Annwyl perfumes are, and always will be, human made. I design, make and package every perfume myself and, importantly, I do not and will not use AI in any part of the process.
And I want to stress that this isn’t just a specification on how I do what I do. It’s the whole point. Annwyl is, at it's heart, an art project and, by definition, a representation of my humanity. There is simply no other way to do it.
Art, for me, is all about communication. It’s a way for us to share ideas, feelings, and ourselves with each other. It’s intrinsically human.
You’ll often hear discussions centred on whether or not you can tell the difference, aesthetically, between an artwork generated by AI and one made by a human. While I certainly think we’re still in a place where you can tell the difference far more often than not, I also think that this discussion misses the point. As I see it, art is as much about the intention and the labour as it is about the product. A work of art, to me, has to be the product of a fellow human being having something to say, and having gone through something to say it. This is essential to what art is. It’s as simple as this: it doesn’t matter how “good” a piece of AI art is. AI art, by definition, fails at the most important part, and I simply don’t want to see it.
There’s also a major economic concern here. In a world where our very survival (let alone everything else) is behind a paywall, and so much of what money is left in the arts is made sure to trickle quickly upwards, it is so important that artists are able to earn a living from their work. AI, in the hands of those that seek to profit from the disenfranchisement of artists, stands firmly in the way. AI promises a future where, instead of art created by artists, we have a culture and a market flooded with slop; produced at scale, and largely copied and/or stolen from the very artists it seeks to replace.
We know by now that AI has demonstrably destructive effects on the environment, the arts, the economy, education, labour, industry, community, social equity, and the very minds of its users.
It distresses me to know that it is in any way a controversial statement to say that I want no part in it.
My ultimate question is this: what is the point in human endeavour when humanity is no longer involved? To me, there is a clear answer.
There is something so beautiful, so magical, in the creative process, and in sharing the results with other people. It's something I love so deeply, and something worth protecting.
This is why Annwyl is, and always will be, human made.