hey, pepperoni pocket.

so, my phone’s photo app likes to pop up and suggest groupings of pics – today it was “festive moments” and the cover was a pic of a pic of me + my junior high promo date before we left for prom

as i was scrolling through surrounding pics of that day 2 years ago when i took that pic of the pic, i came across some from a trip to hammonasset + decided to watch one of the vids

(my practice now is to delete them once i’ve shared them, but that hasn’t always been the case)

anyway, with updates to the photo app, the video now has these lines + breaks at the bottom of the screen — like on zoom replays, where it marks when screenshare is turned on + off

these demarcations were noting what AI had identified as the “key moment” of the video

it was a 39-second video that started with a close-up of waves rolling + frothing a bit at the shoreline, then clunkily panned to highlight the glimmer of the setting sun on the water, then further up to include the sun in the frame as it set

AI had honed in on the part of the video where we were already looking out at the sun setting + reflecting on the water, and captured the silhouette of a seagull gliding across the frame as we got a bit more of a look at the sun

the AI-identified "key moment"
(you can see the full vid on IG)

and listen, that was definitely beautiful

but what had drawn me in, why i started filming in the first place, was the energy + motion of the waves rolling across the beachline — with barely a trace of the sun

this was the energy i'd been drawn in by
(you can see the full vid on IG)

so, sweet bloom...

i encourage you to go ahead —

use your tools

AI has its benefits + purposes

but please —

don’t you dare let it decide what your key moments are

don’t you dare try to outsource your critical thinking or feeling to it

don’t you dare forget the value of YOUR thoughts, feelings, perspectives + delights

and in a world that’s hellbent on convincing you it wants more cookie cutter key moments, may you find the wisdom + fortitude to flip it the bird + keep sharing the moments YOU find most moving

it can help to have a space that celebrates what others might leave on the digital cutting room floor

this afternoon, you’re invited to sample such a space, for FREE

⌚ 2pm ET / 11am PT

🚀register here: bit.ly/sanctumsamplesessions

xxoo, cc

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