A New Normal of Digital Culture
Computerization and technological development have become the norm, influencing us every day — we are accustomed to Google, to instant access to information, analytics, and effortless research. We have grown used to relying on artificial intelligence, and this inevitably affects how our culture of education and communication evolves.
I began to think about AI not only as a new language of communication but as a new cultural format in itself. If we compare it to the evolution of cinema or literature, it becomes clear that language is constantly enriched with new concepts and inevitably reshaped by AI. Our psyche now interprets emojis differently, and even a period at the end of a message can be read as aggression — even when the sender has no such intention.
Format as the Language of Modern Media
Here I will speak about marketing and the integration of marketing into art. Television and digital platforms rely on a universal language — a media standard. Everywhere we see recurring genres and structures; every platform or publishing house applies them to produce professional yet standardized content. The industrial template is a predefined narrative model: the story must have a clear arc, a beginning and an end, a protagonist and their conflict, a theme and a plot.
Originality is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. A professional must adapt to this structural model to be accepted, to be recognized. Originality becomes marginal, pushed outside the boundaries of the “professional.” Bright and unconventional expression is harder for audiences and media markets to embrace.
And yet, more and more people continue to write or make films simply because they want to express themselves. In Berlin, for example, numerous literary and film communities exist not for the sake of entering the industry or winning festivals, but simply for creation. In the absence of external evaluation, freedom emerges. This is not only about simplification or deformation of cultural sensitivity — this is democratization of creativity, where anyone can access a pencil or a computer and begin making art.
This phenomenon is not unique to our time — similar tendencies shaped by politics and by the need to create a sellable product have appeared across centuries. Different eras saw the rise of theater, then literature, then cinema. But let us not dwell in the past — we look toward the future.
Cinema as Product: Standardization and Algorithms
Cinema as an art form is collective work — and people must be paid.
Author-driven cinema no longer generates profit; it no longer pays for itself. Cinema has shifted into serialized content — sellable, standardized across multiple markets, and commercially successful. Standardization simplifies, but this very simplification makes content easily digestible across cultures, nations, and perhaps even generations.
This year in Cannes, I was shown a new program that analyzes a film or series script for a specific target audience. The system evaluates emotional dynamics, viewer age, and genre expectations and helps construct the marketing strategy. It functions similarly to Google Analytics, but instead of digital products, it processes audiovisual stories. Cinema, once a language influencing masses, has turned into ordinary content. This is neither good nor bad — it is simply what has happened.
We work with a template. Within this template, characters are placed; the plot is placed; the structure produces a “product” that the viewer purchases as if it were an item on a shelf in a virtual supermarket. Viewers no longer “buy” auteur cinema or do so only rarely.
One of my short-film scripts was analyzed by such a system, and I spent a long time trying to understand what “the emotional journey of the hero” or “emotional labelling”meant, why scenes were rated as positive or negative, and why the program insisted that several negative scenes needed to be diluted with one or two positive ones.
Research shows that algorithms and platforms truly influence which content receives reach and how language adapts to algorithmic logic (SEO optimization, keyword structures). This accelerates both universalization and narrative standardization. Algorithms now help create cinema.
Viewer or Format?
The visual-cognitive lens of the modern viewer is shaped and increasingly reshaped by the template. Who came first: the format or the viewer? The viewer or the format?
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Personally, I find little interest in contemporary series: I do not like the language they use to speak to me. They address me as if I were a teenager seeking only entertainment. I do not find depth. I was raised with high cultural standards — a product of my upbringing, my country, my education and I know the bar I must match, yet also the one I aspire to.
I became curious: why has the way people perceive culture changed so dramatically? Why does technological progress lead to such a strong modification of human perception? In the film industry, content has become simplified, light, and non-demanding. The message conveyed in series and films must now not only reflect contemporary society but also integrate the political vector embedded in audiovisual production.
Technology as the New Language of Our Era
Technology has become the new language of our time — brutal, unemotional, analytical, and dry. But are we not also becoming part of this system? How do we absorb digitization, and how easily does it become our new tool, enabling us to write articles, justify arguments with studies, confirm or refute facts?
For example, I want to support my text with evidence. Intuitively I know my perspective is valid, but to fit the modern publishing standard — to post on LinkedIn or submit to a journal and I must support it with proof. I place my text into ChatGPT, ask it to translate, find evidence, cite studies and suddenly my reflection becomes a scholarly article.
Are we entering a new era — dangerous and fascinating, where a hybrid of human and technology emerges? I do not know whether this is transhumanism or computerization shaped by rules and predefined templates, into which it is surprisingly easy to fit when technologies readily format any material.
Here is what the research shows: when the template becomes dominant, there is a risk that content (depth, criticism, originality) becomes secondary (You Sound Like ChatGPT — The Verge). AI thus creates a new balance between convenient standardization and the loss of authentic linguistic voice.
The main risk, according to researchers, is not standardization itself but the gradual erosion of one’s inner voice — the ability to formulate independent thoughts without leaning on algorithms.
Key Takeaways
- Human identity and technology are becoming a new hybrid form of cultural and cognitive existence.
- We are observing the universality and stylistic shift of language — the influence of computational logic on human speech.
- The blurring of professional boundaries: it becomes harder to distinguish good from bad and to judge art, when the template matters more than meaning.
How Do We Preserve Critical Thought and Human Depth?
Our thinking is increasingly shaped by algorithms, so one must trust oneself and preserve autonomy: write by hand, keep a journal, speak with friends and loved ones in real life, not only online. A person must retain belief in their professionalism and competence — qualities not nullified by artificial intelligence. One must preserve an inner voice, a sense of identity, and the ability to maintain personal aesthetic standards that resist standardization.
This awareness allows us to preserve critical thinking, depth, and the capacity to remain human even within a system shaped by digital forces.
Be the author — do not allow the computer to replace you.
References
Ramirez, V. B. (2025). ChatGPT Is Changing the Words We Use in Conversation. Scientific American.
ChatGPT Is Changing the Words We Use in Conversation | Scientific American
Sara Parker (2025) You sound like ChatGPT You sound like ChatGPT | The Verge
