a fair bet that these comments were generated by AI. In fact they are very proud that they do this.
My reaction : If cannot write to me personally then do not write to me at all. It has totally destroyed my trust in the people and the company. And I think: Are these photos created by AI?. Are the Videos using Avatars ? Is this message generated by AI?. The only time I am ‘reasonably certain’ I am talking to the real person is when I attend a webinar where there is interaction between the attendees and the presenters.
I am not impressed with organisations promising to personally message 10k people with personalised messaged as if they are from me. I like to select who I talk to and send specific messages to those individuals.
And then we get to the wise words invented by Meta to support the experience of Facebook . I posted a picture of me drinking Guinness in a local Spanish Bar. -not the least because it was freezing outside and we can take the dog in.
And Meta added “ Why is David Rigby in Madrid? Because on the post, it seems David Rigby is in Madrid to watch a football match between Real Madrid and Villareal. The casual setting of a pub with a TV showing the match and his enthusiastic comment “Where else but Madrid!” suggests he’s a fan of the sport or the teams playing “ (jan 26)
Anyone who knows me also knows I cannot stand football. And I was clearly, not clearly pointing out that the flyers and documentation about the Guinness were in Spanish., (try putting that through Grammarly !)
If it writes total garbage about what I know about why would I trust anything it says about stuff I don’t know about ?
I write as I speak
I write as I speak , with all the quirks of a Northern English man who has all the corners knocked off by working in 22 countries. It is completely beyond me why anyone would want to look like or sound like or write like some generic version of themselves . I know you can spend months trying to coax an AI version to be exactly like you .
“And I mean this most sincerely folks” was the catch Phrase of British TV personality Hughie Green in the 1960s and apparently was the most insincere and horrible man of the time.
And in conclusion, my message to the world: If you have got anything to say to me,
• Say it in person, don’t be excruciatingly polite
• Make it factual or your opinion (which is also a fact)
• Don’t make anything up if you don;t know – say you don’t, and make it short
• Don’t, therefore, hallucinate and just cut out the slop
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Written by David Rigby © 2026 Smart Coaching & Training Ltd
