MC.99: Apple and the paradox of GenAI

The contradiction is almost too perfect to be accidental.

Last week, Apple published its NeurIPS paper on STARFlow—a breakthrough in generative AI that achieves high-resolution image synthesis using normalizing flows, rivaling diffusion models while maintaining exact likelihood modeling and faster inference. This is serious, cutting-edge AI research that positions Apple as a genuine player in the generative AI space.

The same week, Apple released its Christmas campaign: "A Critter Carol," a meticulously crafted handmade puppet production. Filmed with real puppets, real puppeteers, real craftsmanship. Even the typography was created using woodblock print techniques. The behind-the-scenes content proudly showcases the human effort, the visible imperfections, the tactile reality of it all.

The implicit message? Human-made. Real.

The Familiar Pattern

This echoes what we explored in MC.84: AI and the Handmade Tale, the entertainment industry's predictable cycle of creating false binaries between "authentic handmade" and "artificial computer-generated" content.

But here's where it gets interesting: Apple isn't just marketing against AI. It's simultaneously advancing AI research while publicly celebrating craft in its consumer messaging.

As usual, hand made is always computer corrected

Here's what nobody's talking about: both "A Critter Carol" and the recent Apple TV glass icon sequences went through post-production. Color grading. Sound design. VFX teams. Compositing. Digital integration. The woodblock typography was digitized and composited. The glass icons were rendered and refined.

Nobody says "this video was made without electricity" or "this film was shot without computers." We don't obsess over the technology stack, we celebrate the creative vision that shaped it.

The same should apply to AI. The question isn't "was AI used?" It's "was the work shaped by intentional creative choices?"

Celebrating Craft, Not Tool Purity

What Apple is actually demonstrating is something far more optimistic than the "AI vs. no AI" debate: craft as a principle transcends any specific tool.

When you watch "A Critter Carol," you're witnessing:

• Puppeteers making split-second performance decisions

• Directors choosing imperfection over polish

• Production designers building tangible worlds

• Cinematographers composing light and shadow

• Sound designers layering texture and emotion

These are human creative choices. The fact that they went through digital post-production, color grading, and technical refinement doesn't diminish that. It enhances it.

Similarly, the Apple TV visual identity—those gorgeous glass apple icons—represents intentional aesthetic choices, sophisticated design thinking, and creative vision. The tools used to realize that vision are irrelevant to the quality of the idea.

The Future Isn't Either/Or

We're not heading toward a world where you have to choose between craft and technology. We're heading toward a world where craft is how you use technology.

The most compelling creative work will come from teams that:

• Use AI to accelerate iteration, not replace thinking

• Leverage automation to handle the tedious, freeing humans for the intentional

• Combine computational power with human judgment

• Treat every tool—whether it's a camera, a render engine, or a generative model—as a means to creative expression

Just as no one asks "was this film made without electricity?" we'll stop asking "was this made without AI?" The real question will always be: Does this work demonstrate intentional creative vision?

The Paradox Dissolves

Apple's publishing cutting-edge generative AI research while celebrating handcrafted puppetry isn't a contradiction. It's the clearest possible statement: we believe in craft as a principle, and we'll use whatever tools—including AI—to serve that principle.

The paradox only exists if you believe the tools matter more than the vision. Apple is betting they don't.

And they're probably right.

Until next Thursday 🎉
Olivier

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Until next Thursday 🎉