The Last Honest Differentiator: Why Craft Still Kicks AI’s Ass

In a world spinning faster than a pitch deck refresh, where AI promises speed, scale, and suspiciously perfect symmetry, the one thing it still can’t fake? Craft.

Julia Neumann, Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Le Truc, makes the case for why craft isn’t just a nice-to-have it’s the soul of work that actually sticks. Real craft is human. It’s messy. It’s obsessive. It’s the invisible line between something you scroll past and something that makes you feel something. And as the industry floods with templated “good enoughs,” craft is the last honest differentiator we’ve got.

This talk explores how judgment, restraint, and risk - the deeply human stuff - create moments that matter. Why your gut will always outpace your prompt. And how keeping craft alive isn’t nostalgia - it’s strategy.

Key Takeaways:

• Why craft is the one thing AI can’t automate - and why that matters more than ever.
• How obsession, taste, and risk create emotional resonance (and not just ‘engagement’).
• The human edge: what AI still can’t replicate, no matter how many training datasets it eats.
• Ways to protect, nurture, and prioritize craft inside creative teams without slowing them down.
• A battle cry for bringing back pride in the how and not just the what